Getting you all caught up from the week that was for the Winnipeg based WHL team.
Week in Review:
ICE Record: 1-0-2 (4-3 SOL vs LET, 4-3 OTW @ SAS, 3-2 OTL @ PA)
A three-game week saw each game go past 60 minutes as the Winnipeg ICE continue to put points in the standings bank.
Returning to the ICE Cave after a seven-game road trip, Winnipeg welcomed the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday, March 2 and promptly fell behind 3-0 after the first. Daniel Hauser was chased from the crease after allowing three goals on nine shots, but the ICE responded well in the second with Zach Benson, Chase Wheatcroft, and Connor McClennon scoring to tie the game. The third and overtime solved nothing so a shootout was needed. Swiss forward Liekit Reichle scored in the sixth round to help the Hurricanes escape with the extra point in a 4-3 shootout win.
The ICE hit the road again for a quick trip to northern Saskatchewan. On Friday, March 4 Winnipeg went to Saskatoon to try and dull the Blades. Once again, the ICE came back to tie the game, this time late with a power play goal from Jack Finley to force OT. It seemed another shootout was coming, but Jakin Smallwood ended the game with a second left in the extra frame to give Winnipeg a 4-3 OT win. Matthew Savoie scored Winnipeg’s other two goals.
The next night on March 5, the ICE went up to Prince Albert to rumble with the Raiders. Finley and Mikey Milne scored in regulation but once again extra hockey would be needed to find a winner. Early in the frame, the Chicago Blackhawks’ first round pick from the 2021 draft Nolan Allan scored an unassisted OT winner to put the Raiders two points back of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
Winnipeg now sits eight points back of first place with five games in hand on the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Upcoming week (all times in central time):
Winnipeg has three games this week, all of them in Manitoba.
On Tuesday, March 8 the ICE Cave opens up to the Calgary Hitmen at 7:00 p.m. This will be the Hitmen’s first visit to Winnipeg this season. The two teams have already played twice this season in Calgary, with the ICE winning two close games there.
On Friday, March 11, Winnipeg goes two hours west to Brandon to kick off a home-and-home edition of the Battle of Manitoba. Brandon right now is firmly entrenched in sixth place in the East – they’re nine points back of fifth but ten points ahead of seventh place. The next night on Saturday, March 12 the teams head to Winnipeg to finish off the two game set.
Star of the Week – Matthew Savoie (Two Goals, Two Assists):
One of the top eligible prospects in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, Matthew Savoie put together another impressive week which has become his standard. Now that Peyton Krebs is a full-time pro, this is Savoie’s team. He’s grown in every aspect a hockey player needs to get ready for the NHL level, something he put on display with his impressive performance this week.
