Moose Jaw looks to book ticket to Memorial Cup against Portland on TSN
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The Moose Jaw Warriors attempt to book their ticket to the Memorial Cup for the first time in franchise history as they take on the Portland Winterhawks in Game 4 of the Western Hockey League Championship Series on Wednesday night.
Moose Jaw hold a 3-0 series advantage after forward Brayden Schuurman scored 2:20 into overtime to give the Warriors a 4-3 win over the Winterhawks on Tuesday.
Captain Denton Mateychuk picked up two goals in the victory and now sits one point behind teammate Jagger Firkus with 11 goals and 30 points for the WHL playoff scoring lead.
Lucas Brenton also scored for the Warriors, while Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Brayden Yager picked up two assists to lead the series in scoring with a goal and five points.
"[We can't] get too far ahead of ourselves. We know [the last one] is the hardest to win," Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary told reporters after Game 3. "We know who we're playing. It's a heck of a hockey team over there and they're not going to go away. So, we'll get their best effort and just the same mindset, [we have to] make sure they see ours."
Detroit Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson scored his second goal of the series while forwards Tyson Yaremko and Marcus Nguyen also recorded goals.
Moose Jaw's Jackson Unger picked up his fifth straight playoff win in Game 3, making 30 of 33 saves. He now has a 15-3 record with a 2.95 goals-against average with a .909 save percentage in the playoffs.
Jan Spunar lost his third straight game after allowing four goals on 36 shots on Tuesday. He has a 12-5 playoff record with a 2.60 GAA and .915 save percentage.
The Warriors have the opportunity to lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in franchise history on Wednesday. They last appeared in the WHL Championship series during the 2005-06 season but were swept by the Vancouver Giants.
Moose Jaw has not been represented at the Memorial Cup tournament since 1947 when the Moose Jaw Canucks lost to the Toronto St. Michael's Majors 4-0 in the finals.
If necessary, the series will shift back to Portland on Friday for Game 5 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and that game can be seen on TSN, the exclusive home of the CHL Championship series.