Hat-Tricks For Firkus & Bedard in High-Scoring Warriors Blowout
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Your Moose Jaw Warriors were in Regina, on Friday night, for the first in a back-to-back, home-and-away weekend against Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats.
I put Connor Bedard’s name first there because he really is a draw much larger than the team itself.
Moose Javians are getting one last look at him, this weekend, before he heads off to the professional leagues with a ceiling as high as Gretzky and McDavid.
Unless, of course, there’s some playoff miracle in store.
The last time the two teams met the game was shrouded under a veil of mysterious suspensions and the Pats made mince meat of the Warriors defence and goaltending, defeating them 8-4.
Regina did score first in this one too but Moose Jaw settled in, prevented an early flood of goals and got work scoring a bunch themselves.
Spoiler: there were a ton of goals in this game, 14 altogether. Both teams were gunning.
The first goal was, of course, scored by Connor Bedard, his 64th of the year. He added 65 and 66 later.
Connor Bedard scored, obviously - via North Shore News
Things started to look worse for the tribe when Brady Ness took a Boarding penalty and put the Pats vaunted Power Play line on the ice.
But on the Penalty Kill, Robert Baco intercepted a loose puck and broke out on a 2-on-1 with Josh Hoekstra.
Hoekstra was able to net the equalizer. His 9th of the year.
Josh Hoekstra’s short-handed goal worked the Warriors’ offence - photo credit Twitter
Invigorated, perhaps, by the short-handed tally, The Warriors then scored twice more in quick succession after that.
Ryder Korczak, finishing his own rebound, with the first and then Jagger Firkus with the second.
In a span of four minutes the Warriors had scored three times, heading into the locker room with a multi-goal lead.
Jagger Firkus scored again for the Warriors to kick off the second period.
He is the team leader in points and behind only Atley Calvert for the lead in goals.
This most recent one being his 35th.
The goal came when Brayden Yager intercepted a pass with his skate and it somehow ended up on Firkus’ stick.
Firkus rushed at the Pats’ goalie and beat him, gloveside, with a wrist shot.
The Brandt centre was put on notice. A Hat-Trick was looming.
Connor who??
Jagger Firkus scored three goals - photo credit Twitter
Unsatisfied with everybody else scoring, Martin Rysavy decided he wanted one for himself.
He stripped the puck from a Pats defender, fired a shot at Drew Sim, then finished on the rebound.
The Pats’ management had seen enough, they pulled goalie.
It was a massacre. The Warriors were in flight.
Interesting note, this was the second consecutive game in which the tribe had scored so much the opposition pulled their goalie.
They did that the weekend before against Swift Current too.
Atley Calvert scored his 37th off the season, in the 12th minute of period 2.
It was clear, by this point, that the reason Moose Jaw was scoring had little to do with poor Pat goaltending and everything to do with potent Warrior goal scoring.
As for Moose me Jaw-born WHL players, that goal put Calvert ahead of former Warriors’ coach Len Nielsen’s 36 goal 1985-86 season with the Regina Pats. Salt; meet wound.
Not to be outdone though, Connor Bedard scored two more goals to wrap up a Hat-Trick before the period ended.
Eric Alarie also scored late in the frame, his 19th of the year.
Already ten goals; and still another period to play.
The Pats weren’t giving up easily.
Seven minutes into the third period Riley Ginnell, who, for a brief moment in time, was a Moose Jaw Warrior, scored a goal for the Pats, inching them a little bit closer to making this a tight game.
Riley Ginnell scored for the Pats. Ginnell played 14 games with the Warriors earlier this season - photo credit Moose Jaw Warriors Twitter
If you thought that would be the last of the scoring, you were wrong.
Logan Dowhaniuk added one more, a slap shot from the point to make it 8-4 and then Alexander Suzdalev, Bedard’s high-flying linemate, scored one almost immediately after that.
Suzdalev’s goal was his 37th; it was assisted by Bedard, who had gotten a point on all five of Regina’s goals.
What does that tell you about the 2022-23 Regina Pats?
The kid scores a Hat-Trick plus a pair of assists and they still lose, by a wide margin.
Poor kid needs some help out there.
Jagger Firkus also completed the Hat-Trick; with only 19 seconds left to play.
The Warriors were on a late Power Play and Firkus ripped a shot past the back-up goalie.
The Firkus Circus was on tour and the Queen City was its venue.
The final score was 9-5 for Moose Jaw.
The Warriors offence is rolling and they’ll look to keep that coming on Saturday night, when they host the Pats at a sold out Moose Jaw Events Centre.
