Memorial Cup Top Performer: May 24, 2024
Saginaw, Mich.- Brayden Yager’s name is forever etched in Moose Jaw Warriors history.
The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect registered two goals and an assist in the team’s first match at the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow, though they’d ultimately fall to the host Saginaw Spirit by a score of 5-4.
With Saginaw holding a commanding 4-0 lead late in the second period, Yager finally broke through for the Warriors with a sharp one-timer off of a sweet dish from Buffalo Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie.
Yager’s tally is the first-ever Moose Jaw Warriors goal at the Memorial Cup.
The marker lit the lamp and lit a fire under the Warriors.
Captain Denton Mateychuk snagged a second goal just moments later, and Yager capped off the period with his second goal of the night and Moose Jaw’s third in a 1:35 span.
Yager, a Saskatoon, Sask. product, worked a give-and-go sequence with Mateychuk after Moose Jaw forced a turnover at the Spirit blueline, snapping the puck past Andrew Oke.
With Jackson Unger pulled for the extra attacker, Yager faked out the Saginaw defencemen to feed Savoie for a sensational one-timer from the faceoff dot to bring the Warriors within one.
Despite the furious push late in the game, the Spirit hung on for the slim victory.
Yager, a 6-foot, 170-pound forward, clocked in at third among all skaters in WHL postseason scoring with 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points and a +10 rating in 20 games, highlighted by an overtime winner in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Championship against the Saskatoon Blades.
Yager and the Warriors are back in action on Monday, April 27 when they face the OHL Champion London Knights at 5:30 p.m. MST at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Mich.