In a thrilling Memorial Cup showdown, the Moose Jaw Warriors emerged victorious, securing their first win at the prestigious tournament with a 5-3 triumph over the Drummondville Voltigeurs. A standout performance from 18-year-old defenceman Aiden Ziprick, who sealed the historic victory with a shorthanded goal late in the game, marked a memorable moment for the young athlete.
Vojtech Port skillfully netted a goal for Moose Jaw at 13:04 of the first period, putting them on the board for the second consecutive game. The successful play was made possible by the strategic teamwork of Lynden Lakovic and Atley Calvert, who expertly maneuvered the puck to set up Port’s impressive shot.
Shots in the first period were 11-9 for Drummondville.
Jagger Firkus then made it a 2-0 Moose Jaw game on the Power Play at 5:10 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Brayden Yager and Denton Mateychuk.– A furious push by Moose Jaw in the second period forced Drummondville to take a penalty and give the Warriors their first man-advantage of the game. Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Brayden Yager faked a shot on net, drawing the netminder towards him, but pumped a pass to Jagger Firkus, who hit the yawning cage for his first goal of the tournament and Moose Jaw’s first powerplay goal at the Memorial Cup.
Denton Mateychuk made the game 3-0 at 12:43 of the second period with the assists on the goal going to Brayden Yager and Ethan Semeniuk.– Mateychuk extended his team’s lead to 3-0 after pouncing on a loose puck in the Drummondville crease and poking it over the goal line. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has scored in all three games at the Memorial Cup.
Drummondville then scored when Justin Cote put one past Unger at 14:46 of the second period with the assists going to Captain Luke Woodworth and Marc-Oliver Beaudry.– But the Voltigeurs would not go quietly into the night as alternate captain Justin Cote got his team on the board with a wicked one-timer late in the second period.
Then Drummondville scored again to put them within 1 just 57 seconds later as draft-eligible Peter Repcik flexed his release with another shot destined for the top corner of the Warriors’ net. The assist on that goal went to Justin Cote at 15:43 of the second frame.
Shots in the second period were 15-13 for Drummondville.
Alexis Gendron then ties the game in the third unassisted at 3:13.-The QMJHL Champions continued their push in the third period as Philadelphia Flyers prospect Alexis Gendron whipped a shot top shelf off the faceoff to level the match.
The Warriors pressed hard on the penalty kill, with Matthew Savoie charging into the Voltigeur’s zone. While Drummondville was able to strip the puck away from the Buffalo Sabres prospect, Mateychuk stole it back and fed a trailing Aiden Ziprick for a gorgeous shot from the high slot. That gave the Warriors the lead at 18:26 of the third period.–18-year-old defenceman Aiden Ziprick- who had just one career WHL goal entering the night- sealed the historic decision with a shorthanded goal late in the game.
Brayden Yager and Matt Savoie 2 on 1 on and empty net and Yager scored to seal the deal with 10 seconds left in the game.
Shots on goal in the third period were 26-6 for Drummondville. Drummondville outshot the Warriors in the game 52-28.
jackson Unger was amazing stopping 49 of the 52 shots that he faced for the win for the Warriors. For the Voltigeurs Riley Mercer the brother of New Jersey Devil Dawson Mercer made 23 saves on the 27 shots that he faced.
Jackson Unger was named player of the game
The Spirit play the Knights Wednesday. The Warriors will play the loser of that game for the semi final on Friday.
