McLennon makes his mark

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This article was published 12/04/2021 (1848 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Connor McClennon is at his best, the puck doesn’t spend much time on his stick.

He was true to form on Monday night.

Late in the first period, the 18-year-old Winnipeg right-winger slammed a rebound past Regina Pats goaltender Roddy Ross for his ninth goal of the WHL’s East Division hub to give the Ice a 2-1 lead.

Then, early in the middle frame, McClennon teed off with a one-timer blast for his 10th in 16 games on a power-play feed from Peyton Krebs to make it 3-1.

It was all Winnipeg would need for its sixth consecutive win, improving the club’s record to 12-4-0-0. The Ice has 24 points and is tied with the Brandon Wheat Kings for second in the East, two points behind the first-place Saskatoon Blades.

“I didn’t get good wood on that last one, so there’s definitely one more I’d like to go in but we got the two points and that’s all I can really say at this point,” said McClennon, who finished with a game-high 10 shots on net.

McClennon said the chemistry with Krebs has risen to a new level.

“It just keeps getting better and better with each game,” he said. “I think the more touches we get, the more practices we get — that’s when we get better. He knows where to find me and I know how to find him, so I think that’s what makes us so good, especially off the rush.”

Conor Geekie gave the Ice an early 1-0 lead with a breakaway goal after a nice stretch pass from Karter Prosofsky.

Logan Nijhoff had the only goal for the Pats, who struggled to generate offence without superstar rookie Connor Bedard in the lineup.

The 15-year-old centre scored two goals in his final game with Regina Saturday (a 2-1 OT win over Brandon) before heading home to quarantine in preparation to play for Canada at the world U18 championship in Texas later this month.

The game had some heated moments with the Pats attempting to ruffle Krebs, who leads the league with 29 points.

“When you play the same teams over and over I think some rivalry start to build up and that’s kind of the hatred you get from playing each team so many times,” said McClennon. “I think that’s what’s so good about this experience. You want to win every game — there’s not a Memorial Cup, there’s not an Ed Chynoweth (Cup) now, so we’re just trying to finish as high we can.”

Ice head coach James Patrick said a pattern has been established lately.

“I think teams look at us and say the best way to play us to be as nasty as can be, as physical as we can get, can we get in Krebs’ kitchen,” said Patrick. “P.A. plays a lot like that but I thought, there’s a little more for from Regina tonight than normal.”

Carl Stankowski made 22 saves in the Winnipeg net while Pats goaltender Roddy Ross finished with 27 stops.

Next up for the Ice is a Wednesday matchup with the Wheat Kings. Game time is 9 p.m.

“It’s a big game against the best team that we’ve played against here,” said Patrick. “They’ve been first for a while and they’ve beaten us twice,” said Patrick. “I think they’ve got a really good team.”

BLUE-LINES: Forward Evan Waldie and goaltender Daniel Hauser were healthy scratches for the Ice. Defenceman Carson Lambos and Nolan Orzeck and Rhys Raeside and Anderson MacDonald remain on Winnipeg’s injured list… Lambos, who is scheduled for an April 28 medical procedure to repair an unspecified ailment, was originally scheduled to play for Canada at the U18 worlds. His spot on the Team Canada roster was taken by Moose Jaw defenceman Denton Mateychuk. The 16-year-old from Dominion City is off to a terrific start in his rookie season with two goals and nine points in his first 16 games.

Three stars: 1. Connor McClennon, Winnipeg (two goals); 2. Conor Geekie, Winnipeg (one goal); 3. Ryker Evans, Regina (one assist).

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14