Warriors captain Yager in obvious trade bait position

Brayden Yager with the Ed Chynoweth Cup on May 15.

Could Brayden Yager’s days with the Moose Jaw Warriors be numbered?

You can expect that question will continue to be asked as Yager’s Moose Jaw Warriors continue to struggle. Heading into action on Tuesday, the Warriors sat last in the entire WHL with a 5-14-3-1 record.

Of course last season, the Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL with a 44-21-0-3 mark, and in the post-season, they would win the WHL championship and advance to the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – for the first time in team history. When that campaign concluded, the Warriors graduated a whole host of key players including WHL scoring leader Jagger Firkus, Atley Calvert, captain Denton Mateychuk, Matthew Savoie, Martin Rysavy and Lucas Brenton.

Over the past two weeks Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger traded away a pair of veteran defencemen to collect draft capital and get a little younger. On November 15, the Warriors dealt 19-year-old Czech import defenceman and prospect of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks in Vojtech Port to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for 18-year-old defenceman Ryder Ellis, a third round selection in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft and a second round pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft.

On November 17, the Warriors made a bigger deal sending 20-year-old offensive defenceman and Minnesota Wild prospect Kalem Parker to the Calgary Hitmen for 15-year-old prospects centre Nathan Gardiner, a second round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and third and seventh round picks in the 2026 Prospect Draft. When Parker got traded, it left a feeling that Yager might possibly be dealt at some time too before the trade deadline on January 9, 2025 at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

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.

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

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.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Just too sweet – Warriors relish first WHL championship win

The Warriors celebrate winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. – The championship reality might have been better than the dream for the city of Moose Jaw.

On Wednesday night before a jam packed crowd of 4,732 spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, what seemed like the impossible dream came true. The Moose Jaw Warriors downed the visiting Portland Winterhawks 4-2 in Game 4 of the WHL Championship Series.

With the win, the Warriors swept the best-of-seven set 4-0. They became WHL champions and captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in team history.

Denton Mateychuk lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

The Warriors existed for four seasons in Winnipeg before moving to Moose Jaw before the start of the 1984-85 campaign. For star Warriors 20-year-old right-winger and Moose Jaw product Atley Calvert, the moment was something that was beyond special.

“I can’t describe it,” said Calvert, who had an assist in Wednesday’s Game 4 win. “So much work had gone into this and highs and lows throughout the year.

“At the end of the day, I’m going to remember the group of guys, and obviously, the fans. They really helped us this year. It was our goal from day one.

“I knew it was going to be a special year. We had a special group, and we’re going to be brothers forever.”

Wednesday’s win marked the first time a club from “The Friendly City” won the WHL title since the circuit’s inaugural campaign back in 1966-67. In the 1967 post-season, the Moose Jaw Canucks claimed the WHL crown downing the Regina Pats 4-1 in a best-of-seven series for the league title.

Warriors fans celebrate their team’s WHL title win.

When the Warriors arrived in Moose Jaw for the start of the 1985-85 season, they only had four winning records in their first 16 seasons in the Saskatchewan city with a population of about 34,000 people, but their raucous fans continued to back them.

The backing of the fans was not lost on Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk, who was named the MVP of the WHL Playoffs. He was pumped his squad could win the WHL title for the fans.

“It is an unbelievable feeling,” said Mateychuk, who has 11 goals, 19 assists and a plus-19 rating in the plus-minus department in the Warriors 20 post-season games. “It (Moose Jaw) is an awesome city, and they (the fans) deserved it.

Warriors players lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

“I’m so glad that we could bring home a championship.”

In Game 4 on Wednesday, the Warriors and Winterhawks entered the second period locked in a 2-2 tie. With 5:53 remaining in the third, the Warriors jumped ahead on the scoreboard for good.

Warriors right-winger Rilen Kovacevic jetted into the Portland zone down the right boards. He passed the puck to the top of the right faceoff circle to veteran centre Brayden Schuurman. Schuurman wired home a wrist shot to the top right corner of the Portland goal to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead.

