Thud! – Warriors fall 7-1 to Spirit in Memorial Cup semifinal

Atley Calvert’s major junior career came to an end on Friday.

The Moose Jaw Warriors dreams of a Memorial Cup title crashed and burned.

On Friday night at the DOW Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan, the WHL champion Warriors faced the host Spirit from the OHL in the semifinal game of the Memorial Cup tournament. The two sides opened the event in a round robin clash on May 24 that saw the Spirit take a 4-0 lead and hold on for a 5-4 victory.

The semifinal meeting didn’t have the same drama between the two sides who were making their respective first appearances at the Memorial Cup tournament. The Warriors and Spirit exited the first period locked in a 1-1 tie.

The Spirit erupted for five goals in the second period to take a 6-1 lead. They added one more goal in the third to round out a 7-1 victory to the delight of most of the 4,978 spectators in attendance outside of a healthy contingent of Warriors supporters.

With the win, the Spirit improve their tournament record to 3-1, and they advance to face the OHL champion London Knights in the Memorial Cup championship game on Sunday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Knights are 3-0 at the tournament and have won their last eight straight games including the finish of their run in the OHL Playoffs.

The Knights downed the Spirit 4-2 in the tournament’s final round robin game on Wednesday and took the OHL’s Western Conference Championship Series against the Spirit in six games. London’s losses to Saginaw in that series have been their only two setbacks in the 2024 post-season. The Knights are searching for their third Memorial Cup championship in team history having claimed the CHL title in 2005 and 2016.

The Warriors closed out play at the Memorial Cup tournament with a 1-3 record. Their previous two setbacks at the event were both by one goal.

The drought for the WHL as a league at the Memorial Cup continued to grow as the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014 stand as the last team from the circuit to claim the CHL title.

Lucas Brenton had a goal taken away by video review.

In Friday’s loss against Saginaw, the Warriors might have been stunned by the fact that the Spirit’s fourth line including centre Ethan Hay, right-winger Lincoln Moore and left-winger Sebastien Gervais powered their side’s victory with four goals. Hay had two goals and two assists, and both Moore and Gervais each finished with one goal and two assists. All three players were a plus-four in the plus-minus department.

Hay, Moore and Gervais were all pointless in Saginaw’s first three games at the Memorial Cup.

Spirit import star offensive-defenceman Rodwin Dionicio, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks, also had a big night on Friday recording one goal, three assists and a plus-five rating.

The Spirit fourth line got things going scoring the first goal of the semifinal just 3:03 in the opening frame. Gervais and Moore were battling for the puck in the left corner of the Moose Jaw zone against a Warriors import defenceman Vojtech Port.

Gervais came up with the puck and passed it into the left slot of Hay. Hay one-timed a blast home to give the Spirit a 1-0 lead on the host side’s fourth shot on goal of the contest.

The Warriors did put up a fight in the opening 20 minutes. Just 75 seconds after Hay’s goal, Warriors overage defenceman Lucas Brenton got alone in front of the Saginaw got and pushed what appeared to be the equalizer into the Spirit net.

The Spirit coaching staff challenged for goaltender interference. The officials ruled there was incidental contact goaltender interference as Brenton pushed the left leg of Spirit netminder Andrew Oke into the net, when the puck was frozen under Oke’s appendage.

Moose Jaw wasn’t deterred. At the 7:08 mark of the opening frame, Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus sped down the left wing into the Saginaw zone on a two-on-one break. Firkus kept the puck, drove in on net and put a backhand shot home to even the score at 1-1.

Matthew Savoie was robbed of a sure goal early in the second.

After 20 minutes, the two squads were locked in a 1-1 draw, while the Spirit had a 9-6 edge in shots on goal.

Just 48 seconds into the second, the Warriors had a glorious chance to go ahead on the scoreboard. Firkus had the puck on the right faceoff dot and he put a pass across to the left slot to star centre Matthew Savoie. Savoie put a shot on net only to be denied by a sprawling right pad save by Oke.

A short time later at the 1:53 mark of the second, Spirit captain and defensive-defenceman Braden Hache roofed a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Moose Jaw zone to the top left corner of the Moose Jaw net to put the Spirit up 2-1.

Just under two minutes later on an offensive rush into the Moose Jaw zone, Spirit star centre Owen Beck got the puck in the right slot and roofed a shot to the top left corner of the Warriors net to push the host side’s lead out to 3-1.

Shortly after the Spirit went ahead by two goals, the Warriors almost had a traction moment. Warriors veteran centre Brayden Schuurman hit the post of the Saginaw net with a tough angle shot from the right side of the goal.

At that point, things went downhill for the Warriors as the Spirit’s fourth line scored the next three straight goals to give Saginaw a 6-1 advantage heading into the second intermission.

The surge started at the 9:05 mark of the second with Hay holding the puck at the right point. Hay passed the puck to Moore by the low left boards on the Moose Jaw zone. From that bad angle, Moore one-timed home a shot to put the Spirit up 4-1.

With each Spirit goal at that point, more and more energy seemed the leave the legs of the Warriors players. Hay added his second of the contest at the 11:22 mark of the second and Gervais completed the surge with a tally at the 14:24 mark of the frame.

Jagger Firkus had the Warriors lone goal on Friday.

The only bump the Spirit faced came inside the final five minutes of the second when Oke had to leave the Saginaw net for 89 seconds to have an equipment problem fixed. 

Backup netminder Nolan Lalonde stopped the only shot he faced in his cameo appearance before Oke returned.

Dionicio concluded the game’s scoring with a single 70 seconds into the third period to round out the 7-1 score in Saginaw’s favour.

Oke stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Spirit. Star netminder Jackson Unger turned away 30 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors.

Warriors overage players in star right-winger Atley Calvert, Brenton and standout import left-winger Martin Rysavy all exhausted their major junior eligibility with Friday’s loss.

The Spirit finished second overall in the OHL regular season standings with a 50-16-1-1 record, and they were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the grand scheme of things, it comes as little surprise that they would face the Knights in the Memorial Cup title game.

The Knights topped the OHL regular season standings with a 50-14-1-3 record and were ranked second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark and improved steadily as the campaign motored on. They marched through the WHL Playoffs with a 16-4 record to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions for the first time in team history.

Brayden Schuurman had bad luck in hitting a post.

When the sting of the lopsided semifinal game loss at the Memorial Cup tournament subsides, the Warriors 2023-24 campaign will be remembered for the WHL title win. In the immediate aftermath, there is disbelief that a special season had to end with a thud.

