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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Firkus' Hat Trick Lifts Warriors Past Edmonton on Wednesday

February 8, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


Moose Jaw, SK - Jagger Firkus and the Moose Jaw Warriors' offence were in high gear on Wednesday night.

Firkus picked up his first hat trick of the season, leading the Warriors to a 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

The Warriors have now won three straight, five of their last six and six straight home games. Firkus said building momentum at this point in the season is big for the team.

"Going into the playoffs, it's only about a month away now, so it's time to step up a notch and make sure we're playing good hockey," he said. "Even though some wins haven't been the best wins, we come out with wins and that's all that really matters."

Ryder Korczak finished with three assists, while Brayden Yager and Atley Calvert had a goal and two points each. Ben Riche, Denton Mateychuk and Matthew Gallant chipped in with two assists each as well in the win.

The Warriors put pressure on the Oil Kings right from the opening puck drop with a strong forecheck, leading to plenty of shot opportunities and scoring chances.

Warriors assistant coach Scott King said they were able to create turnovers with their aggressive forecheck.

"In the first period, we did a really good job of just shooting the puck," he said. "We made a determined effort to put pucks on net and play it off the shot and we had second, third opportunities."

Despite plenty of pressure from the Warriors early in the game, Edmonton was able to open the scoring midway through the first when Loick Daigle found the back of the net.

Moose Jaw finally broke through late in the first, however, when former Oil King Logan Dowhaniuk scored his first with the Warriors on a big blast from the point to tie the game.

With 19 seconds left in the first, Firkus banked home his first of the night off a couple of Oil Kings to give Moose Jaw a 2-1 lead after 20.

After a back-and-forth start to the second, the Warriors extended their lead to 3-1 when Firkus fired home his 27th of the season with 4:19 to play in the middle frame.

The Oil Kings answered back when Mason Finley scored with 1:58 to go in the period to make it a one-goal game going into the third.

The Warriors found their stride again early in the third with Firkus finishing off the hat trick just 1:55 into the frame.

Yager followed that up only 1:17 later, scoring his 21st of the season to make it 5-2 lead for the Warriors.

Edmonton didn't go away though and Gavin Hodnett scored just over a minute later to cut back into the lead, but that was as close as the Oil Kings would get.

Calvert scored his team-leading 31st of the season late in the third to seal the win.

"Our forecheck was awesome, even in the third when Dowhaniuk blew that guy up along the wall, the crowd got into it and it really set the tone for us," Firkus said. "You want to play with energy, that's where a lot of our players play their best is when you're high energy and you seen it tonight."

The Warriors outshot the Oil Kings, 42-20, on the night as Jackson Unger made 17 stops to earn the victory between the pipes.

Moose Jaw finished 2-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.

The Warriors will return to the ice coming up on Saturday when they travel into the Queen City for a Trans-Canada Clash against the Regina Pats.

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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