The Saginaw Spirit made franchise history Friday night with their first ever Memorial Cup win after a 5-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, MI.

Nic Sima, Owen Beck (MTL), Zayne Parekh, Jorian Donovan (OTT) and Josh Bloom (VAN) scored for the hosts while Andrew Oke stopped 22 shots. Brayden Yager (PIT) scored twice while Denton Mateychuk (CBJ) and Matthew Savoie (BUF) also found the back of the net for Moose Jaw as Jackson Unger made 31 saves.

“There’s no fear in any of these teams,” Saginaw head coach Chris Lazary said. “We have to keep bringing it. We’re the only team that has nothing to show; we’re here because we’re the hosts but our plan is make sure at the end of it everyone knows how good this group is.”

In a period in which they outshot Moose Jaw 17-7, Nic Sima had the only goal of the opening period as he scored Saginaw’s first ever Memorial Cup goal with 32.9 seconds left in the frame after he got a piece of Parekh’s point shot.

“It was pretty special to score [that goal],” Sima said. “First game of the Memorial Cup, it’s something you dream of. I was coming to the rink today and thinking ‘this is awesome.’

“To get that first one and more importantly to get the win was awesome.”

Beck made it 2-0 2:13 into the second as his shot deflected off of the Warriors’ Mateychuk past Unger before Parekh added to the lead at 7:28 on a wrister from the top of the right circle.

“We were a little bit of caged animal because we’ve sitting here for so long and anticipating this moment not only knowing it was coming all year but getting knocked out in the [Western] Conference Finals and sitting on it,” Lazary said of his team’s start.

Donovan extended the lead to 4-0 at 9:04 with from the low slot before the Warriors’ offence took centre stage with three goals in 95 seconds; Yager scored the first Memorial Cup goal in team history at 18:11 after he buried Savoie’s pass from behind the net before Mateychuk’s goal 37 seconds later cut the deficit in half.

Yager’s second of the night came with 14 seconds left in the frame as the Warriors suddenly found themselves down a goal through 40 minutes.

However, Bloom gave Saginaw some breathing room just 1:52 into the third as he went five-hole for Saginaw’s fifth of the night. However, Savoie again made it a one-goal game as he buried a one-timer with 2:47 left in the game with Unger pulled but the Spirit hung on for a crucial Game 1 win.

“When we’re at our best I don’t think anyone can compete with us,” said Parekh who was named Player of the Game after a three-point outing (1G, 2A).

Saginaw is back in action Sunday when they face Drummondville while Moose Jaw returns to action Monday against London.