One season after winning just 13 games, the big question was how the ICE franchise would bounce back this season. The club relocated to Winnipeg and played their home opener in late September. With Christmas just more than a month away, the ICE have certainly made some noise across the Western Hockey League.
Entering their first extended road trip of the season, the ICE have 10 wins to their name. That’s three less than all of last year and this year’s team has only played 19 games.
There have been a lot of ups and there have been some downs. Monday afternoon against Brandon was one of the downs. The team hit the road to challenge the Brandon Wheat Kings, and they travelled back home after losing 7-2.
“Brandon beat us in every area. They outworked us and they scored three goals because we didn’t track hard enough back,” said head coach James Patrick after the defeat, courtesy of winnipegice.ca. “We also didn’t get anything going on the power play and they did.”
The game wrapped up a busy week for Winnipeg. It was their fourth game in six days. However, that wasn’t an excuse James was using.
“They’ve had the same schedule. It wasn’t like we’ve played so much and they’ve been resting. We can’t use that as an excuse,” continued Patrick.
Michael Milne, who scored a goal in the game, also shared his thoughts afterwards.
“They were better than us — it’s pretty simple,” said Milne. “I’m happy with my game right now, but I don’t really look at the production personally. It’s all about the team and we lost, so I’m not happy.”
Winnipeg will now get used to spending a fair bit of time on the bus. Starting on Saturday, the team will play five games in eight days, all on the road. Things begin at the Angel of the Winds Arena against Everett. The trip also includes games against Portland, Seattle, Tri-City, and Spokane.
Those five teams combined already have 48 wins. Everett is atop the pack with a 13-4 record. Portland and Tri-City aren’t far behind with 11 wins while Spokane has eight and Seattle has five.
“We’ll deal with what happened against Brandon on Tuesday, and then we’ll get ready for the trip,” continued Patrick.
“We need to practice hard for the next couple of days. It’s going to be a tough trip and we have to be ready for it,” added Milne.
Good news:
Winnipeg will welcome back one of their strongest players. Rookie Carson Lambos will make the trip after missing the last few games, as he was playing for Team Canada at the World Under 17 Challenge.
Lambos and Canada White ended up finishing fourth. Carson had two assists in the bronze medal game, but it wasn’t enough as they lost 3-2 to Czech Republic. They have now won bronze in two of the past three tournaments. Lambos was the sole Canadian named to the all-tournament team.
The return of Lambos also means the return of Matthew Savoie. Although it’s uncertain if he will even make the trip with the team, he will be back in Winnipeg. Savoie scored once in the bronze medal game, assisted by Lambos.
Savoie finished the tournament with six points, while Lambos chipped in with five.
Penalty kill woes:
The fact is the Winnipeg ICE have 10 wins. However, their penalty-killing numbers sure aren’t helping them at all. In the 22-team league, the ICE are at the bottom. They’ve killed just 39-of-60 penalties they have taken this season. Their 65% is 8.1% lower than the Prince George Cougars who sit in the 21st spot.
When it comes to the Eastern Conference, the Regina Pats are close to the bottom. However, they still have a much better kill percentage than Winnipeg at 77.8%. At the end of the day, Winnipeg has had success even though their penalty killing has struggled.
That begs the question — if Winnipeg can sharpen up their penalty kill, are they contenders? It’s certainly something to pay attention to.
Defence first:
Winnipeg has allowed 77 goals. Only the Medicine Hat Tigers have allowed more this season (79). With a big trip on the horizon, building some confidence defensively against a few solid offensive teams could go a long way in creating a solid defensive culture in Winnipeg moving forward.
Trip schedule:
Saturday, November 16 @ Everett.
Sunday, November 17 @ Portland.
Tuesday, November 19 @ Seattle.
Friday, November 22 @ Tri-City.
Saturday, November 23 @ Spokane.
For those waiting for the next “Battle of Manitoba”, that comes up at the end of the month. Winnipeg is in Brandon on November 29, and they host the Wheat Kings the next night to end November.
