Isaac Johnson had a game he will certainly remember for a long time, and the Winnipeg ICE got back in the win column on Saturday night.
After a slow first period, the ICE completely owned the final two periods and they ended up defeating the visiting Victoria Royals, 5-2.
Johnson scored one goal and added three assists in the win, Winnipeg’s first since January 18. Keep in mind, they only played one other game since that time.
“We played harder defensively and we got the puck out of our zone more often,” said Johnson after the game courtesy of winnipegice.ca.
Victoria opened the scoring in the first as Gary Haden scored for the second straight night. This goal was his 17th of the season, and it was 6:20 into the game to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Tarun Fizer made it 2-0 with his 15th at the 10:33 mark.
Liam Hughes ended up making 12 saves for Winnipeg in the first while Adam Evanoff was very solid for Victoria, making 14 saves as the Royals led 2-0 after 20.
The second period came around and Winnipeg completely dominated offensively and defensively. They scored three times in the period, but the most impressive statistic was they allowed just one shot.
Michael Milne scored on the power play at the 12:44 mark as the ICE got back in the game. Just 26 seconds later, Cole Muir scored his seventh of the season as the ICE quickly tied the game up.
On the power play with just 39 seconds left in the second, Michal Teply scored his 16th of the season to give Winnipeg a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.
Early in the third, Teply was at it again. While a man up, he scored his second straight goal as Winnipeg doubled up their lead at 4-2. Just more than seven minutes later at the 10:30 mark, Isaac Johnson filled the net with his 18th of the season as the ICE took a 5-2 lead. No more goals were scored as Winnipeg skated off with a 5-2 win.
Winnipeg out shot Victoria, 25-7 in the final two periods and they scored five goals while Victoria scored zero.
The tough weekend continued for Victoria who dropped a 6-3 game in Brandon on Friday.
“I think the second period was our best period probably all season long,” said James Patrick after the game. “Our power play really took over moving forward in the game and that was the turning point.”
With the win, Winnipeg is once again atop the East Division. They have 57 points as do Prince Albert, but Winnipeg holds the tie-break. Victoria is second in the B.C. division, but they are only four points ahead of Kelowna.
ICINGS:
- Winnipeg’s power play was very efficient on the night as they went 3-for-5.
- Victoria, meanwhile, went 1-for-2 on the man advantage.
- After going 14-for-14 in the first period, Adam Evanoff finished 20-for-25 in the second and third periods combined.
