Warriors chasing one last trophy to cap off historic season

The Moose Jaw Warriors are in Saginaw chasing one last trophy in what’s been a storybook year for the team.

That trophy is the Memorial Cup, which is quite elusive for teams from the Western Hockey League.

It’s been 10 years since a team from the WHL last won the cup, and 35 years since it was last lifted by a team from Saskatchewan.

The Warriors are fresh off their first ever Ed Chynoweth Cup win, and forward Brayden Yager said it’s been a fun time to be around the city as Moose Jaw rallies behind the team.

“Everywhere we go, everybody’s giving us congratulations and wishing us luck in the Memorial Cup,” said Yager.

Thank you to our amazing fans for getting up early to send our players off to the #MemorialCup! pic.twitter.com/A24Z2byH93

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) May 22, 2024

It’s a challenge to win your own league, but to then go on and face other championship winners can be even more daunting.

But Yager said the team has been preparing for this moment.

“The last couple of days is starting to shift our focus from all the celebrating,” said Yager. “Now we’re getting ready for the biggest tournament, and obviously we got one more trophy to win.”

Yager said this won’t be the first time he gets to experience the atmosphere at the Memorial Cup.

“I was at the Memorial Cup two years ago for the awards,” said Yager. “It’s crazy, especially when the home team is playing.”

The Warriors will get thrown right into the thick of things on Friday night when they start off the round robin against the hosting Saginaw Spirit.
Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk said he is expecting a crazy atmosphere for the first game.

“It should be a packed barn,” said Mateychuk. “We’re excited, and it’s going to be an awesome atmosphere.”

The Warriors have a few players who are used to this style of tournament after to various Hockey Canada opportunities, and Mateychuk said it’s a good thing to have been through some high-pressure situations before. He said he tells his teammates to just play their own game, and never get discouraged.

“There’s going to be highs, there’s going to be lows,” Mateychuk said.

Behind every good team is a goalie who transforms into a brick wall when the pressure is on, and the Warriors have had that with Jackson Unger.

Unger said the team’s confidence level is at an all-time high after beating the teams they faced during the playoffs.

“I think that’s important,” said Unger. “Going into a tournament like this, your confidence should be at a high.”

Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said opening up against the host team will be exciting.

“The crowd will be excited and it’ll be a great atmosphere,” said O’Leary. “We’re looking forward to getting things off in a hurry.”

The Warriors will play three round robin games ahead of the playoffs.

The first game is the Friday contest against Saginaw. Their second game is on Monday against London, while the Warriors’ third game is on Tuesday against Drummondville.

All games start at 5:30 p.m. local time.