The Winnipeg Ice has crafted a hard-earned reputation as the fastest team in the WHL.
Coincidentally, the Moose Jaw Warriors — Winnipeg’s next playoff opponent — are one of the few teams capable of emulating their style of play, and maybe, that success on the ice.
Moose Jaw and Winnipeg meet in Game 1 of a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal Friday, 7 p.m. at Wayne Fleming Arena.
Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary has had an entire regular season and the last six days since eliminating the Saskatoon Blades in five games to formulate a game plan to beat the No. 1 seed.
“Nobody transitions the puck as fast as they do,” said O’Leary of the Ice. “I haven’t seen a team go from a neutral zone or go from their defensive zone even to a 3-on-2 or a 2-on-1 or even a breakaway as fast as they do. That’s been building over the last few years. I think (head coach) James (Patrick) has done an unbelievable job.”
Patrick acknowledges the similarities between the teams. He admits having players who are fast skaters does not guarantee a quick style of play. Playing fast is also a mindset.
“By fast I mean you get on the attack,” said Patrick. “And then if (the puck) goes out, you get right back on the attack as quickly as you can. That to me is the only way you can catch some teams before they get into their defensive structure.”
During a five-game quarter-final victory over Prince Albert, Winnipeg was often frustrated by the Raiders’ conservative defensive style. P.A., hoping to limit Winnipeg’s quick-strike offence, often sent only one forechecker deep into the offensive zone while dropping four skaters well back.
The Warriors, bursting with their own offensive firepower, are unlikely to resort to such tactics.
And they also have a not-so-secret weapon named Denton Mateychuk, who brings his unique skillset to the series. A superb skater, the 17-year-old from Dominion City has an uncanny ability to find openings and has become a master of the stealth attack.
After 64 points in 65 regular-season games, the Manitoban already has one goal and eight points in five playoff dates.
“Mateychuk plays different than any (defenceman) in our league,” said Patrick. “He plays like a forward-rover. There’s times he’ll start the rush behind his net and he’ll end up playing down low in the offensive zone.”
Mateychuk and high-scoring forward Jagger Firkus are probable first-round picks at the 2022 NHL Draft in July, while 17-year-old centre Brayden Yager is highly touted for 2023.
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The Winnipeg Ice will have to keep an eye on Moose Jaw defenceman Denton Mateychuk.
Mateychuk’s all-round game, much like his team’s play, has taken a leap forward in the second half. The Warriors are hoping to have veteran blue-liner Daemon Hunt (lower-body injury) back in the lineup for the series. His absence adds to Mateychuk’s leadership responsibilities.
“He’s matured a ton,” said O’Leary. “I think we saw a real leader start to emerge in how he carries himself, just in watching his practise habits and how he deals with teammates and the example that he sets. He continues to do the right thing over and over, regardless of the circumstances.”
Most recently paired with Winnipegger Lucas Brenton, Mateychuk admits the level of physical play in post-season games makes processing information on the fly even more crucial.
“You’ve gotta be a little bit more wary of what’s going on — with line-matching and stuff like that,” said Mateychuk. “So, you have to know who’s on the ice and you’re making sure you’re not giving up too much against and not giving them any momentum. You watch for all that stuff.
“They’re gonna try to send guys and get behind the (defence), just little things like that you have to watch for. You watch for it in the regular season but you have to be that much more careful in the post-season, because one goal can change the game.”
Moose Jaw’s challenge is immense. Winnipeg was the league’s highest-scoring team but also had the WHL’s best defensive numbers.
Veteran forward Chase Wheatcroft, acquired at the trade deadline from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, came to understand it would be defence first with the Ice. When Winnipeg commits a turnover, forwards are expected to track immediately back to the puck.
“I think our game plan going into games is to be the best defensive team in the league and I think we’ve shown that,” said Wheatcroft.
Winnipeg won five of the seven regular-season meetings between the teams, but O’Leary insisted his team has hope after beating the Ice 5-4 in a shootout on Jan. 28 and 3-1 on April 2. Both wins came at Mosaic Place.
“The picture I like to paint is that we won two of the last four and that’s enough for me in terms of saying we have a chance to do something here,” said O’Leary.
HE SAID IT: Ice centre Conor Geekie had a visible reminder this week of the how rough playoff hockey can get.
Geekie, who turned 18 on Thursday, had a five-stitch cut in his lip and a broken tooth courtesy of a stick to the face from Prince Albert forward Ozzie Wiesblatt in last week’s Game 5.
Geekie returned to the game after getting repairs. Wiesblatt was not penalized on the play.
“It was definitely the first involvement with teeth and stuff and I think mom was just happy I had my mouth guard in,” said Geekie.
Twitter: @sawa14