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Warriors’ Firkus due for breakout at Memorial Cup

Jagger Firkus led the CHL in regular season scoring with 126 points.

“The Firkus Circus” needs a four leaf clover at the Memorial Cup.

Moose Jaw Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus has put in the effort at the CHL championship tournament but has been snakebitten around the net. In the Warriors three games at the Memorial Cup, Firkus has recorded one goal, two assists and a minus-two rating in the plus-minus department.

For most players taking a field that contains the top teams in the CHL, they would likely be fine with those totals. For Firkus, those numbers are a little more pedestrian, especially considering the campaign he has had in 2023-24.

The Irma, Alta., product topped the entire CHL in regular season scoring with 126 points coming off 61 goals and 65 assists to go with a plus-31 rating in 63 games with the Warriors. Due to his spectacular season, Firkus was named the winner of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s player of the year.

Firkus proceeded to top the scoring race in the WHL Playoffs with 32 points coming off 14 goals and 18 assists to go with a plus-nine rating. He played a key role in helping the Warriors capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions posting a 16-4 mark.

At the Memorial Cup tournament going on in Saginaw, Michigan, it feels like Firkus, who turned 20-years-old in late April, is due for a big breakout game where he records three or four points. That type of development might be enough to put the Warriors on top when they playing in the event’s semifinal contest on Friday at the DOW Event Center against the host squad in the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The two sides opened the tournament with a round robin contest that the Spirit claimed 5-4 this past Friday. That contest was the spot where Firkus’s foul luck came to the forefront.

With the Warriors trailing 5-3, Firkus appeared to have scored at the 8:04 mark of the third to cut the Spirit lead to 5-4. That goal was taken off the board when it was determined by video review the Warriors were offside on the play.

Jagger Firkus topped the WHL Playoffs in scoring with 32 points.

After the Warriors pulled to within 5-4, Firkus had a shot attempt in front of the Saginaw goal with 17 seconds remaining in the frame to tie the contest up. He roofed a shot over top of the net and the Spirit hung on for the one-goal victory.

In the Warriors second round robin game this past Monday against the OHL champion London Knights, Firkus was stopped on a breakaway 27 seconds into the contest by a right pad save from Knights star netminder Michael Simpson.

With the Warriors down 5-4 inside the final 71 seconds of the third, Firkus had a chance at a one-timer to tie the game, but he was once again thwarted by Simpson. The Knights proceeded to hang on for the one-goal win.

Moose Jaw closed round robin play this past Tuesday against the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs. The winner of that contest would advance to the tournament’s semifinal contest.

Firkus finally broke through in the goal department one-timing home a power-play marker in the opening frame to put the Warriors up 2-0. That tally on the Warriors only power-play chance of the contest allowed the WHL champs to ultimately pull out a 5-3 victory and eliminate the Voltigeurs from the event after they finished winless in their three round robin games.

While Firkus was fighting some bad luck, the Warriors didn’t lack offence. Captain and star offensive defenceman Denton Mateychuk leads the scoring race at the Memorial Cup with seven points coming off three goals and four assists to go with a plus-six rating.

Firkus’s linemate in star centre Brayden Yager has also had a big tournament. He sits second in the event’s scoring race with six points coming off three goals and three assists to go with a plus-one rating.

Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie has put up four points coming off one goal and three assists to go with a plus-two rating.

Jagger Firkus and the Warriors are in pursuit of the Memorial Cup.

Moose Jaw has also gotten depth scoring as defencemen Vojtech Port and Aiden Ziprick had goals in the win over the Voltigeurs. Ziprick netted the winner short-handed in that contest with 94 seconds remaining in the third period. At the moment, Ziprick’s tally is the only short-handed marker of the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Warriors also benefitted from a spectacular 49-save performance from star netminder Jackson Unger.

Still, the Warriors are in the tournament semifinal without having a monster game from Firkus. If “the Firkus Circus” has a special night on Friday, that might be the main ingredient that pushes the Warriors into the Memorial Cup championship game on Sunday.

Knights winning streak at Memorial Cup hits seven, other notes

If the London Knights want to use it, they can employ a style of motivation that was utilized a time or two by the NFL’s New England Patriots in the era of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

With Brady crafting a career at quarterback to become arguably football’s greatest player and Belichick guiding the ship as one of the all-time great head coaches, the Patriots won six Super Bowls coming in the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 NFL campaigns. After the Patriots third Super Bowl win, a healthy resentment developed from the fans of the league’s other teams.

Since the start of the 2004-05 campaign, the Knights have won five OHL titles and two Memorial Cups to become CHL champions. They captured both the OHL and CHL titles in 2004-05 and again in 2015-16. The Knights three other OHL championships have come in the 2011-12, 2012-13 and the current campaigns.

Due to the Knights success, there has been some resentment built up from fans of the other CHL teams that includes the WHL, OHL and QMJHL circuits.

During games at the Memorial Cup tournament in Saginaw, Michigan, some of the Knights fans have been spotted in the crowd holding up signs that basically say, “Knights versus everyone.”

That mantra was used frequently by Patriots fans in the NFL, especially when the Patriots won their last three Super Bowls.

On Wednesday, the Knights downed the host Spirit 4-2 in the final round robin game at the DOW Event Centre that was played before a tournament high crowd of 5,306 spectators.  The victory was the seventh in a row for the Knights at the Memorial Cup.

They won the 2016 tournament in Red Deer, Alta., posting a 4-0 record. In the Memorial Cup title game in that year, winger Matthew Tkachuk scored the winner in overtime to deliver the Knights to a 3-2 victory over the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

London topped the round robin standings with a 3-0 record at this year’s tournament. The Knights got a bye straight into the Memorial Cup championship game on Sunday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

They will play the winner of Friday’s semifinal between the WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors and the Spirit (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

Going back to the OHL Playoffs, the Knights are riding and eight-game winning streak. Their only two losses in the OHL Playoffs came in the Western Conference Championship Series that went six games against the Spirit.

In Wednesday’s win over the Spirit, Knights star right-winger Easton Cowan broke out with a monster outing recording two goals, one assist and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department. Cowan had two assists in London’s first two round robin games.

Knights star left-winger Denver Barkey had one goal and one assist and a plus-one rating. He has two assists in London’s first two games.

Star netminder Michael Simpson made 28 saves to earn the win in goal for the Knights. Simpson has played every minute in goal for the Knights at the Memorial Cup posting a 2.00 goals against average, a .933 save percentage and one shutout.

