Moose Jaw Warriors advance to WHL final after beating Saskatoon ...
The Warriors will take on the Portland Winterhawks for the Western Hockey League championship
Published May 08, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 2 minute read
After playing a record-setting six overtime games in their seven-game series, the Moose Jaw Warriors are Western Hockey League Eastern Conference champions.
Lynden Lakovic scored just 36 seconds into overtime on Tuesday night in Game 7 as the Warriors beat the Saskatoon Blades 3-2 to capture the WHL’s Eastern Conference title.
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“Our coach is always saying throw it on net and something good might happen,” Lakovic told reporters after the game. “I thought I would just throw it there and maybe a greasy rebound would happen and I was lucky enough to get a bounce off one of their guys’ skates.”
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With Warriors’ forward Atley Calvert driving the net, Lakovic went up the wing and tossed it towards the goal before the puck bounced off a Blades defender and went in. It was the second straight OT winner scored by the 17-year-old Lakovic, who also had the Game 6 winner on Sunday.
“We talk about, especially overtime, it doesn’t have to be pretty, it just needs to get there,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary. “And when you’re playing with Atley Calvert and he goes to the net like he does, you can’t go wrong just putting it there.
“Again, (Lakovic) knows what to do in overtime games.”
With the victory, the Warriors booked their spot in the WHL championship for the first time since losing to the Vancouver Giants in 2006. They will face the Portland Winterhawks, who ousted the Prince George Cougars in the Western Conference Final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Moose Jaw — who finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 44-21-3 record — and Portland — who finished second in the Western Conference with a 48-15-5 record — met once in the regular season on Feb. 28 with the Warriors winning 4-3 during their U.S road trip. In that game, the Warriors had a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes before six goals were scored in the third period.
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“They’re fast,” said O’Leary. “It might have been, in terms of an overall hockey game, the best one of the year when we were in Portland.
“We said at the time, ‘wouldn’t it be fun if we were heading back here to do it again?’ and here we are.”
The WHL championship series will follow a 2-3-2 format with Game 1 and 2 set for Friday and Saturday in Portland. The series will then shift to Moose Jaw for Game 3 on May 14 and Game 4 on May 15.
If necessary, Game 5 will be on May 17 in Moose Jaw. Game 6 is scheduled for May 19 back in Portland with Game 7 on May 20. All games are set to be broadcast on TSN and begin at 8 p.m.
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