Moose Jaw beats Portland 5-1 to take 2-0 series lead in WHL final

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The Moose Jaw Warriors are just two wins away from capturing their first Western Hockey League championship.

After a 3-2 win in Game 1 on Friday night in the WHL final over the Portland Winterhawks, the Warriors carried their strong play into Game 2 on Saturday night as they picked up a 5-1 win to give them a 2-0 series lead in the best-of-seven championship series.

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The league’s top player in the regular season Jagger Firkus — who leads the WHL playoffs in scoring with 29 points in 18 games — notched two goals and an assist in the victory for Moose Jaw as he was named the game’s first star.

“Just kind of buying into the (defensive zone responsibility) and I think that’s where a lot of our offence has come throughout the playoffs and I think it was no different on (Saturday) night,” said Firkus, who had several blocked shots and other scoring chances in the game as well.

“I think a lot of our goals was just a d-zone play that ended up in the back of their net and that goes a long way especially in the playoffs.”

After opening the scoring in Game 1 on a penalty shot, 20-year-old forward Atley Calvert scored the first goal once again on Saturday just five minutes as he finished off a give-and-go with Matthew Savoie, who scored the game winner on Friday on a pass from Calvert.

Midway through the second period, the Warriors increased their lead as Pavel McKenzie wired home a shot from the slot past Winterhawks goalie Jan Spunar for his second of the playoffs to make it 2-0.

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Then with 2:01 to go in the frame, Warriors forward Brayden Yager made it 3-0 for Moose Jaw as he tucked one home on a breakaway after receiving a nifty pass from Firkus.

A minute later, after a Warriors turnover in their own end, Winterhawks forward Nate Danielson pounced on a loose puck and wired it past Moose Jaw’s Jackson Unger to make it 3-1 through 40 minutes.

The Warriors spoiled any hope of a Winterhawks comeback early in the third period as Moose Jaw got that goal back just 15 seconds into the final frame with Firkus snapping one past Spunar to make it 4-1 with his team-leading 13th goal of the post-season.

Minutes later, Firkus wasn’t done as he carried the puck into the zone and executed a give-and-go with Kalem Parker before finding the back of the net for his second of the night to make it 5-1, which would be the final score.

After making 31 saves on 33 shots in Game 1, Unger was solid again in Game 2 as he made 37 saves on 38 shots. Spunar made 22 saves in the losing effort.

“Just real proud of the effort,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary. “We talked all day about what we were going to expect from Portland — a hard push, the second (game) at home here — and I just thought we came ready to go.

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“Each guy had contributions early on in the game and I just thought we sustained it for the most part for 60 minutes.”

The Warriors will now have a chance to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup at home as the series will shift to Moose Jaw for Game 3 on Tuesday night (8 p.m., TSN, Moose Jaw Events Centre) with Game 4 on Wednesday.

Game 5, if necessary, will be played Friday in Moose Jaw. The Warriors have never won a league title as their only other finals appearance came in 2006 when they were swept by the Vancouver Giants.

The winner of this series will represent the WHL at the Memorial Cup set to be played May 24 to June 2 in Saginaw, Mich.

tshire@postmedia.com

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