Ice pick up where they left off

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This article was published 14/04/2023 (980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Ice and Moose Jaw Warriors were here a year ago, toe-to-toe in the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.

Winnipeg’s junior club tore through the Warriors 4-1 in the best-of-seven series, outscoring them 26-10 in the process, to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

One year later, while the matchup appears more fierce, the outcome hasn’t changed.

The top-seeded Ice found a way against the fourth-ranked Warriors, prevailing 5-3 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Wayne Fleming Arena on Friday night.

Owen Pederson and Graham Sward bookended an offensive output that saw five different players score for the hosts. For the first time in the playoffs, the Ice led the game in shots, 37-29, while goaltender Daniel Hauser secured the victory on the strength of 26 saves.

Brayden Yager, Maximus Wanner and Jagger Firkus scored for the visitors while goaltender Connor Ungar suffered his first defeat of the post-season, despite his 32-save effort.

“I think we went out and earned it,” said head coach James Patrick. “We played a real good third period, had a lot of zone time. When you have a lot of zone time, you trap a team in their zone and then they’re just trying to get off the ice.

“At the end of the night, both teams can say they got some stuff to clean up but I really liked how we came through. I thought it was a real good third (period).”

It was a far from perfect effort from the Ice, and it certainly wasn’t the smooth sailing they saw in their first-round sweep over the Medicine Hat Tigers, but the Ice stepped up when it mattered most.

The two sides see-sawed through the first two periods, each dominating one apiece before the Ice showed their experience in the final frame to pull away.

Winnipeg picked up where they left off in the first round, illustrating their quick-strike ability through their dominant power play. It was Pederson, the fifth-year forward, who jammed in a rebound from a Connor McClennon shot to break the ice 64 seconds into the series.

The Ice’s power play fired on just about every cylinder in the first round, going 7-for-22 (31.82 per cent) with the man-advantage. It went one-for-two on Friday night.

Though the first period finished even in shots at 15 apiece, the hosts dominated the frame and capitalized on their opportunities. Nearing the halfway mark of the stanza, Zach Benson introduced himself to the 2023 playoffs by sliding a slick backhand shot by Ungar from in-tight to double the hosts’ lead.

Benson being in the lineup was a welcomed sight for the Ice. The star forward, presumed to be a top-10 pick in this summer’s NHL draft, played for the first time since March 10 when he sustained an upper-body injury.

“It was obviously lots of fun,” said Benson. “It’s pretty hard after five weeks off, but I thought our team played well and we gutted an ugly one out there. I felt pretty rested so the legs felt good, the lungs felt good and overall we played a good team game.”

Pederson added: “Whenever he’s in the lineup for us is huge. He’s such a special player and to get him back was a huge boost for us.”

Just as the Ice appeared to be firmly in the driver’s seat, the Warriors’ horses began to loosen up. Following a third goal by Matthew Savoie, the Warriors finally struck as the first period was coming to a close.

Yager, another top prospect in this summer’s NHL draft, was left all alone in the slot and picked the left corner, over Hauser’s shoulder, to cut the Ice lead back to two heading into the break.

The Warriors carried over the momentum, striking first in the second stanza off a shot from Wanner. Just after the midway point had passed, Firkus, a 2022 second-round draft pick by the Seattle Kraken, found a loose puck in Hauser’s crease and quickly buried it to bring the game back to even entering the final act.

However, it was in the game’s biggest moment when the Ice separated themselves, and it didn’t take long to do so. Less than three minutes into the third period, defenceman Karter Prosofsky steamed up the right side of the Warriors zone before finding Connor McClennon in the slot, from where he fired a one-timer past Ungar to put the Ice in front.

It would stand as the game-winner.

“Ten days without a game, it was a bit tough to get into it, but once were into it, we were rolling,” said Pederson. “A couple of breakdowns here and there but for the most part I liked our effort and played good, but we’ll be even better tomorrow.”

The Ice and Warriors will run it back for Game 2 at Wayne Fleming Arena tonight, 6 p.m. puck drop.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam