WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Home Opener Win in Long Awaited Return to Mosaic Place

Published on October 2, 2021 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


16-year-old Brayden Yager scored his first WHL hat trick Friday to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 7-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades in their 2021 Home Opener, which happened to be the first WHL regular-season game in Moose Jaw in 570 days.

With a ton of energy in the building to start the game, the Warriors were ready to pounce on the Blades.

92 seconds into the game, Blades goalie Nolan Maier controlled the puck inside his crease.  He attempted to make a stretch pass up the ice, however, Warriors 16-year-old Brayden Yager broke up the play and then snapped the puck to the back of the net to give Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead.

Saskatoon used their power-play to get back into the game, at 7:50, 17-year-old Brandon Lisowsky lifted a shot from the left goal line past Warriors goalie Carl Tetachuk.

Moose Jaw started the second period on the penalty kill, but that did not slow down their offence.

Twenty seconds into the period, Logan Doust wrestled the puck away from the Blades along the Saskatoon left wall.  Doust made a pass to the middle of the Blades zone to Captain Daemon Hunt, who hammered in his first goal of the season to give Moose Jaw the lead.

With under seven minutes left in the frame and at the end of a penalty kill, 18-year-old defenceman Lucas Brenton had the puck at the Warriors blueline and was able to spring import rookie forward Robert Baco for a breakaway.  The Slovakian snapped a hard shot past the Blades 20-year-old goalie for his first WHL goal.

Inside the final two minutes of the period and working on a power-play, Max Wanner took a shot from the Saskatoon right circle.  18-year-old Atley Calvert was able to deflect the puck over the line, his first goal of the season extended the Warriors lead to 4-1.

3:43 into the third period, and working on the power-play, Jagger Firkus controlled the puck inside the right circle.  The 17-year-old found a seam to make a pass cross-ice to Brayden Yager in the left circle, Yager one-timed the puck past Maier to make it 5-1.

Yager and Firkus went back into their bag of tricks four minutes later.

Yager broke up a Saskatoon clearing attempt and the puck came to Firkus.  The two drove towards the Saskatoon net on an odd-man rush, Firkus set up Yager on the right-wing where he scored his hat trick goal.

Moose Jaw picked up one more goal at 13:47 when 18-year-old Riley Niven jumped on a loose puck inside the neutral zone and then scored on a breakaway to record his first WHL goal.

Yager led the Warriors with three goals, while Firkus, Max Wanner, and Ryder Korczak picked up two assists each.  20-year-old goalie Carl Tetachuk made 32 saves to record his first win in a Warriors uniform.

Moose Jaw was 2-for-3 on the power-play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.

These two East Division rivals will collide again Saturday, only this time, they will battle under the lights of SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

Catch all the action on Country 100 starting with the PreGame Show at 6:40 pm.

Check out the Moose Jaw Warriors Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from October 2, 2021


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