For two hours, every weekday afternoon during the season, the Moose Jaw Warriors hit the ice at Mosaic Place for practice. That wasn't the case earlier this week as the team took a break from the ice to hit the lanes at the South Hill Bowling Centre.

The idea behind the break was simple, to do some team bonding. That simple concept could be very key to any success that the Warriors have this season.

One of the strengths of last year's East Division-winning team was how tight the team's core had become after playing together for three-four years. With a lot of new faces on this year's team, building that bond will be key this season and down the road as well.

Captain Josh Brook said Tuesday's bowling break was a great way for the team to come together.

"It's so important to gel as a team right off the bat and we're doing that really well, we try to do as many things together as we can and the team is really coming together as a family," said Brook.

Brook, along with assistant captains Tristin Langan and Justin Almeida, will be tasked with helping guide this year's team along and a lot of that will be making sure that the large group of rookies becomes a team.

Brook said that was something that the older players did for him when he was coming into the league.

"I remember when I was young and when an older guy helped me it was huge," said Brook. "Marc McNulty in my first year, he really helped me out a ton, talking to me and just being a great older influence on me and it helped so much."

17-year-old defenceman Matt Sanders feels the veterans have done a great job so far of making sure that the 22 players feel like a team.

"Everything is going great, the team camaraderie in the room is really awesome, guys top-to-bottom get along well and it’s something that I've never really been a part of before, it's awesome," said Sanders.

"Guys like (Brandon Schuldhaus), (Justin Almeida), and (Josh Brook) are doing a great job of taking guys under their wing, they're great leaders and people in the community."

As the Warriors go through growing pains during the season, the work they do in the team building area will help them get through those down moments.

"We're getting a lot closer, nobody is afraid to talk to anyone and we have a great group of guys here," said Brook.

The Warriors will return to the ice coming up on Saturday night when they host the Prince Albert Raiders at Mosaic Place. Puck drops at 7 p.m. while the Pre-Game Show hits the air at 6:40 p.m. on Country 100.