The Warriors lap the ice surface with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Warriors standout overage import left-winger Martin Rysavy sealed victory and a 4-2 outcome in favour of the host side potting a long distance empty-net goal from deep in his own zone with 2:27 remaining in the third. From that point on, the celebration in the crowd was in full swing.

Schuurman scored the overtime winner one night earlier in the Warriors 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Game 3 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. When his eventual winner went into the Portland net in Game 4, Schuurman said he had goosebumps.

“I think this crowd just was so loud,” said Schuurman. “The players were just so fired up.

Brayden Schuurman scored the winning goal in Game 4.

“It was just pure joy and pure excitement.”

Schuurman was pleased he was able to deliver in a big moment for his team in Game 4.

“It was such a tight checking game,” said Schuurman. “We knew it was going to come down to the wire.

“We knew they were going to push. We had the confidence in our group that we were going to come out on top.”

Back in the game’s first period, Rysavy gave his squad a 1-0 lead with a power-play marker at the 8:11 mark of the frame. On the play, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager took a shot from the right side boards that was stopped by Winterhawks star netminder Jan Spunar. 

Martin Rysavy had a pair of goals for the Warriors in Game 4.

The puck sat as a short rebound in front of the Portland net and Rysavy popped home the loose puck to give the host side their one goal edge.

With 7:30 remaining in the opening frame, the game was delayed for 15 minutes as part of the lighting in the building went out due to adverse weather that existed in the city for a short time. That wouldn’t slow up either side in the contest.

Inside the final six minutes of the second period, the teams combined for a surge of three goals. With 5:29 remaining in the second, the Winterhawks found themselves working on a power play.

Winterhawks star offensive-defenceman Luca Cagnoni took a shot from the point that deflected off the stick of Winterhawks captain Gabe Klassen and then off the stick of 19-year-old centre Kyle Chyzowski into the Moose Jaw goal. That tally evened the score at 1-1.

Warriors fans cheer their team in Game 4 on Wednesday.

The Warriors jumped ahead 2-1 with 4:23 remaining in the second on a goal from star centre Matthew Savoie. With a draw in the left faceoff circle in the Portland zone, Calvert won the draw getting the puck to Savoie. Savoie roofed a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to the top left corner of the Portland goal to restore the Warriors’ one-goal edge.

Portland proceeded to even the score at 2-2 with 86 seconds remaining in the second. Star Winterhawks centre Nate Danielson had the puck in the left corner of the Moose Jaw zone below the icing line.

Kyle Chyzowski had the Winterhawks first goal in Game 4.

He passed the puck across the face of the net to left-winger Marcus Nguyen at the right side of the net. Nguyen popped the puck home on a backdoor tap to pull the visitors even on the scoreboard.

That set the stage for the dramatics for Schuurman to come through with his winner in the third and Rysavy to complete a two-goal night scoring his empty-netter.

Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary was proud that Schuurman came through with a winning goal for a second straight night.

“To know what he went through just to get himself in the lineup these last two games makes it even more special,” said O’Leary. “He spent so much time on the trainer’s table.

Marcus Nguyen scored the Winterhawks second goal in Game 4.

“Again, he was a game time decision yesterday and today. For him to gut that out and score two huge goals, it is just fitting.”

O’Leary, who originally joined the Warriors as an assistant coach before the start of the 2012-13 campaign, was pumped his club could win the WHL title for Moose Jaw.

“It means everything,” said O’Leary. “Moose Jaw, I consider it home now.

“I came here 12 years ago. I met my wife here. It is home.

“To see how much it means to them, it is unbelievable. I can’t wait to share it with them.”

Matthew Savoie had the Warriors second goal on Wednesday.

Jackson Unger stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors. Spunar turned away 22-of-25 shots to take the setback in net for the Winterhawks.

Schuurman was pumped his club could deliver a championship win for the fans.

“This is huge for the city of Moose Jaw,” said Schuurman. “Us players, we wanted to get it done for our group as well as the city.

“We’ve had them behind us the whole year, and this playoffs they’ve been incredible. It is really special to bring it home.”