The Knights posted their win on Wednesday over the Spirit after they found out on Tuesday that right-winger Sawyer Boulton was suspended one game by the Memorial Cup Games Committee for a violation in warm-ups before the OHL champs down the Warriors 5-4. Boulton was suspended for making unnecessary contact with a Moose Jaw player, and the Knight were also fined $1,000.

Boulton went pointless playing the Knights first two games at the tournament.

Overall, that episode was minor hiccup for the Knights. Now their fans are looking forward to seeing their team win the Memorial Cup on Sunday, because to Knights fans, that result is inevitable.  Along the way for Knights fans will also come the pleasure of making the fans of all the other CHL teams feel sad.

• When the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs failed to make the playoff round of the Memorial Cup tournament posting an 0-3 record in round robin play, it ended a run where QMJHL teams won the last four straight Memorial Cups. The OHL’s Windsor Spitfires are the last non-QMJHL club to win the Memorial Cup capturing major junior hockey’s biggest prize in 2017 as the host squad. The Spitfires downed the OHL champion Erie Otters 4-3 in that year’s title game.
• The Regina Pats are the last Saskatchewan based team to make the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament. As the host squad of the event, the Pats fell in the 2018 title game 3-0 to the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
• The Swift Current Broncos are the last Saskatchewan based team to win the Memorial Cup. The WHL champion Broncos took the tournament’s title game in 1989 over the host Saskatoon Blades 4-3 in overtime. Tim Tisdale scored the winner in extra time for the Broncos.
• London Knights standout right-winger Kasper Halttunen leads this year’s Memorial Cup tournament with two power-play goals.
• On Thursday, the Prince Albert Raiders announced 26-year-old Conor Yawney as a new assistant coach. Yawney spent last season as an assistant coach with the Amarillo Wranglers of the North American Hockey League. Yawney’s father, Trent, was a longtime defenceman in the NHL starting in the 1987-88 campaign and finishing out in the 1998-99 campaign. The Raiders also announced on Thursday that former NHL defenceman Keaton Ellerby wouldn’t be returning to the club as an assistant coach for the 2024-25 campaign. The 35-year-old had been a Raiders assistant coach since 2022.

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Unger steals Warriors spot in Memorial Cup semifinal

Netminder stops 49 shots in win over Voltigeurs

Jackson Unger was a wall in goal for the Warriors on Tuesday.

Jackson Unger made a statement that he is a championship caliber goalie.

While the Moose Jaw Warriors and their fans know how good their third-year puck stopper is, Unger turned in a masterful performance in his club’s final round robin game of the Memorial Cup tournament, which crowns a CHL champion. With his play in that final round robin game, Unger showed a national audience on TSN just how good he can be.

On Tuesday playing before 4,444 spectators at the DOW Event Centre in Saginaw, Michigan, the Warriors, who are the champions of the WHL, faced the Drummondville Voltigeurs, who are the champions of the QMJHL, in a contest where the winner advanced to the tournament’s semifinal. The losing squad would be eliminated from the event.

Unger stopped an incredible 49 shots including making 25 saves in the third period to backstop the Warriors to a 5-3 victory. With the win, the Warriors, who are 1-2 in the tournament, advance to Friday’s semifinal contest (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

They will face the squad that falls in the tournament’s final round robin game to be played on Wednesday between the OHL champion London Knights and the host squad in the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). Both the Knights and Spirit have 2-0 records. The winner of that clash advances to the event’s championship game set for Sunday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Voltigeurs closed out play at the Memorial Cup with an 0-3 record after their loss to Moose Jaw.

For his effort in the Warriors win on Tuesday, Unger was named the player of the game.

“Throughout the game, you get in a groove,” said Unger in a post-game scrum. “Seeing how many shots, even past like a 25-shot mark, you just know your game, and you feel good in the crease.”

During the regular season, Unger, who turned 19-years-old in January, appeared in 54 games for the Warriors posting a 35-15-2 record, a 3.08 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and three shutouts. He led the WHL in goaltending wins and was second in minutes played (3,133) and third in shots faced (1,754).

In the WHL Playoffs, Unger appeared in all 20 games the Warriors played posting a 16-3 record, a 2.90 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

“Sometimes, the more workload he (Unger) gets the better he gets,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary in a post-game scrum. “That’s just competitiveness.

Denton Mateychuk had one goal and two assists on Tuesday.

“Tonight, we certainly needed him, over 50 shots, whatever it was. If anybody wants to talk fatigue, it’s Jackson Unger. He’s played a lot of hockey games this year and saw a lot of pucks, but he found another gear when it got hard, and (I’m) just real proud of the effort.”

For a moment, it appeared the Warriors wouldn’t necessarily need a super-human effort from Unger. The Warriors got the only goal in a fairly evenly played first period, when import defenceman Vojtech Port completed a tick-tack-toe passing play firing home a shot from a sharp angle from the left side of the Drummondville net at the 13:04 mark of the frame.

Warriors star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert and clutch 17-year-old left-winger Lynden Lakovic picked up assists on that play.

When the opening 20 minutes came to a close, the Warriors held a 1-0 lead, while the Voltigeurs held a slim 11-9 edge in shots on goal.

At the 5:10 mark of the second, Warriors star right-winger and the WHL’s player of the year award winner Jagger Firkus blasted home a power-play goal from the left side of the Drummondville net to put the WHL champs up 2-0. Firkus one-timed a beauty cross-ice pass from Warriors star centre Brayden Yager for the power-play marker.

Warriors captain and star offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk would net his third goal of the tournament at the 12:43 mark of the second to push the Warriors advantage out to 3-0. Mateychuk found a loose puck at the left side of the Drummondville net and potted it past fallen Voltigeurs netminder Riley Mercer to give Moose Jaw a three-goal edge.

At that point, the Voltigeurs came with a monster push back. With 5:14 remaining in the second, 19-year-old right-winger Justin Cote one-timed home a goal from the right wing for the Voltigeurs to trim the Warriors lead to 3-1. Cote converted a sweet cross-ice pass from Voltigeurs captain Luke Woodworth.

Just 57 seconds after that tally, Cote picked up an assist when Voltigeurs star import centre Peter Repcik ripped home a shot from the left wing to further cut the Warriors lead to 3-2.

The Voltigeurs evened the score at 3-3 at the 3:13 mark of the third, when left-winger Alexis Gendron snapped home a midrange shot from the front of the Moose Jaw net.

With the QMJHL champs having pulled even on the scoreboard, they poured on the pressure searching for the go-ahead goal. Unger kept them at bay.

The situation looked like it could really go downhill for the Warriors, when Firkus was sent to the penalty box for a roughing minor with 3:23 remaining in the third.

