Moose Jaw hasn’t won a game at the Spokane Arena since 2004 and those struggles continued on Wednesday for the Warriors with a 2-1 loss to the Chiefs.

It was the second straight loss for the Warriors to open their seven-game western road trip.

After falling 2-1 to the Kootenay Ice with a poor effort in the opening game of the trek, the Warriors were able to put together a much more complete game on Wednesday night, but couldn’t find a different result.

“It’s disappointing to lose tonight, we came out and played a pretty good game, but we just couldn’t score at the end of the day,” said forward Jayden Halbgewachs.  “We had a lot of chances that could have went in, but we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

It’s the first losing skid of the season for the Warriors.  Assistant Coach Scott King said the team needs to do more of the little things that contribute to wins on the road.

“They won a few more little battles that were the difference. Hockey is a game of battles all over the ice and the more you win, the better off you’ll be,” said King on the Country 100 Post-Game Show.  “It’s not going to be easy, especially on the road, so we have to find ways to win and do a better job of that.”

The Warriors came out of the gates flying and were rewarded just 7:44 into the game when Tristin Langan scored his second of the year on a rebound in front after some hard work from Luka Burzan below the goal line.

The lead stuck until the Chiefs capitalized on a pair of power plays late in the first.  Hudson Elynuik and Nolan Reid scored 4:10 apart to put Spokane in front by one after 20 minutes.

Moose Jaw pressured over the next two periods, outshooting the Chiefs, 18-16, but they couldn’t beat goalie Dawson Weatherill, who made 27 saves in the win.

Halbgewachs had a great chance with an open net in the third period, but had the puck go off a stick and wide to keep the Chiefs in front.

“It’s just about bearing down at the right times and making the smart play when we need it,” said Halbgewachs.  “We can’t wait to the last minute of a game to try to pull off a win, it’s got to start right from the start and when we get an opportunity to score, we have to put it in the net.”

The Warriors gave themselves a chance to win the game, which is an improvement over the night before.  King said the biggest key is to keep the confidence up with five more games left over the next eight days.

“We’ve just got to be upbeat and enjoy it, at the end of the day, we’re playing a game here and it’s suppose to be fun,” said King.  “Try to enjoy it, try to get better everyday and that’s what being a hockey player is about, little improvements every day, so continue to work at it and a couple of losses isn’t the end of the world.

“We’ve just have to continue to be positive with each other, not get down on each other and as a coaching staff, that’s what we’ll focus on.”

Warriors goalie Brody Willms turned away 24 shots in the loss.

The Warriors’ power play continues to struggle as they went 0-for-2 to fall to 6-for-35 on the year, while the Chiefs were 2-for-4 with the man advantage.

Moose Jaw will get Thursday off before continuing their road trip with two games this weekend.  They’re in Everett on Friday night and then Seattle on Saturday.

Warriors Still Ranked... The Warriors remained in the CHL Top-Ten for the third straight week on Wednesday.  They were ranked ninth in the country for the second straight week.  The Portland Winterhawks moved into the top spot, while the Swift Current Broncos are third and the Victoria Royals came in at fifth in the country.