During the regular season, the Winterhawks finished third overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 mark and were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL regular season with a 44-21-0-3 mark.

Denton Mateychuk was MVP of the WHL Playoffs.

The Warriors and Winterhawks met once during the regular season back on February 28. Moose Jaw took that encounter 4-3 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

The WHL final between the two sides was expected to be tightly contested. The games were tightly contested with the Warriors always finding a way to pull out victory. Mateychuk said the Winterhawks played hard.

“They’re a very good team,” said Mateychuk. “We just maybe capitalized on a bit more opportunities than they did.

“They had a couple of posts in Game 1. Game 1 could have went either way, and that could change the series. In the end, we stayed with it and got it done.”

The Warriors begin celebrating their WHL title win.

With winning the WHL title, the Warriors advance to the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. The Memorial Cup starts on May 24 and runs through to June 2 in Saginaw, Michigan.

The Drummondville Voltigeurs have advanced to the event as the QMJHL champions. On Wednesday night, the London Knights swept the OHL Championship Series 4-0 after downing the Generals in Oshawa 7-1 in Game 4 of that series. The Saginaw Spirit, who fell in the OHL semifinal round in six games to the Knights, are the host squad.

The Warriors will open the tournament against the host Spirit on May 24 at a time to be announced.

Mateychuk said the Warriors will turn their collective attention towards the Memorial Cup soon. For the moment, they wanted to enjoy winning the WHL title and feel proud about advancing through the WHL Playoffs with a 16-4 record.

Brayden Schuurman enjoys a WHL title win with family.

“It is unbelievable,” said Mateychuk. “The guys played great.

“We had a hard series against Saskatoon, and we kept pushing. We didn’t give up. We came into this, and we had all the confidence in the world.

“I think that helped.”

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

OT victory puts Warriors one win away from first WHL crown

Schuurman nets extra time winner in Game 3 of title series

The Warriors and their fans celebrate their OT win on Tuesday.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. – “The Hangar” was loud on Tuesday night, and it might be even louder on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday play before 4,641 spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, which is also known as “The Hanger,” the host Moose Jaw Warriors found themselves locked in a 3-3 tie heading to overtime in Game 3 of the WHL Championship Series against the Portland Winterhawks. It didn’t take long for the Warriors to make the jam packed crowd bring their loudest cheers of the night.

Just 2:20 into overtime, Warriors 19-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic drove into the Portland zone on a rush and wired a shot from the front of the Winterhawks net off the crossbar. The puck came down to the left side of the Portland net.

Brayden Schuurman had the OT winner for the Warriors.

Warriors veteran centre Brayden Schuurman got to the loose puck and popped it into an open cage to deliver his squad to a 4-3 victory. As Schuurman’s tally entered the net, the crowd at the Moose Jaw Events Centre exploded with their loudest cheers since the building opened on August 19, 2011.

The win allowed the Warriors to take a commanding 3-0 lead in best-of-seven set to claim the Ed Chynoweth Cup. They will try to close the series out and attempt to win their first WHL championship in team history in Game 4 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

The last team from “The Friendly City” to win the WHL title was the Moose Jaw Canucks in the circuit’s inaugural season back in the 1966-67 campaign. The Canucks downed the Regina Pats 4-1 in a best-of-seven series in 1967 for the league title.

Lucas Brenton had the Warriors first goal on Tuesday.

The Winterhawks, who are one of the WHL’s most storied teams, didn’t allow the Warriors to have anything easy in Game 3 on Tuesday. Portland came out with a spirited effort.

Still, the Warriors broke through on the scoreboard on a goal from defensive-defenceman Lucas Brenton at the 4:22 mark of the opening frame. Brenton found himself beside just off the left of the Portland goal and he tapped home a backdoor feed from the right side of the goal by Kovacevic to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

As raucous as the fans got after Brenton’s goal, the Winterhawks brought the crowd’s volume level down a short time later. Just 2:19 after Brenton’s tally, Winterhawks rookie right-winger Ryan Miller, who just turned 17-years-old, sprung 18-year-old rookie left-winger Tyson Yaremko on a breakaway. Yaremko sniped home a shot to the low left side of the Moose Jaw net to even the score at 1-1.

The Warriors faithful cheer a goal from Lucas Brenton.

Shortly after Yaremko’s goal, the Warriors found themselves on the power-play, but Winterhawks star centre Nate Danielson ended up delivering a big play. Getting the puck deep in the Moose Jaw zone, Danielson cut past Warriors star centre Brayden Yager and Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger to pop home a backhander for a short-handed goal that gave the Winterhawks a 2-1 lead at the 8:34 mark of the first.

That marked the first time Portland led at any point in any game of the series. The Winterhawks exited the opening frame holding their 2-1 lead and a 16-12 edge in shots on goal.

Tyson Yaremko had the Winterhawks first goal on Tuesday.

The second period became Denton Mateychuk time for the Moose Jaw Warriors. Working on a power play early in the frame, Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie passed the puck from the right side boards to Mateychuk at the top of the right faceoff circle.

The Warriors captain wired home a wrist shot to the top right corner of the Portland net passed a screened star Winterhawks netminder in Jan Spunar to even the score at 2-2 at the 3:37 mark of the frame.

With 2:41 remaining in the second, Savoie looked like he might have gotten away with a slight of hand play to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead on a rebound from a scoring attempt by Warriors star right-winger and WHL player-of-the-year Jagger Firkus. Firkus tried to score on a Michigan style lacrosse shot and the puck from his shot rebounded off the crossbar of the Portland net.

Nate Danielson scored a short-handed goal for the Winterhawks.

Savoie knocked the rebound as it was in the air into the Portland goal with his hand, and the officials at first ruled it was a goal. After going to a video review, it was determined Savoie knocked the puck in with his hand and the goal was disallowed.

The Warriors would go on the power play as Winterhawks offensive-defenceman Luca Cagnoni was penalized for high-sticking on that play.

That ensuing power play gave Mateychuk a chance to strike again. Working that man advantage, Warriors 20-year-old star right-winger Atley Calvert had the puck below the icing line off to the right of the Portland net.

Denton Mateychuk scored two power-play goals for the Warriors.

Calvert placed a pass up centre ice to Mateychuk at the top of the left faceoff circle. Mateychuk wired home his second power-play goal of the night to the right side of the Portland net to put the Warriors up 3-2 with 2:30 remaining in the second. Moose Jaw took that advantage into the second intermission.

There was about a 10 minute delay in starting the third period as the Zamboni flood watered on the ice too much in the second intermission. The Zamboni had to come again out on the ice to get the playing surface right for the third frame to get underway.

The Winterhawks didn’t go away. At the 3:56 mark of the third, Winterhawks standout left-winger Marcus Nguyen threw a puck from the left side boards in the Moose Jaw zone in the direction of the Warriors goal. The puck deflected off Warriors offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker into the Moose Jaw net to allow the visitors to pull even at 3-3.

Matthew Savoie had a goal that was disallowed.

That set the stage for the contest to go to overtime and Schuurman to come through with his winner.

Unger stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors. Spunar turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Winterhawks.

Kovacevic, Yager and Ethan Semeniuk each recorded two assists in the win for the Warriors. Moose Jaw improved to 9-0 in the post-season when leading a game after two periods. The Warriors have also won their last five straight games.

During the regular season, the Winterhawks finished third overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 mark and were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL regular season with a 44-21-0-3 mark.

Brayden Yager had a pair of assists for the Warriors.

The Warriors and Winterhawks met once during the regular season back on February 28. Moose Jaw took that encounter 4-3 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

The WHL final between the two sides was expected to be tightly contested. The Warriors have pulled out two victories by one goal to take their 3-0 series lead.

The Warriors existed for four seasons in Winnipeg before moving to Moose Jaw before the start of the 1984-85 campaign. 

In their first 16 seasons in Moose Jaw, the Warriors had only four winning records, but their raucous fans continued to back them.

Brayden Schuurman is cheered by the fans as he heads off the ice.