Jagger Firkus scored the Warriors second goal on Tuesday.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Warriors would make the plays to take the contest. Near the tail end of the minor to Firkus, the Warriors got the puck into the Drummondville zone.

Mateychuk had the puck near right-wing boards and put a pass to 18-year-old sophomore defenceman Aiden Ziprick at the point facing straight out from the centre of the Drummondville net. Ziprick, wired home a short-handed goal to the right side of the Drummondville net with 94 seconds remaining in the third to put the Warriors up 4-3.

Yager sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 9.3 seconds remaining in the third to round out the 5-3 final in favour of the Warriors.

Mercer turned away 23-of-27 shots fired his way to take the setback in net for the Voltigeurs.

Mateychuk finished the contest recording one goal, two assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department for the Warriors. Yager completed the game recording one goal, two assists and a plus-one rating for Moose Jaw.

The Voltigeurs finished second overall in the QMJHL in the regular season with a 48-14-5-1 mark and were rated eighth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. They marched through the QMJHL Playoffs with a 16-3 record.

The Warriors placed fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark. They marched through the WHL Playoffs with a 16-4 mark.

Ziprick’s winner was just his second career goal in the major junior ranks including play in the WHL regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament. Both his goals have been game-winners, but his tally on Tuesday was more meaningful as his previous winner came in the regular season. His winner on Tuesday also delivered the Warriors their first win at the Memorial Cup tournament in franchise history.

“It’s pretty special,” said Ziprick in a post-game scrum. “It’s a big tournament right now.

“Close game, and we needed a goal. So to get one for the guys is just huge for me. I’ll definitely remember that for the rest of my life.”

Tuesday’s victory marked the third time in the 2024 post-season the Warriors have won an elimination game. Ziprick loves the resiliency of his club.

“The whole year, when we’re against the wall, we know that’s when we’re at our best,” said Ziprick. “So I think tonight we just showed up.

Brayden Yager had one goal and two assists on Tuesday.

“We don’t want to go home yet, and we’re still here for the win.”

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Warriors down to last life at Memorial Cup tourney

Moose Jaw drops 5-4 decision to Knights to fall to 0-2

Ethan Semeniuk scored twice for the Warriors on Monday.

The Moose Jaw Warriors are finding out life can come at you fast at the Memorial Cup.

On Monday, the WHL champions played their second round robin game at the tournament that crowns a CHL champion taking on the London Knights, who are the champions of the OHL. Once again, the Warriors supplied their share of thrills at the DOW Event Centre in Saginaw, Michigan, but fell 5-4 in a contest played before 4,768 spectators.

The Warriors also came up short by a 5-4 final score in their first round robin contest on Friday against the host Saginaw Spirit from the OHL.

Sitting at 0-2, the Warriors are down to their last life at the Memorial Cup tournament. On Tuesday, Moose Jaw takes on the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Voltigeurs are also 0-2 at the tournament. Tuesday’s clash between the Warriors and Voltigeurs will be the final round robin game for both clubs at the tourney. The winner moves on to play in a semifinal contest on Friday, while the losing squad is eliminated from the event.

The Knights improved to 2-0 at the Memorial Cup. They close the round robin portion of the event taking on the host Spirit, who are also 2-0, on Wednesday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

That clash between the Knights and Spirit will be a rematch of the OHL’s Western Conference Championship series, which London claimed 4-2. 

The winner of Wednesday’s encounter between the two OHL clubs advances to the Memorial Cup championship game slated for this coming Sunday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

Denton Mateychuk had the Warriors first goal on Monday.

The squad that falls in Wednesday’s battle will play in Friday’s semifinal contest (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN) against the winner of Tuesday’s game between the Warriors and Voltigeurs.

In Monday’s encounter between the Warriors and Knights, the WHL champs got out to a fast start. Just 27 seconds into the contest, Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus broke into the London zone on a breakaway. Firkus put a backhand shot on net that was turned away by a right pad save from Knights star netminder Michael Simpson.

Moose Jaw would break through on the scoreboard first a short time later. At the 3:39 mark of the first, Warriors captain and star defenceman Denton Mateychuk received a drop pass from Warriors star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert in position for a midrange shot straight out from the left post of the London net.

Mateychuk rocketed a shot to the top left corner of the London net to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead. That marked the first time the Warriors held a lead at any time in the Memorial Cup tournament. Moose Jaw is making its debut in the CHL championship event.

The Knights would answer back in the second half of the opening frame. After causing a turnover off the forecheck in the Moose Jaw zone, Knights centre Jacob Julien made a backhand pass from below the icing line to the right side of the Warriors goal across the face of the net to import right-winger Ruslan Gazizov. 

Gazizov popped the puck into an empty left side of the Moose Jaw net to even the score at 1-1.

With 2:10 remaining in the first, Knights star offensive-defenceman Sam Dickinson wired a midrange shot from the front of the Moose Jaw net through screen home to the left side of the goal to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.

Moose Jaw would even the score at 2-2 at the 7:01 mark of the second. Warriors defenceman Aiden Ziprick fired a shot from the left side of the London net that rebounded out to Warriors left-winger Ethan Semeniuk at the right side of the goal. Semeniuk quickly fired the rebound into an empty right side of the London net past a fallen Simpson for the equalizer.

Atley Calvert set up the Warriors first goal on Monday.

At that point, the Knights shot out on a surge scoring three straight goals to take a 5-2 lead. At the 9:02 mark of the second, standout rookie centre Sam O’Reilly scored a beauty for the Knights. He made a puck drag move to get around Warriors defenceman Cosmo Wilson on a rush down the left wing and roofed a close in shot to the top right corner of the Moose Jaw net to put the Knights up 3-2.

With 7:13 remaining in the second, O’Reilly found himself breaking into the Moose Jaw zone jetting down the right wing on a two-on-one rush with veteran left-winger Landon Sim speeding down the left win. O’Reilly made a pass across the front of the Moose Jaw net to Sim, who buried a shot to put the Knights up 4-2.

The Knights completed the surge with 3:46 remaining in the second, when import winger Kasper Halttunen one-timed home a midrange shot from just off to the left of the Moose Jaw to give the OHL champs their 5-2 advantage. Halttunen converted a beauty setup pass from star right-winger Easton Cowan.

Moose Jaw got a big traction moment just six second later, when Semeniuk netted his second of the contest putting home a shot from just outside the London blue-line that cut the Knights advantage to 5-3.

Things got a bit rough with 2:30 remaining in the second as Warriors offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker took on Knights power forward Max McCue in a fight. McCue got the better of Parker in the bout.

When the second period came to a close, the Knights held their 5-3 advantage holding a 24-20 edge in shots on goal. While the Knights have skill, they built their lead by playing heavy in a style similar to that of some of the skilled and physical squads that traditionally have been more usual in coming out of the WHL.

The Knights players often dumped the puck into the Moose Jaw zone, and the London forwards got some big hits on Warriors defencemen working on the forecheck.

Jagger Firkus has been snake bitten around the net.

In the third, the Warriors came with a big push holding a 10-4 edge in shots on goal. Moose Jaw elected to first pull star netminder Jackson Unger for an extra attacker with about 4:36 remaining in the third.

During a scramble around the London net with 3:55 remaining in the third, Warriors standout overage import left-winger Martin Rysavy banged the puck home into the OHL champs’ goal to trim the Knights lead to 5-4.

Unger returned to the Warriors net and was pulled once again for an extra attacker with 79 seconds remaining in the third. The Warriors proceeded to get an offensive zone faceoff with 71 seconds left in the frame.

Off the draw, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager got the puck at the right side boards of the London zone and passed it to Firkus, who was in position for a midrange one-timer just off to the left of the London net. Firkus one-timed Yager’s setup pass but the shot was corralled by Simpson.

The Knights clamped things down defensively from there to hold on to their 5-4 victory.

Unger turned away 23 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors. Simpson stopped 26 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Knights.

Cowan and Denver Barkey each had a pair of helpers for the Knights. London has now won six straight games at the Memorial Cup tournament, which includes going 4-0 to win the 2016 edition of the tournament held in Red Deer, Alta.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Warriors won two elimination games taking their epic seven game WHL Eastern Conference title series win over the Saskatoon Blades. The Warriors claimed a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 6 of that series at home in Moose Jaw and posted a 3-2 overtime victory in a series-deciding Game 7 in Saskatoon.

On Tuesday, the Warriors take on a Voltigeurs side that is facing elimination for the first time in the 2024 post-season.

Brayden Yager nearly set up a late equalizer for the Warriors.

Moose Jaw has battled and lost two games that could have gone either way at the Memorial Cup. In the department of Captain Obvious, now would be a great time for the Warriors to get their first win at the CHL championship tourney.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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2023-24 Blades brought Saskatoon together

Fans came to SaskTel Centre in droves for playoff run

Fraser Minten gives a souvenir stick to a fan at a May 3 home game.

In an agonizing defeat, the Saskatoon Blades fans ensured their team got a thank you.

On May 7, the Blades faced the Moose Jaw Warriors in Game 7 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series and a campaign high crowd of 13,240 spectators poured into the SaskTel Centre. The teams would go to overtime locked in a 2-2 tie. It marked the sixth time the two sides went to overtime in what has been viewed as the greatest post-season series ever played in the history of the WHL.

Just 36 seconds into overtime, Warriors 17-year-old sophomore right-winger Lynden Lakovic drove down the right wing into the Saskatoon zone. From a bad angle, Lakovic backhanded the puck toward the Saskatoon net.

Warriors star overage right-winger Atley Calvert drove towards the Saskatoon net while being covered by Blades utility winger Tyler Parr. The puck from Lakovic’s backhand deflected off Parr’s skate into the Saskatoon net to deliver the Warriors to a 3-2 victory in the extra session.

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

The Warriors went on to sweep the WHL Championship Series 4-0 over the Portland Winterhawks. Moose Jaw is currently playing in the Memorial Cup tournament in Saginaw, Michigan, that determines a CHL champion.

In the Game 7 encounter between the Warriors and Blades, Moose Jaw had a sizable contingent of supporters that filled five fan busses that made the jaunt to Saskatoon. When Lakovic’s OT winner went in, the Warriors fans in attendance broke into a joyful, cloud nine type of feeling celebration.

After the initial momentum of the celebration of the Warriors fans died down, the Blades supporters, who filled the vast majority of the building, showered down a salute to their heroes who were trying to process at that point what happened.

Following the traditional post-series handshakes, the Warriors were presented with the Eastern Conference championship trophy and departed the ice to the applause of their fans that gathered around their bench area.

Some of the signs Blades fans brought out at warmups.

Once the Warriors departed, the Blades did a sticks raised lap to salute their supporters in attendance and the fans returned their own heartwarming salute. Captain Trevor Wong, who had just played his final career WHL game, skated around giving applause to the fans and motioning to the chest that he took them to heart.

Some of the Blades players would linger on the ice for a lengthy stretch processing the end of their campaign before finally making their way to the team’s dressing room.

In the days that followed, fans were phoning into radio shows and commenting on various public forums that they were proud of the team. They were saying everyone with the team from players, coaches and management could hold their heads high for how they played in the post-season run and especially in the epic series clash with Moose Jaw.

The reaction was much different compared to post-season runs the Blades made in the early 1990s. When the Blades made the WHL Championship Series in 1992 and 1994 and lost both of those trips in seven games to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers, the fans were proud of those runs, but there was an undercutting undertone.

Trevor Wong salutes the SaskTel Centre crowd on May 7.

You would have fans phoning into sports call in shows, TV shows and sending feedback to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix newspaper that then general manager Daryl Lubiniecki was the lead weight that was holding the Blades back. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Lubiniecki was with the Blades full-time mainly as the general manager, and the team won about 60 per cent of its games and made numerous long runs in the WHL Playoffs.

The long runs didn’t result in any WHL titles or Memorial Cup championships. Back in those days, the general manager of the Blades in Saskatoon was usually treated like the general manager of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders as being hated by the fans, or at least the ones that were vocal and there were a lot of those.

If you run into Lubiniecki these days, he often makes jokes of the fact the fans wanted him to be fired when he was the Blades general manager. He adds in the present day everyone in Saskatoon loves him now, and he always gets a warm reception when he attends Blades games as a fan.

When Mike Priestner’s family bought the team before the start of the 2013-14 campaign, team management put an emphasis on attracting new fans and creating links to the community. That continued as the Blades were moved under the umbrella of the newly created Sask Entertainment Group with the Priestner family having purchased the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush in May of 2021 and an expansion franchise in the Western Canadian Baseball League in March of 2023 that has become the Saskatoon Berries, who just embarked on their inaugural season.

Charlie Wright was reliable on the back end for the Blades.

The Blades faithfully kept up their school visits, visits to minor hockey teams as guest coaches and various other works in community outreach. That has resulted in the team drawing more new and younger fans with their long post-season runs the past two seasons, and those fans have fallen in love with the team.

In 2022-23, the Blades averaged 4,506 spectators per game over 34 home dates and 8,780 spectators per contest over 10 home post-season dates. 

During the 2023-24 campaign, the Blades averaged 5,166 spectators per game over 34 home dates and 9,332 spectators per contest over nine post-season home dates.

The Blades average attendance for the regular season was the highest it had been since the team drew an average of 6,040 spectators to 36 home dates during the 2012-13 campaign, when the club hosted the Memorial Cup tournament. The squad’s post-season average attendance figures are believed to be the best they have been since those runs in 1992 and 1994 to the WHL final, when capacity at the SaskTel Centre was configured for around 11,300 spectators for hockey games.

The new supporters carry their fandom in a more healthy way. They usually have busy lives and that includes families who have children working their way through minor hockey. For those members of the Blades faithful, jaunts to the SaskTel Centre for Blades games are a break from those lives.

Easton Armstrong became a Blades fan favourite in 2023-24.

For the young kids at the games, they see players like Wong, Egor Sidorov, Brandon Lisowsky, Fraser Minten, Easton Armstrong, Vaughn Watterodt, Alexander Suzdalev, Tanner Molendyk, Charlie Wright, Ben Saunderson John Babcock, Evan Gardner and Austin Elliott as their heroes. Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said it has been cool to drive to work in the mornings and see kids going to school wearing Blades jerseys and Blades gear.

Blades general manager Colin Priestner said he had fans coming up to him in the concourse during the Game 7 loss to the Warriors passing on thank you messages for the post-season run.

It should be noted the Blades do have a good block of legacy fans that follow the team through thick and thin. There are some legacy fans that base the happiness of their lives around the Blades winning or losing and do moan the fact that the team has never won a league title or a Memorial Cup since being formed in 1964. The grips on that front have faded more to the background.

Reminders that the Blades have never won a league title or a Memorial Cup come loudly from the fans of the club’s archrivals in the Prince Albert Raiders. Raiders fans ensure that those non-successes by the Blades are always remembered.

Egor Sidorov had 50 goals and 88 points in the 2023-24 regular season.

Still, the 2023-24 campaign was a special one for the Blades. They topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record for 105 standings points. Saskatoon won 50 or more games in a regular season for just the third time in team history and hit 100 or more standings points for the sixth time since the franchise first hit the ice in 1964.

Wong led the Blades in regular season scoring with 101 points coming off 15 goals and 86 assists. Sidorov had a memorable campaign setting career highs in the regular season for goals (50), assists (38) and points (88).

Wong hitting 100 points and Sidorov collecting 50 goals marked the first time Blades players had realized those accomplishments since the 1995-96 campaign.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Blades took out the Raiders in five games in the first round and swept the Red Deer Rebels 4-0 in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Brandon Lisowsky has been a consistent point producer.

Tonnes of great memories were made.

Any sadness that came resulted from the realization that an end of an era likely had come for a core group of Blades players. 

Wong, Armstrong and Wright were in their 20-year-old seasons and have now exhausted their major junior eligibilities.

It is expected Minten, Sidorov, Lisowsky and Suzdalev will all be in the professional ranks next season. They all have NHL entry-level contracts and will be in their 20-year-old seasons. 

Molendyk could be back as a 19-year-old player, but there is a very real chance the Nashville Predators could elect to keep him in the NHL.

Wong, Sidorov and Lisowsky were basically one of the Blades forward lines for the last three straight seasons. It will be different not seeing them together on the ice together as a unit wearing the “Pac-Man” jerseys.

With all that in mind, there are lots of young child aged fans that attended games at the SaskTel Centre over the past two seasons that will remember watching this generation of Blades as a childhood highlight years from now.

The Blades celebrate an OT victory on May 3.

These were “smile because they happened” times in Saskatoon that brought a lot of much needed good feelings to the city in a world today when it seems there is lots to complain about in seemingly every walk of life.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Wild opener for Warriors

Moose Jaw falls 5-4 to Spirit to start Memorial Cup

Brayden Yager had a pair of goals and an assist for the Warriors.

The Moose Jaw Warriors took a ride on the wild side.

On Friday playing before a crowd of 4,893 spectators at the DOW Event Centre in Saginaw Michigan, the WHL champion Warriors faced the host Spirit from the OHL in the opening game of the Memorial Cup tournament. Both squads were making their debut at the event that crowns a CHL champion.

It was a debut that anyone who saw the game would likely not forget for a long time. The contest was a sports marketer’s dream due to the twists and turns the clash took.

The Spirit came out flying and built a 4-0 lead at the 9:04 mark of the second period. For anyone that saw the Warriors play so far in the 2023-24 campaign, you knew the game was not over.

Heading into the final two minutes of the third, the Spirit were clinging to a 5-4 lead. The Warriors had an offensive zone faceoff inside the final 25 seconds of the third.

With about 17 seconds remaining in the third, Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus, who was the WHL’s leading scorer and most outstanding player for the current campaign, found himself in front of the Saginaw goal with the puck. He roofed a shot over top of the net, and the Spirit killed off the final seconds of the period from there to preserve their 5-4 victory.

While the Warriors lost, they also came away knowing that they belong in the tournament. After the players skated through some natural initial jitters, the composure the Warriors showed through the WHL Playoffs in claiming the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champs came back. With a couple of breaks, they could very well have taken that opening contest.

The beauty of the Memorial Cup is you have teams that play in the CHL’s three major junior circuits in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL that don’t see each other to that point in the campaign. You can watch all the video you want of an opponent, but it takes seeing an opponent at game speed to get a better understanding of what that foe is about.

Jackson Unger made 31 saves for the Warriors on Friday.

The two clubs actually started the contest with a bit of a feeling out process. Warriors captain and star defenceman Denton Mateychuk had the first big scoring chance at the 5:02 mark of the first with a midrange shot from the front of the Saginaw net, which was swallowed up by Spirit netminder Andrew Oke.

The Spirit proceeded to find another gear at that point, and they would hold a 17-7 edge in shots on goal for the opening 20 minutes. Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger stood on his head to keep his squad in the contest.

The dam would burst with 32.9 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Spirit offensive-defenceman Zayne Parekh fired a shot from the point that was deflected home by right-winger Nic Sima to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

Momentum would continue to ride on the Spirit side in the first half of the second period. At the 2:13 mark of the frame, Spirit star centre Owen Beck was trying to make a backdoor pass from the left side boards across the face of the Moose Jaw goal.

The puck took a lucky bounce deflecting off Mateychuk’s stick into the Warriors net to push the host’s edge out to 2-0. Parekh picked up an assist on the play for his second helper of the game.

The Spirit would keep rolling and surge their lead out to 4-0 with goals coming from Parekh at the 7:28 mark of the second and rearguard Jorian Donovan at the 9:04 mark of the frame. At the time of Donovan’s goal, the Spirit held a 24-9 edge in shots on goal, and the DOW Event Center was rocking.

The Warriors were in need of a traction moment, and their big stars provided that in spades pinning the Spirit in their own zone for the final two minutes of the second. With 1:49 remaining in the second, Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie stole the from Spirit captain Braden Hache behind the Saginaw net.

Matthew Savoie had a goal and an assist for the Warriors.

Savoie put a pass out to the right side of the Saginaw goal to Warriors star right-winger Brayden Yager. Yager fired home a shot to cut the Spirit’s lead to 4-1.

Just 37 seconds later, Mateychuk drove home a shot from of the Saginaw goal to further trim the Spirit’s lead to 4-2. All of a sudden, the host side found themselves trying to be saved by the second period buzzer.

With 14 seconds remaining in the second, Yager had the puck in tight to the left side of the Saginaw goal. He worked a give and go with Mateychuk. On getting the return pass back from Mateychuk, Yager blasted home his second of the contest to shrink the Spirit’s lead to 4-3.

The Warriors found themselves back in the contest scoring three goals in the span of one minute and 35 seconds.

Thankfully for the Spirit, the final 14 seconds of the second elapsed, and they took their one-goal edge into the second intermission.

Just 1:52 into the third, the Spirit basically scored off a net scramble situation to push their advantage out to 5-3. During the scramble, Beck pushed a short pass across the face of the goal to 20-year-old left-winger Josh Bloom off to the right of the Moose Jaw net. Bloom quickly directed the puck into the net to give the Spirit their two-goal edge.

At the 8:04 mark of the third, Firkus fired home a shot from the front of the Saginaw net that appeared to trim the Spirit lead to one goal. During the Memorial Cup tournament, video reviews are automatically done on every goal to ensure the play was onside. The review showed Savoie was offside on the rush into the Saginaw zone causing Firkus’s goal to be disallowed.

Denton Mateychuk had a goal and two assists for the Warriors.

The Warriors wouldn’t go away. With about 3:05 remaining in the third, Unger was pulled for an extra attacker.

With 2:47 remaining in the third, Yager had the puck on the right wing and passed it to Savoie at the low left side of the Saginaw goal. Savoie one-timed a shot home that trimmed the Spirit’s lead to 5-4. Mateychuk picked up his second assist of the contest on Savoie’s goal.

The Warriors would again pull Unger for an extra attacker with 1:45 remaining in the third in an effort to press for the equalizer. Firkus just missed forcing overtime with his in close chance with about 17 seconds remaining in the stanza.

Unger turned away 31 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors. Oke stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Spirit.

While the Warriors didn’t win on Friday, they shouldn’t have any doubts in their ability to win any of their other outings at the Memorial Cup tourney. The biggest goal for the WHL champs is to get their first round robin win as soon as possible to ensure participation in the event’s playoff round.

Moose Jaw now has two days off before finishing the round robin portion of the tournament with games on back-to-back nights. On Monday, they face the OHL champion London Knights (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN) and on Tuesday, they take on the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

On Saturday, the Knights and Voltigeurs go at it (2 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Voltigeurs face the Spirit on Sunday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

In the OHL Playoffs, the Spirit fell in a tough six-game series in the Western Conference Championship Series to the Knights in a battle between the circuit’s two top teams. The two losses to the Spirit were the only setbacks the Knights suffered in the OHL Playoffs posting a 16-2 record to take the league title.

Jagger Firkus just missed scoring on a last second chance.

While the Knights have the greatest winning tradition among the four clubs at this year’s Memorial Cup, it isn’t out of the question that the Warriors can get a victory in that encounter. Right now, the opportunity is there for Moose Jaw to go for broke.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Memorial Cup – Going where no Warriors team has gone before

Jackson Unger raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup on May 15.

“Why not us.”

That has been the mantra or catch phrase for the Moose Jaw Warriors through the WHL Playoffs and now heading into the Memorial Cup tournament, which crowns a CHL champion. The phrase references the fact that the Warriors of the current day are trying to do something no other Warriors team has done.

Heading into the 2024 post-season, no Warriors team had ever won a WHL championship. The closest any Warriors team came was back in the 2006 WHL Playoffs when the Warriors won the Eastern Conference Championship Series. They were then swept away by the Vancouver Giants 4-0 in the WHL Championship Series.

Taking on the storied Portland Winterhawks in this year’s WHL final, the Warriors captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions sweeping away the Winterhawks 4-0. They capped the sweep winning Game 4 of the set 4-2 on May 15 before a packed crowd of 4,732 spectators in their home rink the Moose Jaw Events Centre, which is best known as “The Hangar.”

The Warriors and their fans basked in the moment of capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup with captain Denton Mateychuk being named the MVP of the WHL Playoffs. The WHL title win and the fact a Warriors player was named the MVP of the WHL Playoffs were firsts in the history of the franchise.

Denton Mateychuk was the MVP of the WHL Playoffs.

Now, the Warriors are going where no other Warriors team has gone before – the Memorial Cup.

The Warriors arrived in Saginaw, Michigan, late Wednesday night and had their first practice at the DOW Event Centre on Thursday before beginning play in the CHL championship tournament. The Warriors open the event on Friday taking on the host Saginaw Spirit from the OHL at the DOW Event Centre (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The contest will be a battle between two clubs who are both making their first appearance at the event.

Moose Jaw is also the next team up that will try to break the WHL’s drought at the CHL championship tournament. The Edmonton Oil Kings were the last team from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup, and that victory came back in 2014. Edmonton captured the WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreation diving accident.

In the championship game of the 2014 Memorial Cup tournament played in London, Ont., on May 25 of that year, the WHL champion Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3. It has been 10 years since a WHL team last captured the Memorial Cup.

Again for the Warriors, their catch phrase fits – “Why not us.”

Matthew Savoie is one of the Warriors top forwards.

The Warriors have molded into an outstanding team. They finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark and improved steadily as the campaign motored on.

Moose Jaw marched through the WHL Playoffs posting a 16-4 record. The Warriors’ biggest test was a tough Eastern Conference Championship Series against the Saskatoon Blades, who finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 50-13-2-3 mark.

The series went seven games with six contests being decided in overtime, and it is being viewed as the best post-season series to ever take place in the history of the WHL. On May 7, the Warriors took the deciding Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre by a 3-2 final score in overtime with winger Lynden Lakovic netting the winner 36 seconds into the extra session.

