The Moose Jaw Warriors are Western Hockey League champions for the first time in the team’s 40-year history, capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup with a 4-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks on Wednesday to complete a four-game sweep of the final series in front of a sold-out crowd at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Martin Rysavy had two goals for the Warriors, opening the scoring on the power play in the first period and adding an empty-netter in the third to seal the win. Matthew Savoie and Brayden Schurmann also scored for Moose Jaw and Jackson Unger made 24 saves for the victory.
Denton Mateychuk led all defencemen in playoff scoring with 30 points in 20 games and was named the WHL’s Playoff MVP.
The Warriors were 16-1-3-0 in the playoffs, including an 8-1-1-0 mark on home ice, as they also won series against the Brandon Wheat Kings in four games and the Swift Current Broncos in five games before defeating the regular season champion Saskatoon Blades in a seven-game series, with six of those games needing overtime.
Moose Jaw will join the OHL champion London Knights and the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs at the 2024 Memorial Cup in Saginaw, Michigan, and will open the tournament against the host Saginaw Spirit on May 24.