Different opponent, same result for the Winnipeg Ice.
The Ice kicked off their second-round Eastern Conference series with a 6-1 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors at Wayne Fleming Arena Friday night.
“For the first game of a series, it was a pretty solid effort from top to bottom,” said Ice head coach James Patrick. “A couple times there was a turnover, and we just pounced on it and went the other way and made plays. We played a good all-around game.”
It took Winnipeg just 18 seconds to get on the board with an Owen Pederson goal and the team with the best regular-season record in the WHL rolled from there.
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Jack Finley’s powerplay marker late in the first period put the Ice up by two after one and then Winnipeg exploded for three more goals in the second from Jakin Smallwood, Matthew Savoie, and Pederson.
It continued into the third with Mikey Milne scoring just 18 seconds into the final frame.
Daniel Hauser had a fairly quiet night between the pipes for the Ice making 18 saves as the Warriors broke the shutout with just 2:12 left in the third.
Pederson says his opening goal just moments after the puck dropped was crucial.
“It gave us a lot of confidence, gave us a jump in our step and to get one early kinda gives them a bit of a pressure,” Pederson said. “We were happy to get one early and just go from there.”
Savoie says his team is rolling right now and showed no signs of rust despite playing their first game in a week after defeating the Prince Albert Raiders in the first round.
“We’re pretty happy with where our all-around game is right now,” Savoie said. “We have a lot of depth scoring, lines one through four can all put the puck in the net and they can all defend very well.”
Game 2 goes Saturday night in Winnipeg at the Wayne Fleming Arena with the puck dropping just after 7 p.m.
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