Now, we get to see if the Warriors can deliver the biggest post-game party Moose Jaw has ever seen with a WHL championship clinching victory on home ice. For Warriors fans, this moment is so close it almost might not seem real that it could happen.

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Good start for Warriors

Moose Jaw takes opener of WHL final 3-2 in Portland

Matthew Savoie had the winner for the Warriors on Friday.

Don’t be making party plans yet for downtown Moose Jaw.

The Moose Jaw Warriors looked good in Game 1 of the WHL Championship Series, but the battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup is far from over. On Friday night before 6,486 spectators at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon, the Warriors stunned the host Winterhawks 3-2 in Game 1 of the WHL final.

That marked the first time the Warriors have ever won a game in the WHL’s Championship Series. In their lone previous appearance in the WHL final back in 2006, the Warriors were swept 4-0 in the best-of-seven set by the Vancouver Giants.

In Game 1 of this year’s WHL title series, the Warriors came out of the gates flying, and the Winterhawks started out like they were lagged by an airplane flight. The visitors carried play for most of a scoreless first period and built a 2-0 before the second period was six minutes old.

The Winterhawks did find their legs and battled back and had the contest evened up at 2-2 early in the third.

With 3:02 remaining in the third, Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie found himself in close off to the right side of the Portland goal after receiving a pass from star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert. Savoie snipped home his ninth of the post-season to the left side of the net that gave the Warriors their 3-2 lead.

The visitors played composed the rest of the way closing out the game defensively to secure the win.

Major credit for the Warriors win in Game 1 has to go to head coach Mark O’Leary and the rest of the team’s coaching staff. They found a way to get their squad rested up and ready with only two off days since the Warriors claimed Game 7 of the WHL’ Eastern Conference Championship Series 3-2 in overtime against the Blades in Saskatoon on Tuesday.

The Warriors returned to Moose Jaw following the win over the Blades. The Moose Jaw side then proceeded to take a plane flight on Thursday to get out to Portland.

On top of getting rest, the Warriors showed they are battle hardened for the post-season. The experience of going seven games with constant momentum changes against the Blades with six contests going to overtime showed through for the Warriors. No matter what happened in Game 1 against the Winterhawks, the Warriors were seemingly always composed.

Denton Mateychuk scored the Warriors second goal on Friday.

In the opening minutes of the first period on Friday, the Warriors had the Winterhawks pinned in their own zone on the forecheck. Warriors veteran centre Brayden Schuurman had a good early chance, but he was stopped by Winterhawks star netminder Jan Spunar.

The Winterhawks had a bit of a push back after the Warriors initial spurt of momentum, and the hosts had a 6-2 edge in shots on goal seven minutes into the frame.

Moose Jaw carried the momentum for the rest of the frame ultimately holding a 14-8 edge in shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes. The Warriors best two chances to go ahead came while working on a power player shortly after the midway point of the first.

Savoie had the puck at the left side of the Portland net, and his drive was stopped by Spunar but rebounded out to the front of the net. Calvert pounced on the rebound and drove to the net that was also turned away by Spunar.

Just 77 seconds into the second, Savoie used a long backhanded stretch pass to spring Calvert into the Portland zone on a breakaway. Calvert was hooked from behind by Winterhawks star defenceman Luca Cagnoni, and the officials awarded the Warriors forward a penalty shot.

On the penalty shot, Calvert snapped home a low shot stick side to the left side of the Portland net to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

The Warriors kept coming and at the 5:43 mark of the second a trio of their biggest stars combined to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. Centre Brayden Yager started the play intercepting a Winterhawks clearing attempt along the right side boards in the Portland zone.

Yager got the puck down low to right-winger Jagger Firkus below the icing line and off to the right of the Portland net. Firkus put a pass across the face the Portland goal backdoor to captain Denton Mateychuk, who pinched down from this defensive position.

Mateychuk popped home his ninth of the post-season to give the Warriors their two-goal edge. That tally for a short time sucked all the wind out the Winterhawks home rink.

