The Moose Jaw Warriors went toe-to-toe with the Winnipeg ICE last night and came up short, falling 6-5 in overtime at the Subway WHL Hub in Regina.

Winnipeg got onto the scoreboard first when Jakin Smallwood deflected a point shot just over a minute into the game.

The ICE added to their lead at 7:34, when Skyler Bruce came off the left Moose Jaw wall and took a shot from between the circles that beat Boston Bilous.

Moose Jaw fought their way back into the game as the period continued.

With six minutes remaining, Jagger Firkus knocked the ICE off the puck behind the Winnipeg net.  Brayden Yager then took the puck up the right wall and put a shot on the net.  20-year-old Riley Krane gobbled up the rebound and hammered in his fourth of the season to get Moose Jaw on the scoreboard.

Then, with 1:04 remaining in the period and the Warriors on the power-play, Brayden Yager had the puck at the left blue line and made a pass to Cade Hayes in the mid-slot.  Hayes first shot was blocked, he then grabbed the puck again and snapped it past the glove of Carl Stankowski, his third of the year tied the game at two.

The game remained tight throughout the middle period as both teams did a great job protecting their net and moving loose pucks to the wall.

On the power-play with six and a half minutes remaining in the period, defenceman Cole Jordan skated with the puck to the bottom of the right circle.  Jordan then flipped a pass cross-ice to Jagger Firkus, the 16-year-old knocked in his fifth of the season to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead.

The third period was wild, as there was a total of 24 shots, five goals, and plenty of momentum shifts.

Winnipeg picked up an early power-play and was able to use it to their advantage as Peyton Krebs scored to tie the game at three.

Two and a half minutes later at the five-minute mark, Warriors Captain Daemon Hunt came off the right blue line and took a shot from inside the right circle, his seventh goal of the season put Moose Jaw back on top.  Two minutes later, Skyler Bruce picked up his second goal of the game to tie the game at four.

The scoring chances kept coming, and at 14:38, Cade Hayes flew down the Winnipeg left boards and then cut to the net.  Hayes finished the rush with his second goal of the game, giving Moose Jaw a 5-4 lead.

Winnipeg pressed desperately in the final moments for an equalizer.  Inside the final two minutes of regulation, they pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.  The gamble paid off as Peyton Krebs scored his second of the period with just over a minute left to send the game to overtime.

Closing in on the two-minute mark of the extra period, Winnipeg’s Jakin Smallwood found a lane to the Moose Jaw, his second of the game handed the Warriors a 6-5 loss.

Cade Hayes led the Warriors with two goals and three points, Riley Krane had a goal and two points, and Bostin Bilous finished with 37 saves.

Moose Jaw was 2-for-3 on the power-play and 2-for-4 on the penalty kill.

The team will have Thursday off to get ready for the final three games of their season.  Friday, they take on the Regina Pats (8 pm), Sunday they battle Swift Current (4 pm), and then the season wraps up Monday against Saskatoon (8 pm).

Catch all the action on Friday between the Warriors and Pats on Country 100 starting with the PreGame Show at 7:40 pm.