With two seconds left Tuesday night, Moose Jaw Generals forward Ben Duperreault lifted the puck over the Saskatoon Blazers goalie and promptly hit the crossbar.
It was that kind of night for the Generals.
Led by Evan Weninger’s 39-save performance, the Blazers skated to a 2-1 win in Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League action at Mosaic Place.
“It’s frustrating because we did a lot of good things offensively — except score — and you throw over 40 shots on them and give up less than 20, but we gave them two goals. That’s the frustrating part. We’ve been doing it all year,” said Generals head coach Ray Wareham.
The Generals record drops to 8-4-1 on the season.
The Generals grabbed a 1-0 lead late in the first period when Cohen Yano scored a power play goal. The Generals kept pressing, but the Blazers tied the game when Matt McLeod found space in the high-slot and beat Ryland Pashovitz.
The Blazers took the lead 22 seconds into the third period when a rebound fell to Jackson Michalenko at the side of the Blazers net and he buried the rebound to put the Blazers in front for good.
The Generals out-shot the Blazers 40-15 and spent most of the third period buzzing around the Blazers net. Saskatoon blocked a lot of shots — particularly on a pair of third period penalty kills — and Weninger stopped what did get through.
“From the red line in we were good, but the game isn’t just in that area. Offensively we were really good, I thought. We didn’t finish,” said Wareham. “You have to bring that same energy and urgency into your own end.
“When they got a chance they buried them. The goalie wins you hockey games sometimes and give that kid credit because he was really good tonight.”
The Generals head to Tisdale Saturday and Sunday for a pair of games against the Trojans.