Jackson Unger made 31 saves for the Warriors on Friday.

A short time later, the Winterhawks got a big traction moment to get their normally vocal crowd back in the game. Traditionally, the Winterhawks have one of the strongest home ice advantages in the WHL. At the nine-minute mark of the second, Spunar made a long pass out of his own zone to send sophomore centre Diego Buttazzoni jetting into the Moose Jaw zone down the right wing.

From the right wing boards, Buttazzoni snapped home a shot that cut the Warriors lead to 2-1. From that point onward, Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger was tasked with making some big saves to keep the Winterhawks at bay.

The Winterhawks would get the equalizer at the 4:14 mark of the third that forced a 2-2 tie. Winterhawks star left-winger Josh Davies had the puck up high on the left side of the Moose Jaw zone.

He made a long backhanded pass across the front of the Moose Jaw net to Winterhawks captain Gabe Klassen to the low right side of the Moose Jaw goal. Klassen roofed a shot to the top left corner of the Moose Jaw net for the equalizer.

That set the stage for Savoie to come through with his winner late in the frame.

Unger stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors, who have won their last three straight games. Spunar turned away 34 shots to take the setback in net for the Winterhawks.

During the regular season, the Winterhawks finished third overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 mark and were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL regular season with a 44-21-0-3 mark.

The Warriors and Winterhawks met once during the regular season back on February 28. Moose Jaw took that encounter 4-3 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The two sides will go at it in Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. local time again at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The pressure will be on the Winterhawks to take that contest to even the series.

After Game 2, the next three games in the series will be held at the Moose Jaw Events Centre in Moose Jaw. Due to the lengthy travel distance between Moose Jaw and Portland, the WHL final is using a two-three-two series format.

Atley Calvert had a goal and an assist for the Warriors on Friday.

If the Warriors are able to take Game 2 of the set on Saturday, it makes the idea much more conceivable a party could be on with the Moose Jaw side raising the Ed Chynoweth Cup in “The Hangar.”

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Warriors’ Yager breaks Blades hearts with OT winner

Moose Jaw takes WHL’s Eastern Conference final opener 4-3

The Warriors mob Brayden Yager after their OT win on Friday.

Late great Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports editor Doug McConachie would shaken the hands of any Moose Jaw Warriors fans on Friday night and told them they are supporting a great team.

Game 1 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series between the visiting Warriors and the host Saskatoon Blades was a post-season classic on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre. McConachie would have enjoyed Friday’s contest between the Warriors and Blades even if the visitors skated away with the biggest highlight of the night that was provided by a Saskatoon area product.

With the two sides locked in a 3-3 tie in overtime, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager roofed a midrange shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to the top right corner of the goal at the 12:34 mark of the extra session to give Moose Jaw a 4-3 victory. 

Blades centre Lukas Hansen processes his team’s OT loss.

Big cheers went up from the sizable contingent of Warriors fans among the 8,973 spectators in attendance in an attempt to resurrect the spirit of team’s former rowdy home rink the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, which was also known as “The Crushed Can.”

Most of the spectators who were in attendance were cheering faithfully for the Blades. While they no doubt were disappointed by the end result on the scoreboard, they would have to admit Friday’s clash was an outstanding game.

The two sides engaged in a lot of back and forth play. The atmosphere in the building was great with fans often exchanging competing cheers.

Blades 19-year-old star import right-winger Egor Sidorov thrilled with a pair of goals. Warriors captain and offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk showed great presence controlling play on the ice recording a pair of assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Brayden Yager scored the OT winner for the Warriors on Friday.

The host side would get the first good initial jump in the contest.

Just 3:05 into the first period, the Blades broke through on the scoreboard on a goal from 20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright. Wright got the puck at the left point, showed great patience, crept down close to the top of the faceoff circle and wired an off-speed shot past Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger.

The Blades continued to pour on the pressure, but Unger stood his ground. Before the midway part of the frame, he made a couple of slick glove saves off Blades left-winger Misha Volotovskii and captain Trevor Wong.