The Warriors can play four solid forward lines and deploy three sound defensive pairings.

The Moose Jaw side is best known for hitting the ice with some big star players in Mateychuk, WHL player of the year Jagger Firkus, homegrown product Atley Calvert, Brayden Yager and Matthew Savoie. They have had numerous other forwards step up in big moments like Lakovic, Brayden Schuurman, Ethan Semeniuk, Rilen Kovacevic, Pavel McKenzie, Owen Berge and Ethan Hughes.

Lucas Brenton has been solid on the blue-line for the Warriors.

On the back end, Kalem Parker has become a primetime player. The Warriors are also getting big minutes from Lucas Brenton, Cosmo Wilson, Aiden Ziprick and Vojteck Port.

In goal, Jackson Unger has grown into become a championship caliber netminder.

The Warriors also have strong guidance behind their bench from head coach Mark O’Leary and his staff.

The Spirit are going to provide a tough first test. They finished second overall in the OHL with a 50-16-1-1 record, and they were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Saginaw fell in the OHL Western Conference Championship Series 4-2 to the eventual league champion London Knights.

Saginaw’s best known player is centre Michael Misa, who turned 17-years-old in February. Misa was granted to exceptional status to play in the OHL full time as a 15-year-old. In his sophomore campaign in 2023-24, Misa played in 67 regular season games recording 29 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Defenceman Zayne Parekh led all CHL blue-liners in scoring in the regular season with 96 points coming off 33 goals and 63 assists to go with a plus-39 rating. Parekh turned 18-years-old in February and is eligible for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, which will be held June 28 and 29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Brayden Yager pictured with family, friends and the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

After the clash with the Spirit, the Warriors have two days off before playing their final two round robin games on back-to-back nights. On Monday, they face the Knights (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN) and on Tuesday, they take on the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Warriors are in a situation where they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If they ultimately capture the Memorial Cup, they will spark the biggest celebration Moose Jaw has ever seen.

As the team’s current catch phrase goes, “Why not us.”

Knights favourites to take CHL title, other notes

The London Knights will be pegged as the big favourites to capture the Memorial Cup.

Since the start of the 2003-04 campaign, the Knights have been top franchises in all of the CHL having topped the OHL’s regular season standings seven times, capturing the OHL championship five times and winning the Memorial Cup as CHL champions twice. The Knights won the Memorial Cup on the OHL champions and host team in 2005 and again as the OHL champions when the CHL championship tournament was hosted in Red Deer, Alta.

In the 2023-24 regular season, the Knights topped the OHL standings with a 50-14-1-3 record and were ranked second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. They marched through the OHL playoffs with a 16-2 mark.

Left-winger Denver Barkey led the Knights in regular season scoring with 102 points coming off 35 goals and 67 assists to go with a plus-45 rating in the plus-minus department. He turned 19-years-old in April and has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Right-winger Easton Cowan, who turned 19-years-old last Monday, finished second in team scoring in the regular season with 96 points coming off 34 goals and 62 assists to go with a plus-38 rating. Cowan, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, put up his regular season totals for the Knights in 54 games.

Sam Dickinson topped all Knights players in defencemen scoring in the regular season with 70 points coming off 18 goals and 52 assists to go with a plus-56 rating. Dickinson is skating through his 17-year-old sophomore season.

The Knights have gotten strong play in goal from overage netminder and hometown product Michael Simpson. In 48 regular season games, Simpson has posted a 34-10-2 record, a 2.61 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and four shutouts.  

Last year, Simpson backstopped the Peterborough Petes to an OHL championship. He was traded to the Knights on September 26, 2023.

The Knights open the Memorial Cup tournament at the DOW Events Centre in Saginaw, Michigan, taking on the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs on Saturday (2 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Voltigeurs finished second overall in the QMJHL in the regular season with a 48-14-5-1 mark and were rated eighth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. They marched through the QMJHL Playoffs with a 16-3 record.

The last time the Knights were in the Memorial Cup in 2016 in Red Deer they claimed the championship game in dramatic fashion. They trailed the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 2-1 in the third period until centre Christian Dvorak scored with 4:11 remaining in the frame to force a 2-2 tie and overtime.

In overtime, winger Matthew Tkachuk scored the winner to deliver the Knights to a 3-2 victory. Time will tell of London has that type of dramatics in store for this year’s tournament.

• For the time ever, the three league champions vying to capture the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions captured their major junior circuits sweeping their respective championship series. The Drummondville Voltigeurs swept the QMJHL Championship Series, the London Knights pulled out the brooms to take the OHL Championship Series and the Moose Jaw Warriors had the brooms in hand to sweep the WHL Championship Series.
• When the Moose Jaw Warriors won their first WHL championship, I was happy for a lot of people I know in Moose Jaw who have either worked for the team, covered the team or cheered for the team. The list includes in no particular order Kelly Remple, Randy Palmer, Bill Harris, Jason Hawley, James Gallo, Marc Smith, Todd Ripplinger, Jason Ripplinger and Olivia Howe.
• Teams from the QMJHL have won the Memorial Cup the last four times it has been contested. At last year’s Memorial Cup tournament hosted in Kamloops, the QMJHL Quebec Remparts won the Memorial Cup led by then head coach and general manager Patrick Roy.
• On Wednesday, Portland Winterhawks star defenceman Luca Cagnoni signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks. The 19-year-old blue-liner was selected by the Sharks in the fourth round and 123^rd overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Cagnoni led all WHL defenceman in scoring in the 2023-24 regular season with 90 points coming off 18 goals and 72 assists to go with a plus-47 rating in the plus-minus department in 65 games.
• On Thursday, the Calgary Hitmen announced that Paul McFarland as the team’s new head coach. McFarland spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. On March 26, the Hitmen announced they would not be renewing the contracts of then head coach Steve Hamilton and assistant coaches Trent Cassan and Don MacGillivray. The Hitmen failed to qualify for the post-season finishing ninth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 28-31-8-1 mark.
• On May 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a piece on Saskatchewan Roughriders long snapper Jorgen Hus becoming the honourary chair of the Complex’s “Sharing Sport Together” campaign. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I crafted a piece on the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries becoming an institution in Saskatoon. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that showed business picking up for the sports of baseball, football and softball. That post can be found by clicking right here.
• On May 15, I was back in the pages of the Prince Albert Daily Herald with a column on the Prince Albert Raiders’ work in the WHL Prospects Draft and the U.S. Priority Draft. The piece can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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