Confident Wood’s return adds to depth of Ice

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This article was published 21/04/2023 (1078 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Ice have preached the importance of depth during what they hope is a long run in the 2023 Western Hockey League playoffs.

The junior club’s ability to garner production from all four lines this season has been a feather in its collective cap, and its value has increased with each passing game.

Perhaps no player has embraced his role in the bottom half of the lineup more than Briley Wood. The product of Rivers in western Manitoba has fit in seamlessly since rejoining the Ice in late March.

Wood, who was traded to Winnipeg from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in August, started the season playing nine games with the Ice before a lack of ice time led him to seek an opportunity with the Neepawa Titans of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

Wood has had a couple of stints with the Titans throughout his junior career as he’s struggled to find his footing in the WHL. During his current stint, however, the 6-3 183-pound forward has looked like a different player.

Wood tallied 19 goals and 57 points in 39 games with the Titans this season. His superb play led him back to the Ice for the final four games of the regular season and he’s managed to cement himself as a mainstay in the lineup.

“I think I just needed to get some confidence,” the 20-year-old said of the difference in his play this season. “Just trust myself and keep working hard.

“It’s special. I always enjoy playing in my home province here and we got a great group here so I’m really excited to be back with them. Just looking forward to the rest of the playoffs here.”

Wood and the Ice were back at practice Friday morning after returning from Moose Jaw, where the club split Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with the Warriors. Moose Jaw dominated the Ice 8-4 in Game 3, but Winnipeg was able to knot the series with a 3-2 overtime victory Wednesday.

Tied 2-2, the series returns to the Manitoba capital Saturday night at Wayne Fleming Arena, 7:30 puck drop. Game 6 will go back to Saskatchewan on Monday (8 p.m.) and, if necessary, Game 7 will be back in Winnipeg on Wednesday (7 p.m.).

Wood is one of three players on the team from rural Manitoba. Conor Geekie, who grew up 30 minutes away in Strathclair, is another.

The two have been friends since they were six and were often opponents on the ice during their minor hockey days. Geekie has enjoyed a front-row seat to Wood’s progression as a player.

“He was a special player growing up. In my opinion, he was the best player I ever played against growing up in novice,” Geekie said.

“I’m super proud of him. We both come from small towns and being able to put your town on the map is a big thing for us. Him getting sent down early in the year and going to dominate, that’s just another proud moment for me. I’m lucky enough to play with him, kind of like the good old days, and it’s a lot of fun and I enjoy watching him.

The longtime pals have often found themselves on the same line since the post-season started, offering much in the way of physicality while operating in a shut-down role for head coach James Patrick.

“When (Wood) was with us early in the season, I felt the same way,” Patrick said. “(He’s) a big body, a good skater, who keeps the game simple, but he’s real versatile. He can play wing, he can play centre, he’s been good on faceoffs. He’s taken a lot of the draws on the right side in the offensive zone and has a winning percentage.

“I think he showed he improved as a player, got to play a ton and you look at when he came up at the end of the year and into playoffs, he’s been able to move up in the lineup when we’ve had injuries and he’s done a real good job.”

Patrick said he liked the effort his team put forth in Game 4 after what was possibly its worst showing of the playoffs a game prior. With the series turning to a best-of-three, with two contests being at home, its clear what the bench boss needs to see of his club in order to move on to the Eastern Conference finals for a consecutive year.

“We knew we had our backs against the wall and we had to put in a solid effort,” Patrick said.

“I thought we did. I thought we did a lot better job in the offensive zone, we held on to pucks, we spread the ice out, we got low to high with a high forward and it just helped us. We spent more time in their zone than we did the night before and I think that was a big thing we want to build off of.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam