Ice take 2-0 series lead on Tigers

Ice take 2-0 series lead on Tigers

Defending home ice is often the first step to winning any playoff series. The Winnipeg Ice successfully fulfilled that requirement Saturday evening.

The junior club downed the Medicine Hat Tigers 5-2 at Wayne Fleming Arena to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series of the Western Hockey League playoffs.

Briley Wood opened the scoring, Zack Ostaphchuk followed and Connor McClennon added a pair of goals while Matthew Savoie potted an empty-netter on a night Medicine Hat outshot Winnipeg 27-22. Goaltender Daniel Hauser made 25 saves for the hosts to earn the win.

Andrew Basha (his third of the series) and Dallon Melin scored for the Tigers.

“It’s what we wanted to do, to grab the first two games in front of our home fans,” said McClennon, who has five points in the series. “Two really tough games but I think our guys did a really good job sticking with it, nothing was easy or given out there and I think we just stuck with it.”

Like the night previous, Winnipeg drew first blood. This strike came from a less likely suspect in Wood, who shook Tigers goaltender Beckett Langkow on a short breakaway and smoothly slide the puck between the wickets.

Wood, a 20-year-old product of Rivers, scored just twice in 13 games with the Ice during the regular season and spent most of the year with the Neepawa Titans in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He’s assumed a steady role in the lineup while regulars Carson Latimer and Zach Benson have been sidelined.

“He’s come in and he’s played real well for us,” said head coach James Patrick. “Depth scoring and the first goal of the game is always huge. That gave us a big lift.”

Halfway through the second act, the Ice’s power play, which went 3-for-6 on Friday and proved to be the difference in Game 1, was handed a lengthy opportunity after Tigers defenceman Rhett Parsons delivered a brutal hit from behind on Josh Medernach.

With Medernach being assessed in the dressing room, and the Tigers taking another minor penalty, the Ice’s surging power play unit went to work with a two-man advantage.

Savoie continued his outstanding series, fooling the Tigers’ defence with a no-look pass to McClennon, who fired the one-timer past Langkow to restore a two-goal lead that had been cut in half earlier in the period. It was the first of two power-play goals for the Ice, who are operating at a 45.45 per cent clip through two games.

“I think our special teams have done a really good job,” McClennon said. “I think that was a key point going into the series, we know they have a good power play and I think our power play has been going. I know they got one late on their power play but, overall, I think our kill was pretty solid. I’d say special teams were the key to the first two games.”

The closest the Tigers would come was 12 minutes into the third period, when the visiting club found the back of the net of the power play to make it 3-2. The marker came with some controversy, however, as it appeared Hauser was interfered with and had no chance to make a play on the puck.

McClennon buried his second of the game two minutes later.

“This was a close hockey game,” Patrick said. “But again, we found a way at the end with the power play goal. I’m happy that we’re up 2-0, I know there’s some room for improvement, some stuff we got to clean up and I know it’s going to be a real tough series.”

The series will shift to Medicine Hat, Alta. for a pair of duels. Game 3 takes place Tuesday, 8 p.m. puck drop.

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