Brett Howden’s first career Western Hockey League hat trick powered the Moose Jaw Warriors past the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday night at Mosaic Place.

The Warriors pressed hard and pressed often, scoring three in the first and three in the second period as they cruised to a 6-1 win over the Broncos in their first meeting of the season between the two East Division rivals.

“It was a lucky night for me, everything I was passing was coming back to me,” said Howden after the game.  “I have to give all the credit to my teammates, they created it all for me to happen. None of them was just me, it was the whole team.”

The Warriors' entire lineup was rolling in the win as each line was able to create scoring chances, while the top line continued to go to work.

Brayden Point moved into the WHL lead in points with a goal and four points in the win, he now has 21 points in eight games this season, while lineman Dryden Hunt is just one point back in a tie for second with 20 points in ten games.

“We've got a lot of weapons and guys are working hard, we're winning a lot of battles, that's what's creating those chances and we just need to keep that going on the road this weekend,” said Point, who also moved into sole possession of third place on the Warriors' all-time scoring list in win, moving past Jason Bast.

The Warriors have won three straight and were able to carry over the momentum that they gained from their Central Division road trip when they finished with wins in Calgary and Edmonton.

The offence has been clicking since they scored ten goals in Calgary last Thursday and they were able to get rolling early on Wednesday against the Broncos.

Hunt opened the scoring early in the first period, but the Warriors couldn't add to the lead right away. They put an early dagger in the Broncos with two goals from Howden and Hunt just 42 seconds apart in the final minute of the frame to take a 3-0 lead into the break.

“Any time you can score goals at the end of a frame, that's huge,” said assistant coach Mark O'Leary. “For us, you go into the dressing room and you feel good about yourselves and for them, it's a bit demoralizing.”

The Warriors kept the foot on the gas coming out for the second period when Howden scored a highlight reel goal for his second of the night, driving down the wing and cutting to the net before beating Swift Current goalie Landon Bow just 2:13 into the frame.

That was the end of the night for Bow, who allowed four goals on 11 shots.

Point scored his tenth of the season 3:36 later to put Moose Jaw in front 5-0 and Howden finished off the hat trick on the power play with a tap-in goal with 1:05 to go in the second.

Swift Current broke up Zach Sawchenko's shutout bid with 6:28 gone in the third period when Jon Martin buried his 12th of the year after a scramble in front.

Sawchenko turned away 36 shots in an underrated effort in the Warriors' goal, as he controlled his rebounds and limited the Broncos' second chance opportunities.

“For the most part it was one and done, they fired it at him and he was in good position to take a lot of those right in the chest and smoother it,” said O'Leary. “Any time you can take away what they're trying to do, that's advantageous to us.”

The Warriors, who were ranked sixth in the CHL Top-10 before the game, will look to keep their strong start going when they travel up to Prince Albert on Friday to face the Raiders, who were ranked tenth.

The Tribe will have a rematch with the Broncos on Saturday in Swift Current.