Hometown kid nets overtime winner, Warriors lead 1-0

Warriors forward Brayden Yager scores the winning goal in overtime. (John Flatters/CTV News)

Brayden Yager was the hometown hero, albeit for the visiting team in game one of the WHL Eastern Conference Final.

His overtime goal midway through an entertaining extra frame gives the Moose Jaw Warriors a 1-0 series lead in a wild and entertaining game.

“It felt great,” said Yager. “Our line wasn’t too happy with our game and overtime is kind of a reset button. I thought we had a better overtime, and obviously to score in my hometown feels pretty good.”

The Blades opened the scoring when Charlie Wright’s point shot found its way through traffic to beat Jackson Unger on the far side.

Both teams had goalmouth scrambles but the first period ended with the Blades leading 1-0.

Early in the second period, Egor Sidorov took the puck from down low to nearly the blue line, firing a shot that found the top corner for his WHL playoff-leading 11th goal.

But before that goal could be announced, the Warriors capitalized on a defensive error. Brayden Schuurman found himself all alone in front of the net with the puck on his stick and beat Evan Gardner with a calm deke.

“Shifts after goals are very important,” said Blades coach Brennan Sonne. “When you have that momentum and you’re up 2-0, you’ve got to play right, play harder. Those are important moments in the game.”

Momentum shifted from the Blades to the Warriors in the second period. They were getting more opportunities despite being outshot.

“Once we got that first one, the energy went to our legs for sure,” said Warriors coach Mark O’Leary. “It’s simple things done really well, and that first goal was a good reminder of what we need to do and it was a big one for us.”

Atley Calvert was able to shake his defender for enough time to get a stick on Matthew Savoie’s shot from the boards, and it deflected over Gardner’s shoulder to tie the game near the midway point.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne called a timeout to reset his team.“It was more just a call-back to what we prepared for,” he said.

“The momentum was definitely swinging in their direction at that point in time,” said Charlie Wright, who had a goal in game one. “Sonne let us know what we needed to clean up, and I thought we went back out and we flipped it right away.”

In the third period, it seemed the game was destined for overtime until there were five minutes left.

The Warriors would continue to pour on the forechecking, eventually leading to Matthew Savoie’s 8th of the playoffs.

Pavel Mckenzie got to a loose puck first, and an impressive backhand pass found a streaking Savoie to give the Warriors their first lead of the game.

But with the Blades goalie pulled, the entire building knowing where the puck was going, Egor Sidorov would not be denied. His one-timer shot from the same spot he’s scored dozens this season tied the game again with a little more than a minute left, guaranteeing the first game would see overtime.

In overtime, both teams had chances and both goalies stood tall. But it was Brayden Yager in his hometown who got a pass from Jagger Firkus at the top of the faceoff circles, and he sent it over Gardner’s shoulder to win game one.

“It’s playoff hockey, it’s about how quick you can get the puck from the outside of the ice to the middle and on net,” said Yager of the Warriors’ ability to get offensive chances.

“There’s a lot of things that we didn't like in our game early on,” said O’Leary. “But the resiliency of this group comes through again, and what a way to end it.”

Game two goes Saturday night in Saskatoon before the series goes to Moose Jaw on Tuesday and Wednesday.