Warriors earn first-ever victory in WHL Championship to take 1-0 series lead

Portland, Ore.- The Moose Jaw Warriors have drawn first blood.

With a nailbiting 3-2 victory that was decided in the final four minutes of regulation, Moose Jaw has taken a 1-0 series lead on the road.

The win also marks the Warriors’ first win in the WHL Championship Series in franchise history after being swept by the Vancouver Giants in their first finals appearance in 2006.

Moose Jaw-born Atley Calvert played a key role for his hometown team with a penalty shot goal and an assist on the game-winning tally.

“You go through the whole year and you work for moments like this,” Calvert said post-game. “It definitely feels good to get the win here in Game 1.

The support we’ve gotten from the fans back in Moose Jaw and all my peers and my friends has been… It’s been more than I could have thought of. It’s really great to see the community support us.”

Portland also dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference Championship to Prince George but bounced back quickly to win three straight matches afterward.

While Wintherhawks General Manager and Head Coach Mike Johnston appreciated his team’s even-strength play, he bemoaned the early penalties the Winterhawks took, allowing Moose Jaw to build momentum.

“It comes down to some small little details in games like this,” Johnston said. “The score was tied 2-2 late in the game. That was basically the way the game was. Our chances were fairly even five-on-five. They’ve got a very good team. They’ve got some game-breaker players and we have to make sure we keep them in check.”

The players took to the ice in the dimly-lit Veterans Memorial Coliseum, lit only by the red glow of the audience’s thundersticks.

Portland and Moose Jaw swapped chances in a tentative first period that saw the Warriors outshoot the home-side Winterhawks 14-8.

When the icebreaker finally came, it was met with dull groans, rather than cheers.

Moose Jaw born-Atley Calvert couldn’t solve Jan Spunar with a strong backhand attempt on a breakaway, but drew a penalty and beat the Czech netminder with a perfectly-placed wrist shot to open the scoring.

Calvert’s goal is just the second one to be scored on a penalty shot in the 2024 WHL Playoffs.

Reigning WHL Player of the Year Jagger Firkus followed it up with a sharp dish from behind the Winterhawks’ net to WHL Defenceman of the Year Denton Mateychuk, who hammered a one-timer past Spunar to double the lead.

Mateychuk, a Columbus Blue Jackets first-round pick and Firkus, a Seattle Kraken prospect, remain tied for the WHL postseason points lead with 28 apiece.

As nerves settled into the colossal crowd at the Glass Palace, Diego Buttazzoni gave them a reason to restore the roar- with a massive helper from his netminder.

Spunar whipped the puck off the boards and out of the Portland zone to send Buttazzoni barrelling down the right wing, ripping a shot past WHL Goaltender of the Year nominee Jackson Unger to cut the deficit to one.

“That was a pretty nasty play,” a breathless Buttazzoni told TSN during intermission. “I mean, I was screaming. I don’t know if he could hear me down there, but that was really good hockey sense by a goalie.”

For the record, Spunar now has three assists in the 2024 WHL Playoffs to sit eighth on the Winterhawks in postseason helpers.

The 6-foot-3 netminder followed the play up with a highlight-reel breakaway stop on Firkus to further swing the momentum back towards the home side heading into the final frame.

That’s where Captain Gabe Klassen put the game back on a level playing field by finishing off a fantastic feed from Florida Panthers prospect Josh Davies.

As Portland poured on the pressure, peppering Jackson Unger with shots and successfully killing a late Warriors powerplay, the visitors got a key break.

Homegrown talent Atley Calvert made a sharp play on the half wall to feed Matthew Savoie in the slot for the go-ahead goal.

“Ats (Calvert) was coming down the wall, picked off the pass and then I just tried to get some open ice in the slot,” Savoie explained. “(He) made a good pass under the d-man’s stick and then tried to get off as quick as possible and kind of freeze the goalie and just beat him far side.

The marker stands as Savoie’s ninth of the postseason and first game-winner.

Portland will look to even the series in Game 2 on Saturday, May 11 at 7:00 p.m. PST before hitting the road for Games 3-5.