Marc Smith/MJ Warriors

Brayden Yager broke his hometown team’s heart in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Championship, presented by Nutrien, on Friday.

The Saskatoon product scored the overtime winner for the Moose Jaw Warriors in a 4-3 win over the Blades at SaskTel Centre.

“It felt great,” Yager said after the series-opening win.

“Our line wasn’t too happy with our game, overtime is the reset button and a new game and I thought we had a better overtime and to score in my hometown feels pretty good.”

Excitement is building in the City of Moose Jaw for the start of the 2024 WHL Eastern Conference Championship, presented by Nurtiren.

For one local family, the excitement is two-fold as Atley Calvert of the Moose Jaw Warriors gets set to take on his younger brother Rowan Calvert of the Saskatoon Blades.

“I know my grandpa would be real proud of me and my brother, playing against each other for a chance to go to the final,” Atley Calvert said after practice on Tuesday.

Moose Jaw, SK – The Moose Jaw Warriors have booked their ticket to the Eastern Conference Championship.

The Warriors knocked out the Swift Current Broncos in five games after battling their way to a 4-2 win in Game 5 on Friday at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“The guys deserve it,” Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said. “They played hard, they played the right way right from our goaltender all the way out, so there’s a lot of excitement right now and anticipation for what’s next.”

Swift Current, SK – A strong third period propelled the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 3-1 series lead over the Swift Current Broncos.

The Warriors scored three unanswered in the third to skate to a 5-2 win over the Broncos in Game 4 of their second round series in Swift Current.

“That was our goal coming into these two games, obviously on the road, it’s tough to win, especially in playoffs with that atmosphere that they had, it was pretty electric, but we found a way to get two and it feels great,” Warriors forward Brayden Yager said.

Swift Current, SK – The Moose Jaw Warriors held off the Swift Current Broncos in a back-and-forth Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Denton Mateychuk had two goals to lead the Warriors to a 5-3 win over the Broncos at the InnovationPlex, as Moose Jaw took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven second-round series.

“I thought we played a pretty solid game, our D-zone coverage was pretty good, we were a little slow to jump but that’s going to happen when they’re in their rink, they’re going to have that little extra edge with their fans,” Mateychuk said after the win.

Moose Jaw, SK – Needing a response after falling in Game 1 on home ice, the Moose Jaw Warriors answered the call on Saturday night.

The Warriors scored seven straight goals to take a 7-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos in Game 2 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, evening the second round series at one game each.

“Right from the puck drop, I thought we played a really good game, they got the first one, but we didn’t let that set us back, we bounced back and took it to them the rest of the game,” Warriors forward Brayden Yager said.

Despite some quality chances throughout the game, the Moose Jaw Warriors couldn’t breakthrough in Game 1 on Friday night.

The Warriors fell 7-2 to the Swift Current Broncos to open their second round series in front of a sold-out crowd at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“It’s frustrating, especially first game of the second round and we had chances, but we pretty much handed them that game,” Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk said.

The Moose Jaw Warriors are off to the second round of the 2024 Western Hockey League Playoffs.

The Warriors finished off a four-game sweep of the Brandon Wheat Kings on Thursday night with a 6-2 win at Westoba Place.

“We stuck with our identity and scored a lot of goals, we didn’t play full 60s at times, but in a game like this, it was big that we played a full 60,” Warriors forward Lynden Lakovic said. “There was times of ups and downs but that’s just playoffs.”

Jagger Firkus has added the East Division Player of the Year honours to his award haul for the 2023-24 season.

The Moose Jaw Warriors forward was named the division’s nominee for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy on Thursday.

Firkus led the entire Canadian Hockey League with 126 points, winning the WHL’s Bob Clarke Trophy as the top scorer.

He set a career-high with 61 goals and 65 assists during the regular season.

For the second time in three years, Denton Mateychuk has been named the East Division’s Defenceman of the Year by the Western Hockey League.

The Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman was named a nominee for the WHL’s Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy on Thursday.

Mateychuk had a record-setting season in 2023-24 as he broke the Warriors’ franchise record for points by a defenceman with 215 career points.

The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect set a career-high with 17 goals, 58 assists and 75 points in a career-low 52 games.