‘We’re going out for the win’ Experienced Ice squad focused on capturing WHL crown By: Joshua Frey-Sam Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023

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The Winnipeg Ice have lived this tale before. This year, they hope to pen a different ending.

The top-ranked junior club will begin the next chapter of its 2022-23 season Friday when they face the eighth-seeded Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs. Puck drop is 7 p.m. at Wayne Fleming Arena.

The Ice find themselves in a spot that’s eerily reminiscent of a season ago: the team to beat, fresh off a Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (crowned to the league’s regular season champion) and primed for a WHL championship.

Last year, it all came to a crashing halt. The club carved its way to the semi-final series, where it fell 4-1 in a best-of-seven series to the eventual champion Edmonton Oil Kings.

“It was tough. You never want to end the year on a loss,” said star forward Matthew Savoie, who did not play in the Ice’s season-ending defeat. “The boys were devastated, it was pretty sad in the locker room after with our graduating 20 (year olds) playing their last games.”

Savoie said he thinks a happier ending could be on the horizon this time around. A year wiser and now battle-tested, the Ice finished a franchise-best 57-10-1 during the regular season and looked every bit of a squad poised to reign over the WHL.

“We’re hoping not to feel that feeling this year, and we’re going out for the win this year,” said Savoie, a top prospect of the Buffalo Sabres.

“We were pretty inexperienced last year. So I think this year, having a little more experience, being a bit of an older team, going through those ups and downs and learning from it has been really big for our group this year with our mindset and how we approach the playoffs in general.”

The Ice were already oozing with talent when the year started, then pushed their chips to the middle at the trade deadline, adding rugged forward Easton Armstrong, speedster Carson Latimer and one of the gems on the market, Zack Ostapchuk, in what was a deal that signalled the team was all in.

“We’re really versatile,” said Ice captain Carson Lambos, a 2021 first-round pick of the Minnesota Wild. “That allows us to play a physical game, if need be. We’re fast and skilled, as well. So I think our versatility is really helpful, can help us play different style of games and just fit what the game brings us.”

“We were pretty inexperienced last year. So I think this year, having a little more experience, being a bit of an older team, going through those ups and downs and learning from it has been really big for our group this year with our mindset and how we approach the playoffs in general.”–Matthew Savoie

Lambos said last season’s heartbreak ending has paid some fruitful dividends this year and that the veteran squad will remain level-headed during the post-season.

“One more year of experience under our belt goes a long way. Just knowing what it’s like, the momentum, the value of momentum in a series. I think prior to last year, we only had a couple of guys with maybe four or five playoff games, and now, pretty much our whole team has been there and knows what to expect.

“Obviously, every game in the playoffs is so meaningful. There will be more nerves and more energy and you just realize that every shift is so valuable. Maybe in the regular season you have those nights where you don’t get those nerves and you don’t get that energy, but in the playoffs, it comes and it’s just about managing it and channelling that energy to help you out, rather than hurt you.”

Indeed, managing the ebbs and flows of the playoffs will be key for the Ice, especially in the opening round against Medicine Hat. The Tigers, despite owning a modest 30-29-8 record, are far from your typical eighth-seed doormat.

The hard-nosed Alberta squad has given the Ice fits at many points during their four previous meetings, but Winnipeg won the season series 3-1 and own a plus-eight goal differential.

“I believe they’re one of the most improved teams in the league. They were a much better team in the second half of the year,” Ice head coach James Patrick said of the Tigers. “The last couple of games have been real close games.

“They’re really well-rounded team. Every line on their team plays the exact same. They’re very aggressive on the forecheck, their (defencemen) are as aggressive position-wise, as any team. If you’re not ready for it, it’ll lead to turnovers. I thought their pressure is probably the strength of their team, how they play with a full five-man pressure attack.”

Patrick had the tough task of coaching a team that had little to play for over the last month of the season. With a No. 1 seed locked up weeks ago, the Ice have been trying to stay healthy and remain a well-oiled machine heading into the playoffs.

“I just said, ‘No matter what, I want us working on our system. We’re not going to cheat, we’re not playing for points. In all three zones, I’d like us to keep cleaning up our system so we’re really dialed in come playoff time.’ That was probably the message the last three weeks,” Patrick said.

“I just said, ‘No matter what, I want us working on our system. We’re not going to cheat, we’re not playing for points. In all three zones, I’d like us to keep cleaning up our system so we’re really dialed in come playoff time.’ That was probably the message the last three weeks.”–Ice head coach James Patrick

“Our routine stays the same. We’ve really talked about keeping our emotions in check. Plays and things that happen get magnified. Discipline is probably even more crucial in the playoffs because one shift can change the look of the game. Outside of that, it’s trusting our system, trusting the players, trusting your teammates.”

Also in the Eastern Conference bracket, the Red Deer Rebels (2) will face the Calgary Hitmen (7) while the Saskatoon Blades (3) battle the Regina Pats (6) and Moose Jaw Warriors (4) meet the Lethbridge Hurricanes (5).

In the Western Conference, the Seattle Thunderbirds (1) will square off against the Kelowna Rockets (8), as the Memorial Cup hosting Kamloops Blazers (2) clash with the Vancouver Giants (7), the Portland Winterhawks (3) face the Everett Silvertips (6) and the Prince George Cougars (4) meet the Tri-City Americans (5).

The winner of the WHL championship will advance to the Memorial Cup in Kamloops, a four-team tournament (with the winner of the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) to crown the champion of the Canadian Hockey League.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam

Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter

Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.

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