A shootout was needed to decide the winner of a hard-fought game Saturday night at Mosaic Place, and unfortunately, the Moose Jaw Warriors came up short, falling 4-3 to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

The teams did a good job establishing a quick pace in the opening period as they raced up the ice looking to go on the attack.

Just over four minutes into the game, Ryder Korczak was able to beat the Oil Kings to a loose puck along the Edmonton right boards.

Korczak made a quick pass to the blueline where Captain Daemon Hunt was able to toss a shot towards the net.  The rebound sat on top of the crease, 16-year-old Brayden Yager was then able to slide a backhand shot over the goal line, his ninth of the season gave the Warriors an early 1-0 lead.

Moose Jaw had back-to-back power-plays to open the second period and they used that to their advantage.

At 3:27, Eric Alarie flung the puck towards the Edmonton net.  Atley Calvert and Martin Rysavy whacked the loose puck in the crease, Rysavy was able to knock it over the line to give Moose Jaw a 2-0 lead.

Edmonton was able to respond at 9:28 when Carter Souch led a rush across the Moose Jaw line and then dropped the puck to a trailing Jalen Luypen.  His shot from the left circle was able to get past the glove of Carl Tetachuk.

Just under two minutes, and with Moose Jaw working on the power-play, Captain Daemon Hunt took a shot from the left circle.  Martin Rysavy was perched on top of the crease where he was able to deflect in his second goal of the game to put the Warriors back up by two.

Edmonton had a power-play carry-over from the second period to the third, and 13 seconds into the final frame, Carter Souch found a loose puck in the low Warriors slot, scoring Edmonton’s second goal of the game.

The Oil Kings had plenty of pressure throughout the first half of the third period, at 9:27, they took a shot from the left circle, Jacob Boucher was able to deflect it through traffic, tying the game at three.

The rest of the regulation saw both teams create opportunities but neither picked up a go-ahead goal.  In overtime, again, the teams had their chances, but neither could find the back of the net, which meant for the first time this season, the Warriors were headed to a shootout.

Neither team scored in the first four rounds, and after Moose Jaw was stopped on their attempt, 20-year-old import defenceman Simon Kubicek picked up the game-winner for the visitors.

Martin Rysavy led the Warriors with a pair of goals and Daemon Hunt snagged a pair of assists.

Moose Jaw’s weekend schedule continues Sunday when they battle the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4:00 pm, at Mosaic Place.

Tickets are available at the Mosaic Place Box Office or online at www.mjwarriors.ca.

Catch the action on Country 100 starting with the PreGame Show at 3:40 pm.