With the way things had gone for Moose Jaw Warriors forward Martin Rysavy through their B.C. Division road swing, it stood to figure the 19-year-old Czech forward was going to have a breakout game sooner than later.
That time came on Saturday night.
Rysavy had two goals and five points in the first two periods as the Warriors built a 9-1 lead and would go on to an 9-2 victory on Teddy Bear Toss night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The Warriors improved to 19-10-0-0 with the win, moving within two points of the Saskatoon Blades for third in the Eastern Conference and four of Red Deer for second.
With all the offence on the night, there was an important order of business to get out of the way first.
One would think the Teddy Bear Toss goal would be scored by someone with a ton of goals under their belt, a prolific sniper like Ryder Korczak or Brayden Yager, but as has become a Moose Jaw Warriors tradition, it was one of their youngsters who came through.
Harper Lolacher scored the Teddy Bear goal for 2022, as the 17-year-old forward finished off a run of pressure in the Hitmen zone by finding the puck in the slot, spinning and putting a shot on net that redirected and eluded Calgary goaltender Brayden Peters at the 7:59 mark of the first period.
The goal was Lolacher’s third goal and fourth point of the season.
“It brought it in and around and passed out to Dents (captain Denton Mateychuk) who made the play in front. He took the shot, it bounced and came to me and I just turned around and fired ‘er and it went in,” Lolacher said in describing his goal.
“It feels good, it’s good for the community and everyone gets to celebrate throwing teddy bears on the ice, it’s just good for everyone and a lot of fun.”
The game was delayed by about 15 minutes as hundreds of bears, toques and mittens were thrown onto the ice and collected in a pair of pick-up trucks, with all items donated to the Salvation Army Toy Drive for those less fortunate this Christmas season.
That was only the start of a solid period for the Warriors, as Josh Hoekstra continued the offence by showing great hand-eye coordination to bat the puck out of the air and into the Calgary net just over three minutes later
Jagger Firkus then made it a 3-0 Warriors lead with 1:09 to play in the period, taking a slick pass from Rysavy out of the corner and one-timing a shot into the wide-open cage.
Sean Tschigerl got one back for Calgary before the period was out, though, scoring right off the face-off with 19 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Hoekstra restored the three-goal edge 1:40 into the second, tipping a Ben Riche point shot past Peters to make it a 4-1 game.
Ten minutes later, it was 5-1, as Eric Alarie -- back after missing a handful of games due to injury -- found the puck at the side of the net and put a shot home just as a Hitmen double minor expired.
Some smooth puck movement in the Calgary zone on the power play led to Moose Jaw’s sixth goal. Jagger Firkus and Ryder Korczak whipped the puck around the zone before Firkus found Yager alone in the slot, and one one-timer later, the highly-ranked NHL Draft prospect had his 17th of the season with 6:17 left in the period.
The onslaught continued 1:28 later when Rysavy scored his first of the campaign, snapping a goalless run that the Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick admitted was beginning to get to him.
“It was incredible,” Rysavy said of his big night. “The last couple games I started building to the game I want to play, be really strong on the puck and get to the net. Tonight the whole game came together, and maybe the goals were a bit lucky off rebounds, but that’s kind of my game. This is a night i really needed to build momentum and I’m really happy it finally happened.”
Lucas Brenton scored 49 seconds later, and 1:46 after that goal, Rysavy had his second marker and fifth point of the game.
All told, the Warriors would score six goals in the period, including four in the final 6:17.
The Warriors had 14 different players pick up points on the night as their overall team depth continued to show. Korczak, Mateychuk and Max Wanner all had two assists on the night.
That balance is something Rysavy was quick to point out when asked his overall opinion of the game.
“It’s not just me, it’s all the guys,” Rysavy said emphatically. “We were battling for pucks, we were skating, we were trying to do all the good things. I was the guy with five points, but you look in that locker room, everyone helped me… it feels incredible, but just until midnight because tomorrow is the next game in Medicine Hat and we have to get ready for that one.”
Carter Yakemchuk got one back for Calgary with eight minutes remaining in the third to close out scoring on the night.
Connor Ungar turned yet another solid showing in goal, turning aside 27 shots to pick up his 14th win of the season, second-best in the WHL in that category.
The Warriors are back in action Saturday night when they travel to Medicine Hat. Next home action is Tuesday, Dec. 13 when they host the Spokane Chiefs. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
