All season long, the Moose Jaw Warriors have been seeking secondary scoring.
With Jagger Firkus and Brayden Yager getting the job done most nights on the scoresheet, finding players who can succeed when those guys aren’t at their best has been a bit of a struggle.
But the last few games have seen a steady improvement in that area, and on Saturday night in Prince Albert, the Warriors showed just how dangerous they can be outside of their ultra-elite players.
Martin Rysavy recorded his first Western Hockey League hat trick and Jackson Unger continued his stellar play with a 52-save performance as the Warriors took a 6-3 victory over the Raiders in Western Hockey League action.
The Warriors improved to 14-10-0-1 with the win and moved into sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference, three points back of Saskatoon for second.
Moose Jaw wasted no time getting going, as Ethan Semeniuk won a battle along the boards to create a two-on-one before beating Max Hildebrand with a shot low blocker side 1:32 into the proceedings.
Lynden Lakovic then increased the lead with 3:29 remaining in the first, keeping on another two-on-one and going upstairs for his ninth of the season.
Rysay got on the board for the first time in the game with 50 seconds remaining, and it was a beauty. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect battled with Easton Kovacs all the way up the wing from centre ice before getting a backhand off top corner in close to make it a 3-0 game.
Prince Albert’s Jacob Hoffrogge scored 4:15 into the second and Cole Peardon made it a one-goal game with 4:53 gone in the third, but Atley Calvert would get one back just over three minutes after that marker.
Calvert was in the right spot at the right time after Rysavy poked the puck away from Hildebrand, pouncing on the loose puck at the side of the net and flipping it over Hildebrand.
The goal was his third in his last two games and 13th of the campaign.
Prince Albert got back within one again on a goal by Krzystof Macias with 10:12 to play ,but it was all Rysavy from there.
He potted his eighth of the season on a rebound off a Jagger Firkus shot with 3:31 to play and then outraced a Raiders defender for the empty net goal with 46 seconds remaining for his hat trick.
Denton Mateychuk pick up an assist on the final goal to extend his point streak to all 18 games he’s played this season, giving him six goals and 26 points on the campaign.
Firkus’ assist gives him an even 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points in 23 games as he continues to lead the WHL in scoring.
Semeniuk also had a solid game, racking up a goal and three points.
The win likely wouldn’t have happened without Unger, though.
The 18-year-old netminder faced an increasing number of shots each period, including 20 in the final frame alone and cracked the 50-save mark for the first time this season, facing 55 shots total.
The Warriors are back in action on Tuesday night when the Swift Current Broncos are in town. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
