Ice man Krebs in total control

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This article was published 18/03/2021 (1678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was one of those nights where Peyton Krebs appeared to have the puck on his stick every time he hopped over the boards.

And when he wasn’t controlling the flow of the game, the all-star Winnipeg Ice centre was dishing the puck to his wingers Owen Pederson and Connor McClennon, who finished the game with seven shots on goal apiece.

The result wasn’t a major offensive explosion — the unit combined for four points — but it was a dominant performance nonetheless.

Pederson scored once, his second of the WHL’s East Division hub, and Krebs added a goal and an assist, his fourth and fifth points in four games, as Winnipeg rolled to a 5-2 triumph over the previously unbeaten Moose Jaw Warriors at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

Cole Muir, with his first of the season, Zach Benson and Jakin Smallwood, into an empty net, also scored for the winners, who fell behind 1-0 early in the opening frame but took control in the second and third periods. The loss snapped Moose Jaw’s three-game winning streak to start the season. Both teams have identical 3-1-0-0 records

“They were on a little streak there and (judging) from last year, they are way better team,” said Muir. “So I expected a battle for sure. We came out a little flat in the first five, six minutes and then we stuck to our game plan and it paid off.”

Cole Jordan and Eric Alarie replied with goals for the Warriors.

Benson, the baby-faced left-winger from Chilliwack, B.C., continued his amazing impact at the hub. The 2020 first-round pick is Winnipeg’s youngest and smallest player — he’s only 5-7 and 150 pounds — but he so far seemed unfazed by bigger defenders, potting two goals and three points in four games.

“He was so impressive to me the week we practised (before the hub),” said Ice head coach James Patrick earlier in the week. “I know he’s slight, he’s a 15-year-old who’s got some growing to do but his skating and hockey sense stood out so much for me. In some of the drills that you’re explaining and then kids have to have reads, he was at the top of the class. I don’t have him on the power play but I’ve used him killing penalties in practice and he’s elite at killing penalties.”

Brett Mirwald made 31 saves in the Moose Jaw net while Ice goaltender Carl Stankowski, making in his second start in the hub, stopped 26 shots.

Next up for the Ice in the hub is a Sunday matchup with the Prince Albert Raiders. Game time is 5 p.m.

BLUE-LINES: Defenceman Carson Lambos and forwards Anderson MacDonald (knee) and Mike Milne (shoulder) did not dress. Lambos has returned to Winnipeg to undergo an unspecified medical procedure. Defenceman Brandt Young, goaltender Gage Alexander and left-winger Evan Waldie were healthy scratches… Winnipeg went 1-for-6 on the power play while Moose Jaw scored once in four tries… Three stars: 1. Peyton Krebs, Winnipeg; 2. Eric Alarie, Moose Jaw; 3. Ben Zloty, Winnipeg.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14