Brayden Yager and the Moose Jaw Warriors saw their season come to an end with a 7-1 loss to the host Saginaw Spirit in the semi-final round of the Memorial Cup on Friday night.
The Spirit advanced to Sunday's championship game, where they will play the OHL champion London Knights.
Moose Jaw's lone goal came from Yager's line when Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus picked off a pass and led a rush with Yager:
The North American Firkus Circus is in full swing! #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/u6KhThsSgG
— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) May 31, 2024
Each team only received one power play in the game, and all eight goals were scored at even strength. Yager was only on the ice for one of the seven goals against:
OWEN BECK EXTENDS THE SPIRIT'S LEAD! #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/oyueb3lteV
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 1, 2024
The first period was pretty evenly matched, with teams tied 1-1 through 20 minutes, with Saginaw outshooting Moose Jaw 9-6. It all fell apart in the second period -- Saginaw outshot Moose Jaw 21-11 and scored five goals in the first 15 minutes.
Yager finished the game with two shots on goal and won five of 16 faceoffs. He scored three goals and three assists in four games in the tournament.
This was the end of Yager's season, but likely not the end of his junior career. With Yager not yet eligible to play in the AHL next season, it's either NHL full-time or back to junior for him for the full season. He'll have the opportunity to try to earn a spot out of the Penguins' training camp, but given that one of his main concerns at this point is needing to get bigger and stronger and add to his 172 pounds, another year in junior to work on adding that strength is probably what's best before he makes the transition to playing against men.
For more on Yager and his growth this season, check out this feature I did from Saginaw last week.
