Ice well rested and ready for Round 2

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This article was published 10/04/2023 (987 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Winnipeg Ice will be a rested bunch no matter who they face Friday.

The Ice have reaped the rewards of a Round 1 sweep for the better part of a week. After making quick work of the Medicine Hat Tigers in a best-of-seven Western Hockey League playoff series, they were afforded a rare opportunity to recuperate during the post-season.

“Ultimately, it is a good thing,” forward Owen Pederson said Monday. “It gives us rest and gives us time to recover and have our bodies feeling good going into the next series. But I think it’s important that we’re staying sharp in practice and a lot of game situation drills so we’re ready.”

While Winnipeg’s prep work has occurred without the benefit of knowing which foe the squad will face, that changes moving forward.

On Monday night, the Regina Pats and host Saskatoon Blades battled in a winner-take-all Game 7 of their series. The result wasn’t available at press time. If the Pats prevailed, they head to Winnipeg to face the Ice in Game 1 on Friday (7 p.m.) at Wayne Fleming Arena, but if the Blades won, the Ice host the fourth-seeded Moose Jaw Warriors.

While the Ice outmatch both teams on paper, each comes with its own threats.

The Pats, 34-30-3-1 in the regular season, are led by phenom Connor Bedard, deemed the best prospect in the world and the undisputed top pick in this summer’s NHL Draft. After lapping the field with 143 points during the regular season (36 more than the next player), Bedard has managed to find another gear in the playoffs, registering 19 points through the first six games.

However, the Ice can find solace in their regular-season success against the Pats, in which they went 5-1 while outscoring Regina 35-19.

“Obviously, they’re a good team and they got a really special player over there,” said forward Zack Ostapchuk. “I think if we do a good job with him, we’ll do all right and I think that’s our game plan if we do play them.”

Behind the second door are the fourth-seed Warriors, who handed Winnipeg three of its 11 losses during the regular season. The Ice also triumphed three times.

The Warriors went 41-24-0-3 and are coming off a first-round series sweep of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

“I guess we’ll find out who it is,” said Pederson. “If it ends up being Moose Jaw, we’ve had good games against them all year. They’re a good team, they’re strong all throughout their lineup. Whoever it ends up being, it’s gonna be a great series.”

The Ice will carry significant momentum into the second round. Despite missing star forward Zach Benson and trade-deadline acquisition Carson Latimer for the entire series, the Ice scored 20 goals in four games while conceding nine.

Winnipeg’s deadly power play led the way, going seven-for-22 (31.8 per cent).

“You need depth to be successful in the playoffs,” said head coach James Patrick. “Our depth showed at the end of the day, that was probably the difference in the series. We got scoring from all four lines.”

Regardless of who the Ice face Friday, the urgency will have to go up a notch, Pederson said.

“Every round you go further in terms of game pace, physicality. All those things, it kind of goes up a notch as you go further down,” he said. “I think round one is intense, but round two will definitely be a step up.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam