Warriors battle Spirit for the right to play in Memorial Cup final
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The Western Hockey League champion Moose Jaw Warriors battle host team Saginaw Spirit on Friday for the right to play in the Memorial Cup Final.
Friday's victor will go on to take face the London Knights for junior hockey's greatest prize.
Watch Moose Jaw battle Saginaw LIVE at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN1, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
The Warriors beat the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champion Drummondville Voltigeurs 5-3 on Tuesday to keep their tournament hopes alive while eliminating the Voltigeurs.
Columbus Blue Jackets prospect and WHL Playoff MVP Denton Mateychuk recorded a goal and two assists in the victory, while Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick Brayden Yager also added three points.
WHL player of the year Jagger Firkus, and defencemen Aiden Ziprick and Vojtech Port also scored for the Warriors.
Goaltender Jackson Unger starred in the victory, making 49 of 52 saves to keep Moose Jaw on top. The 6-foot-1 netminder now has a 4.43 goals-against average with a .888 save percentage at the Memorial Cup.
Mateychuk is the tournament leader in scoring with three goals and seven points, followed by Yager with three goals and six points.
"I'm real proud of the group," Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary told reporters after Tuesday's win. "Again, we found a way to do it. We didn't make it easy, but this group's just not ready to be done yet."
Saginaw finds themselves in the semifinal after falling to the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights 4-2 on Wednesday in their final round-robin game.
OHL regular-season and playoff MVP Easton Cowan recorded two goals and an assist for the Knights, while star wingers Denver Barkey and Kasper Halttunen also scored.
Alex Christopoulos and Joey Willis scored the goals for the Spirit.
Saginaw goaltender Andrew Oke suffered his first loss of the tournament after allowing three goals and 34 shots. He has a 3.34 GAA with a .881 save percentage in the tournament.
Projected 2024 NHL lottery selection Zayne Parekh leads the Spirit in scoring with a goal and five points at the Memorial Cup and is followed by Christopoulos with two goals and four points.
Drummondville's defeat means that the Memorial Cup will be handed out to an OHL or WHL team for the first time since 2017. Both Saginaw and Moose Jaw are attempting to make the Memorial Cup final in their first appearance at the tournament.
The tournament wraps up on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT with the Memorial Cup final where the London Knights will take on either the Spirit or Warriors. That game can be seen LIVE on TSN, the exclusive home of the Memorial Cup.