Pre Game Report Presented by Imperial Steel - ICE vs Blades - March 31, 2021
March 31, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Winnipeg Ice News Release
March 31, 2021, 7:00pm (MB time)
Winnipeg ICE vs Saskatoon Blades
Brandt Centre, Regina SK
50/50 Tickets -> https://bit.ly/38Wpetk
LAST GAME: The ICE returned to the win column with a 4-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors Sunday. Jakin Smallwood (8), Peyton Krebs (6), Cole Muir (3), and Jackson Leppard (1) scored for the ICE. Rookie goalie Daniel Hauser made 20 saves to improve to 3-0-0-0. The win came after Winnipeg had lost two-in-a-row for the first time this season.
SCENE SETTER: The ICE meet the Blades for the second time this season, and they'll be out to hand Saskatoon its first regulation-time loss. Winnipeg did the next best thing in the previous meeting when they edged Saskatoon 2-1 (OT) two weeks ago tonight.
2021 SEASON SERIES:
Date Opponent Score Record PP PK Goalie Scorers
Mar. 17 @ SAS OTW 2-1 1-0-0-0 1/3 4/4 Alexander 23/24 17, 19
NOTABLE:
Krebs On East Division Team-of-the-Week Presented by RE/MAX: ICE captain Peyton Krebs (VGK, Round 1 2019) is part of the inaugural Team-of-the-Week thanks to his 11 points in four games.
Krebs, Milestone Magic: Krebs hit 150 WHL assists with two helpers against Moose Jaw Sunday, March 28th. Peyton's goal versus Swift Current Friday, March 26th was the 200th point of his WHL career. Krebs' first point was an assist in Lethbridge in his WHL debut on November 16, 2016.
Krebs Rolling:The first overall pick in the 2016 WHL Draft carries an eight-game point streak (6 goals, 11 assists) into tonight's contest and has six multi-point games in his last eight outings.
Scoring Centurion: Forward Owen Pederson has 11 points in his last seven games (5 goals, 6 assists) and played his 100th WHL game versus Swift Current, Monday, March 15th.
McClennon Hits A Hundred: Connor McClennon played his 100th Western Hockey League game vs Brandon, Thursday, March 25th. The second overall pick in the 2017 WHL Draft reached a century with 88 points to his credit (39 goals, 49 assists).
No Small Feat: Jakin Smallwood has eight goals in nine games to start the season.
WHL Firsts From The Hub:
March 23 vs Regina, Chase Bertholet scored his first WHL goal.
March 18th @ Moose Jaw, Skyler Bruce and Rhys Raeside each recorded their first WHL point assisting on Cole Muir's insurance goal, while goalie Carl Stankowski notched his first ICE win.
March 15th vs Swift Current, Zach Benson had his first goal, first assist, and first multi-point game. 2004-born Conor Geekie notched his first assist to earn his first point streak (2 games). After scoring 85 QMJHL goals, Anderson MacDonald notched his first Dub goal. And, 2004 born goalie Daniel Hauser collected the win in his first WHL appearance.
Powerplay Consistency: The ICE have scored a powerplay goal in each of their nine games, and have counted 13 powerplay goals in 44 advantages to date (29.5%). Winnipeg was 22.5% effective on the powerplay last season, tops in the East Division scoring 58 PPG in 63 games.
PK Boost: Winnipeg penalty killers were 5-for-5 versus Moose Jaw leaving them 27-for-31 on the season (87.1%) with two shorthanded goals.
ICE streak stopped: Winnipeg's season-high five-game win streak ended Thursday, March 25th with a 4-3 loss to Brandon. The ICE out-scored the opposition 24-12 over the five matches with ten special teams goals - 8 PPG and 2 SHG.
Back-to-Back: The ICE have completed two of their six sets of back-to-back games in the Hub. Winnipeg is 1-1-0-0 in the second games of those sets. The club has four sets in April.
Home Kings: 4-1-0-0 at home to start 2021, the ICE went 20-8-1-0 within the East Division in 2019-20 for the best record among the six teams.
Winning Ways: Winnipeg's 38 total wins, and 22 home wins, were also East Division highs a season ago.
WHL Draft Dandies: six of the 26 players on the ICE roster are WHL Draft first round picks (Leppard [PG], Krebs, McClennon, Lambos, Geekie, and Benson).
Puck drops at 7:00PM CDT tonight, catch all the action live on CFRW 1290 AM, iHeartRadio App and winnipegICE.ca. Pre-game show starts at 6:30PM CDT with Mitch Peacock and Kevin Olszewski. Tonights game is also available on WHL Live on CHL TV.
Western Hockey League Stories from March 31, 2021
- WHL Announces Suspension of Team Activities for Kelowna Rockets for Minimum of 14 Days - WHL
- Comrie Set to Continue Education and Hockey at MacEwan - Kelowna Rockets
- Mayo Working Towards Being a Regular on Rebels Blueline Next Season - Red Deer Rebels
- Player Profile Presented by Dodge: Liam Keeler - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Olafson Not Shying Away - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Pre Game Report Presented by Imperial Steel - ICE vs Blades - March 31, 2021 - Winnipeg Ice
- Broncos Meet Warriors for Second of Four Meetings - Swift Current Broncos
- Game Preview: Blades at ICE - Saskatoon Blades
- Warriors Fall in Overtime on Tuesday - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Late Third Period Comeback Lifts the Giants 5-4 over Victoria - Vancouver Giants
- Royals Lose Late to Giants - Victoria Royals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
