The Moose Jaw Warriors did something on Wednesday night that no other team in the Western Hockey League has done, beat the Winnipeg ICE for a second time.
The Warriors kicked off the second half of the season with a 3-1 win over Winnipeg at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
“It’s two very skilled teams going at it, Winnipeg is a good team, they’re number one for a reason, so we want to beat them, prove them wrong a little bit, so we came out flying,” Warriors forward Ryder Korczak said after the game.
Korczak picked up his second hat trick of the season and recorded his 200th WHL point in Wednesday night’s win.
“The biggest thing is having fun, when I have fun, I play good,” Korczak said. “I tried to get the guys fired up a little bit and it worked tonight.”
Korczak led the offence and also came up big defensively throughout the game, especially in the face-off dot, winning 21-of-25 face-offs on the night.
Warriors assistant coach Gord Burnett said Korczak brings a lot to the table for the Warriors.
“He’s a good teammate, he’s obviously a good hockey player – we can all see that – he’s a guy that brings energy every day, not just game day, but every day and he’s a pleasure to have around the room,” he said.
The win improved the Warriors to 2-0 against the ICE this season after losing out against them in the second round of the WHL Playoffs last season.
Moose Jaw also got the start it was looking for to the second half of the season thanks to the win.
“It was a good hockey game, first game back, I was impressed with the quality of hockey that was played,” Burnett said.
Connor Ungar made 34 saves, including 13 in the third period, to help preserve the win.
Burnett said he came up big when the team needed it the most.
“He was incredible again tonight,” he said. “We love having him in the net, he’s done a great job, he’s a great kid and he’s a great goaltender.”
Korczak opened the scoring for the Warriors with a power play goal midway through the first period, but Matthew Savoie answered for Winnipeg to tie the game at 1-1 after one.
Korczak made sure that the Warriors restored that lead quickly, finishing in front of the net for his second of the night just 49 seconds into the second period.
Then the Warriors’ 20-year-old forward sealed the win with an empty goal in the final minute of regulation, completing the hat trick.
The Warriors were 1-for-5 on the power play, while finishing 3-for-3 on the penalty kill on the night.
Winnipeg won the shot clock, outshooting the Warriors 35-24.
The Warriors will return to game action on Friday night when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings at the Hangar for the final home game of 2022.