Zachary Peters

ICE tame Cougars, remain atop East Division

Isaac Johnson had an all-star type of performance, Dawson Barteaux scored his first goal as a member of the Winnipeg ICE and the newest Western Hockey League team rolled to victory on home ice on Tuesday night.

Led by Johnson’s two-goal, two-assist performance, the ICE took down the lowly Prince George Cougars 5-1.

Liam Hughes was also solid in the win as he turned away 21 shots.

“We did a lot of good things system-wise and we capitalized on some of the Cougars’ breakdowns,” said James Patrick, head coach after the game courtesy of winnipegice.ca.

18-year-old Majid Kaddoura opened up the scoring in the game for Prince George with his third goal of the season. However, the goal was his first as a Cougar as he began the season with Saskatoon where he played 36 games. Overall, it’s his 11th point of the season. The goal was scored just 2:06 into the first frame.

At the 16:26 mark, Michal Teply scored his 14th of the season for Winnipeg to tie the game and it stayed that way for the rest of the first period.

Tyler Brennan was sharp for Prince George in the first as he made 11 saves while Hughes turned away eight shots.

Prince George’s offence stalled the rest of the way while Winnipeg’s heated up. 11:36 into the second, Isaac Johnson scored his first of the game and 15th of the season as the ICE went up 2-1. Johnson then made it 3-1, just less than two minutes later as Winnipeg increased its lead.

Winnipeg ended up firing 10 shots on Tyler Brennan in the second, two of which the goaltender failed to stop. Prince George, meanwhile, managed just four shots in the second, and all were stopped by Hughes.

(Photo credit – Zachary Peters) Liam Hughes was once again solid for the ICE.

“We looked good defensively and we did what was needed,” continued Patrick.

Up 3-1 early in the third, the stage was set for Dawson Barteaux. His first goal as a member of the ICE was scored at the 2:18 mark, giving Winnipeg a 4-1 lead. Barteaux played his last 203 games with the Red Deer Rebels before he was picked up by the ICE at the deadline.

(Photo credit – Zachary Peters) Krebs finished the scoring on Tuesday.

Peyton Krebs then capped off the scoring with his fifth tally of the season at the 6:39 mark.

Hughes made nine saves in the third while Brennan turned away 11 shots. In the end, Brennan finished with 29 saves in the defeat while Hughes made 21.

The win means Winnipeg stays atop the East Division. The team is two points up on Prince Albert with a 26-15-1 record. Meanwhile, Prince George remains at the bottom of the Western Conference with a record of 11-23-3-4. Prince George remains in second-to-last as far as goals scored with 89. Only Swift Current has fewer with 84.

The Cougars are in Brandon to play the Wheat Kings on Wednesday. Winnipeg continues its nine-game homestand this weekend with two games against Calgary on Saturday and Sunday. The ICE has gone 3-2 so far on the homestand.

ICINGS:

    • Winnipeg went 1-for-4 on the power play while Prince George was 0-for-4.
    • Filip Koffer was the only Cougar that had a positive rating. He was a +1 with one assist and won the only faceoff he took.
    • Most people will talk about the fact that Winnipeg had five goals. However, the defence was rock solid as it didn’t allow 10 shots in any single period.