Saskatoon held a 12-3 edge in shots on goal with 10:50 remaining in the opening frame.

Egor Sidorov had a pair of goals for the Blades on Friday.

Before the frame ended, the Warriors came with some push back. Star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert had a close in chance on goal, but he put a shot over top of the Saskatoon goal.

With 3:01 remaining in the first, Blades breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner had to come up big for the hosts. Warriors 19-year-old defenceman Kalem Parker had a couple of close in chances on the Saskatoon net, but Gardner came up with two big stops.

The rebound of the second shot went off to the left side of the Saskatoon net to Warriors veteran left-winger Brayden Schuurman. Schuurman tried to put the puck into the open side of the net, but he was denied by the right toe of Gardner.

In the second, Sidorov continued his hot play from the final two games of his club’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Red Deer Rebels recording six goals and two assists in those outings. Just 1:59 into the second frame of Friday’s game, Sidorov circled in the Moose Jaw zone and fired a midrange shot from just above the top of the left faceoff circle home to put the Blades up 2-0.

Charlie Wright had the Blades first goal on Friday.

The game’s momentum suddenly swung just 14 seconds later when Schuurman scored for the Warriors to cut the Blades lead to 2-1. Warriors centre Lynden Lakovic had the puck in the left corner of the Saskatoon zone and made a drop pass to Schuurman in all alone in front of the Saskatoon net.

Schuurman tucked home his third of the post-season to trim the Blades lead to one goal. The line of Schuurman, Lakovic and right-winger Rilen Kovacevic might have been the forward unit that had the strongest game between the two sides on Friday.

Just under six minutes later, the Warriors evened the score at 2-2 when Calvert deflected home a shot in front of the Saskatoon net taken by Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie midrange from the left side of the goal.

Denton Mateychuk had a pair of assists for the Warriors.

Following Calvert’s tally, dueling chants of “let’s go Warriors” and “let’s go Blades” broke out between the two fan bases in attendance.

Late in the second, Blades star centre Fraser Minten was denied twice on a rush into the Moose Jaw zone, and Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was unable to tuck home the puck at the left of the Moose Jaw net with Unger sprawled out.

With just under a minute to play in the second, Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus wired a shot off the crossbar of the Saskatoon net as the visitors just missed a chance to take their first lead in the contest.

Just moments into the third, Kovacevic jetted into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway. He tried to put a shot to the top right corner of the net, but he was robbed by a glove save from Gardner.

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

With 4:02 remaining in the third, Warriors finally went ahead on the scoreboard when Savoie roofed a shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to the top left corner of the goal to put the visitors up 3-2. Savoie continued to live up to his reputation of being a clutch performer in the post-season building off of what he did in the WHL Playoffs the previous two years as a member of the Winnipeg Ice.

Despite falling behind on the scoreboard the Blades didn’t go away.

With 87 seconds remaining in the third and Gardner pulled for an extra attacker, it was vintage Sidorov as the star right-winger one-timed home a shot from the right wing to force a 3-3 tie and overtime. 

Brayden Schuurman scored the Warriors first goal on Friday.

The tally was Sidorov’s second goal of the contest as he continued to live up to his reputation as being a clutch performer in the post-season built in last year’s and this year’s WHL Playoffs.

Early in overtime, Blades defenceman Grayden Siepmann got stopped on an offensive rush, when his drive was swallowed up by Unger. 

That set the stage for Yager, who was having a fairly quiet night, to come through as the overtime hero for the visitors.

Gardner turned away 22 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Unger stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors.

Alexander Suzdalev, left, is checked by Matthew Savoie.

During the regular season, the Blades topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Saskatoon advanced through the first two rounds of the WHL Playoffs with an 8-1 mark.

The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark. Moose Jaw advanced through the first two rounds of the WHL Playoffs with an 8-1 mark.

The two sides split their six head-to-head encounters in the regular season without having to go to extra time.

The Warriors celebrate their OT victory on Friday.

The two sides go at it again in Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. If Game 1 was any indication, fans should have their popcorn at the ready for Game 2 and be ready to be entertained.

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.