They're up against the nation's top-ranked squad and nobody has given them a sniff of hope but if the opening battle is any indication, the Moose Jaw Warriors just might make things interesting.
They certainly did Wednesday.
The Warriors battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the third period only to drop a 5-4 overtime decision to the hometown Calgary Hitmen in the opening game of the best-of-seven Western Hockey League Eastern Conference quarter-final.
"The guys showed a tremendous amount of character," Warrior coach Len Nielsen said. "They stuck with it, battled hard and we came out of this game knowing we can compete with this team.
"It's one thing to believe you can compete -- it's another thing to do it."
The Hitmen entered the series as heavy favorites, having won 58 games this season as compared to Moose Jaw's 25. They've also been at the top of the Canadian Hockey League's rankings the past 18 weeks and have been No. 1 20 times this seasons.
The Warriors, eighth place finishers in the Eastern Conference, weren't given much of a chance and any hope Moose Jaw fans did have likely disappeared when Chris Nielsen and Sean McAslan gave Calgary a 4-2 lead with goals in the opening four minutes of the third period.
The Warriors, however, clawed their way back with a pair of power-play goals, the first by Brian Sutherby at 8:35 and the second by Scott Schoneck with just 1:17 on the clock.
Nielsen won the game 3:36 into overtime when his shot beat Moose Jaw netminder Tim Barlow low to the glove side.
Schoneck and Brad Moran traded goals in the first period and Calgary's Brandon Segal -- who scored just twice during the regular season -- and Moose JawÕs Ben Knopp traded tallies in the second.
Barlow made 34 saves for Moose Jaw while former Warrior Rastislav Stana kicked out 21 shots for Calgary.
"Calgary is a great team and they'll capitalize on mistakes," Nielsen said. "But we forced them to make mistakes, too, and we capitalized.
"I can't be disappointed with the way we played," he added. "Not many teams battle back against Calgary and it's a real tribute to the kids. It would have been real easy to fold the tent and say 'let's try again tomorrow' but they didn't."
The teams are back on the ice tonight (7:45 p.m., Country 800 Radio) and Nielsen doesnÕt expect his squad to have any trouble rebounding.
"The guys are still excited about it and they're in an excellent frame of mind," he said. "If anything, we gained confidence tonight and it's exciting just to be around the guys. They're already looking forward to (tonight).
"I'll be extremely happy if they come out and play the way they did (Wednesday)."
After tonight's battle the series shifts back to Moose Jaw for Games 3 and 4 Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday (6 p.m.).
Season ticket holders have until 1 p.m. game day to pick up their playoff game tickets. Those not picked up go on sale at 2 p.m.
