21 goals — that’s how many the Winnipeg ICE saw in the back of their own net starting with a 5-0 loss against Edmonton on February 19 and wrapping up with a 2-1 loss against the Red Deer Rebels on February 28. The team lost four straight games in that span, including a 10-1 defeat against Edmonton on February 25.
The ICE were heading in the wrong direction, one that could end up having them out of the top three in the East Division. The Saskatoon Blades were playing better hockey and were the team chasing them. However, it looks like Winnipeg has figured it out as of late as they’ve won three straight games, albeit two of them came against Moose Jaw.
On Sunday night, the ICE welcomed the Prince Albert Raiders to the Wayne Fleming Arena for a key East Division tilt. A loss would see the ICE sitting only two points ahead of Saskatoon for the third spot in the division and nine points behind Prince Albert for the top spot. Liam Hughes ended up stealing the show for Winnipeg in the game, making 34 saves as the ICE toppled the Raiders 3-0.
“We stuck to our game plan and we worked really hard. We needed those points and the boys played really well in front of me,” said Liam Hughes after the game, courtesy of winnipegice.ca. “It was important that I just stayed calm and composed. I put trust in my teammates that they’ll do their job and I have to do mine and both of those things happened.”
“It was an outstanding victory at the end. It was a hard-fought game,” said James Patrick, head coach. “I think our guys were the most into it and focused as they have been all year long.”
With the three straight victories, Winnipeg is just seven points behind the Raiders for the top spot in the East Division. Yes, that’s still a rather sizeable lead this late in the season, but Winnipeg did its job to keep those dreams of finishing on top alive.
The ICE do have a rather favourable schedule coming up as well, at least in three of their next four games. They play Regina twice and Moose Jaw once and they play a big game against Saskatoon. First up, Winnipeg plays in Regina on Wednesday. This weekend, the team hosts Saskatoon and Regina. These next four games, of course, all lead up to the season finale weekend as the ICE wrap things up next weekend with a home-and-home against their provincial rival Brandon Wheat Kings.
Speaking of Liam Hughes, he’s also been named the Western Hockey League’s Goaltender of the Week. He played in two of the team’s three games over the weekend where he made 49 saves on 50 shots. Hughes now has 20 wins this season to go with a .915 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average.
Isaac Johnson continues to lead Winnipeg with his 72 points while Michal Teply has 60 points. Rounding out the top three is Peyton Krebs with 58 (12G). Let’s keep in mind that Krebs has only played 37 games this season because he was recovering from injury early on.
A definite positive for Winnipeg is its games in hand scenario. Prince Albert only plays four more regular-season games, two of which are a home-and-home with Moose Jaw and the other two are a home-and-home with Saskatoon. At 82 points, the Raiders can finish with a maximum of 90. If the ICE were to also win out, they would finish with 87 points which would put them short of Prince Albert.
However, a perfect run the rest of the way for Winnipeg would put the team ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings for the second spot in the East Division. Brandon currently is one point up on Winnipeg for that position.
All in all, the East Division is certainly in good hands and some great playoff races are starting to heat up just as you would expect down the stretch.
