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Wenatchee, WA – Jackson Unger made 35 saves to backstop the Moose Jaw Warriors to their sixth straight win, knocking off the Wenatchee Wild 3-0 on Sunday.
The Warriors swept their road trip through the U.S. Division for the first time since 1998-99 when the team went 4-0 in the States.
“To win on the road is important, especially going into playoff time, so the confidence to be able to go into different buildings and win on the road, it’s real important,” Warriors associate coach Scott King said.
“Credit the guys, it’s not an easy schedule, lots of time on the bus and to be able to grit one out today was a great way to finish the trip off.”
Moose Jaw has now improved to 40-19-0-2 on the year, winning 40 games in a season for the ninth time in franchise history.
Jagger Firkus led the offence with a goal and three points as he became the 15th player in Warriors’ history to score 50 goals in a season.
The Warriors generated a number of chances early in the game and finally broke through when Firkus scored his 50th of the season with 8:45 left in the first.
In the second, the Warriors added to their lead when Atley Calvert buried his 43rd of the season with 7:28 gone in the frame.
Less than three minutes later, Brayden Yager finished off a beautiful passing play with Firkus for his 31st of the season to make it 3-0 after two.
The Wild pushed back in the third, outshooting the Warriors, 16-4, but Unger stood tall to earn his third shutout of the season.
“He played well, he had to make saves, especially in the third period, they were shooting everything trying to claw back into it and he stood tall, so that should be a confidence booster for him,” King said.
The Warriors finished the game 1-for-6 on the power play, while posting a 2-for-2 night on the penalty kill.
Moose Jaw outshot Wenatchee in each of the first two periods, but ended up being outshot, 35-33, in the game.
The Warriors finished the eight games in 14 days road trip with a 6-2-0-0 record overall. King said while the team is looking forward to getting back home, there’s lots to build off coming out of the trek.
“These trips are good, it was a good time for guys like [Vojtech] Port, [Matthew] Savoie to get more comfortable with everybody and you spend a lot of time together, so that’s a real positive thing,” King said.
The Warriors will now travel back to Moose Jaw and get a few days to rest before returning to action at the Hangar next weekend with a Friday showdown against the Regina Pats.