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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Yager's Hat Trick Paces Warriors Past Hitmen Saturday

February 13, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


Brayden Yager snapped a five-game goal drought in a big way on Saturday night.

Yager had his second career Western Hockey League hat trick in a 4-1 win over the Calgary Hitmen at Mosaic Place.

"It feels really good, obviously, I was getting a little bit frustrated, but just tried to get back to the basics and have some fun and they ended up going in, so it was really nice," Yager said.

The rookie forward now has 25 goals on the season, which is just four short of tying Theo Fleury's franchise record of 29 goals by a 16-year-old. He surpassed Brayden Point's 24-goal season as a 16-year-old in the win.

"That's pretty cool," Yager said after the game. "I try to keep that out of my mind, I just try to play my game and if they go in, they go in, but that's pretty cool."

The win is the tenth by the Warriors in their last 11 games and keeps them four points ahead of the Saskatoon Blades for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Moose Jaw also now sits just three points behind Red Deer for third place.

"We played pretty well at times and then other times, we looked a little unorganized," Warriors assistant coach Gord Burnett said.

Calgary was at the end of a busy stretch of four games in five nights and five in seven. The Warriors played a physical game against them, which Burnett said was key to the win.

"To win hockey games, you've got to get involved physically, so we got more involved, we dug in a little bit," he said. "I thought we did a better job in the second to just get more involved and win our 50/50 pucks."

Despite playing their fourth game in five nights, the Hitmen came out of the gates in the first period.

Calgary opened the scoring when Riley Fiddler-Schultz snapped a shot past Warriors goalie Jackson Unger just 6:34 into the frame.

Moose Jaw found their legs as the period went on and had some quality chances late in the first, but couldn't find the equalizer.

The Warriors carried that momentum over into the second period when Yager buried a rebound in front of the net for his 23rd of the season 3:58 into the frame.

Just under four minutes later, Ryder Korczak potted his 18th of the season on a one-time pass from Denton Mateychuk.

Yager would add to the Warriors' lead, roofing his 24th of the season for his second of the night at 12:08.

The 16-year-old finished off the hat trick with an empty net, shorthanded goal with just over three minutes left in the game.

Yager said the Warriors simplified their game after the first period.

"Just getting back to our DNA, chipping pucks by, using our speed, playing tough, that kind of thing, so we came out really strong in the second and it was good to see," he said.

Jagger Firkus finished with three assists in the win, while Jackson Unger made 31 saves in net.

The Hitmen outshot the Warriors 32-28 on the night, while both teams were held off the scoresheet on the power play with Moose Jaw going 0-for-3 and Calgary finishing 0-for-4.

The Warriors head out on the road for three games next week. They travel to Lethbridge on Tuesday, Calgary on Wednesday and then Prince Albert on Saturday.

The next home game is Friday, Feb. 25 against Swift Current.

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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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