Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Tracey has often looked like the best player on the ice this Western Hockey League season, regardless of who the Warriors face.
On Sunday afternoon, the stats backed him up.
Tracey scored three times and assisted on Ryder Korczak’s game-winning goal 28 seconds into overtime as the Warriors took a 5-4 win over the Saskatoon Blades in Saskatoon.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Tribe and saw them return to .500 in the East Division standings with a 6-6-1-1 record.
Tracey’s hat trick included a pair of power play goals and put the Warriors up 3-1 26 seconds into the second period. The veteran-laden Blades wouldn’t go down with out a fight, though, as Chase Wouters scored his second of the game and Riley McKay would add a pair of markers to see Saskatoon take a 4-3 lead with 5:04 gone in the final frame.
That set the stage for Bryden Kiesman to score the first of his WHL career with 4:29 to play and send the game into overtime.
Bailey Brkin turned aside 26 shots to earn the victory, but just as interesting was who backed him up on the bench – none other than Adam Evanoff, who made his first official return to the line-up after missing the start of the season while recovering from hip surgery.
Nolan Maier had a decidedly less-busy night in the Saskatoon net, turning aside a total of 10 shots.
The Warriors are back in action Friday when they host the Red Deer Rebels. Game time is 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.
