OT: Winnipeg ICE sold - Moving to Wenatchee, Washington renamed Wenatchee Wild

[Guardian17]

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

whl.ca

 

[Guardian17]

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

whl.ca

 

[Guardian17]

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

whl.ca

 

[snowkiddin]

Made it out to the game tonight for Bombers night. Was able to meet Paddy Neufeld and Willie Jefferson, so that was awesome.

Some thoughts on the game:

- Benson was hurt eight minutes in after a nasty hit from behind from a dude with six points all year. Was favouring his arm, hopefully it’s not broken, but it didn’t look good. We’ll need him for the playoffs. Unfortunate that a plug had to hurt him.

- Beaupit is cheeks. And there’s some blood trickling down my forehead now. You know, from scratching my head so much wondering why they brought him in. He was poor in Spokane too. Just a backup goalie, but still.

- Big trade deadline acquisition Zach Ostapchuk, who has been good, not great, and a bit underwhelming since we’ve gotten him, was very good tonight and had two goals. He’s big, and he just parks himself in front of the net and is hard to move.

- ICE needed overtime to win this one, but they were all over Edmonton. The Oil Kings were just holding on for most of the night, and the ICE couldn’t get any saves from their goalie. They played basically the whole game without Benson, so if he’s in they might have had a few more goals. We’re gonna need him back. Man, it sucks to lose him after a dirty hit from a scrub. Frustrating.

 

[Halfy]

I just caught the end of the play, so I didn’t see the hit. Was it warranting the ejection or was it more of a “this kid might literally die if we don’t kick him out” type of thing?

Saw Benson in a sling after the game so the ICE draft curse continues. Krebs, McClennon, Lambos, Savoie and Benson have now all had major injuries in their draft years.

Looked like the ICE completely had the wind taken out of them after the injury. Reffing was awful a second game in a row.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Made it out to the game tonight for Bombers night. Was able to meet Paddy Neufeld and Willie Jefferson, so that was awesome.

Some thoughts on the game:

- Benson was hurt eight minutes in after a nasty hit from behind from a dude with six points all year. Was favouring his arm, hopefully it’s not broken, but it didn’t look good. We’ll need him for the playoffs. Unfortunate that a plug had to hurt him.

- Beaupit is cheeks. And there’s some blood trickling down my forehead now. You know, from scratching my head so much wondering why they brought him in. He was poor in Spokane too. Just a backup goalie, but still.

- Big trade deadline acquisition Zach Ostapchuk, who has been good, not great, and a bit underwhelming since we’ve gotten him, was very good tonight and had two goals. He’s big, and he just parks himself in front of the net and is hard to move.

- ICE needed overtime to win this one, but they were all over Edmonton. The Oil Kings were just holding on for most of the night, and the ICE couldn’t get any saves from their goalie. They played basically the whole game without Benson, so if he’s in they might have had a few more goals. We’re gonna need him back. Man, it sucks to lose him after a dirty hit from a scrub. Frustrating.

Great takes.

Like Halfy, I only saw the hit out of the corner of my eye, didn't get a great look at it. And the WHL Live feed was useless, you couldn't see it since it happened right under the camera. For my fellow longtime Winnipeg sports fans, seeing Benny holding his shoulder brought back haunting feelings of Kevin Glenn holding his broken arm during the 2007 CFL East Final.

I assume that Benson is out for the regular season because there's no way it's not at least one to two weeks, minimum. I just hope his entire season isn't done because that could torpedo the ICE's playoff chances. I was thinking about the same thing that Halfy was with the incredible injury curse of ICE draft picks... I was like "not again..."

I agree about Beaupit. He has had some stellar moments followed by games like last night, where he gave up 4 goals on the first 14 shots. Consistently inconsistent. I think it's pretty clear the ICE ride or die with Hauser. I also don't get why the ICE bothered bringing him in for Cowan... I mean, is Beaupit really any better? I'm not seeing it. Edmonton should be a 5-0 win, even for a backup. This is a team with a -180 goal differential for pete's sake. Easy for me to say, I know, but Edmonton has been getting pounded with regularity this season.

Edmonton played surprisingly hard for a team that's been out of the playoff race for weeks, even months, really. Typical big, physical Central Div team. Even if they're a shadow of their former selves they can still play a heavy game. Didn't help that the ICE were playing with a depleted lineup... I assume some bug is working its way through the dressing room, with Zloty, Prosofsky, Latimer and Pederson out (well, Latimer was on crutches so we know it wasn't the flu). Now Benson. That's a lot to be missing. I think Brandon is going to a handful tomorrow with a roster like that.

 

[Boonk]

Okay, those Bombers jerseys are absolutely gorgeous. I gotta get me one of those.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Okay, those Bombers jerseys are absolutely gorgeous. I gotta get me one of those.

Yeah, they are sweet. And you can tell they're popular because bidding on them is pretty high... a whole lot higher than for the Spongebob jerseys

Saw lots of people wearing their Bomber blues at the game. Willie Jefferson and Paddy Neufeld were there... Willie J has been at several ICE games with his family. It's nice to see.

 

[snowkiddin]

Yeah, they are sweet. And you can tell they're popular because bidding on them is pretty high... a whole lot higher than for the Spongebob jerseys

Saw lots of people wearing their Bomber blues at the game. Willie Jefferson and Paddy Neufeld were there... Willie J has been at several ICE games with his family. It's nice to see.

Yeah, it was great to see. Willie signed my jersey and Neufeld signed my Bombers shirt. Both guys were really nice and I think they enjoyed the game. Nice to see the ICE pick up the win with them there.

 

[RetroWinnipeg]

Yeah, they are sweet. And you can tell they're popular because bidding on them is pretty high... a whole lot higher than for the Spongebob jerseys

Saw lots of people wearing their Bomber blues at the game. Willie Jefferson and Paddy Neufeld were there... Willie J has been at several ICE games with his family. It's nice to see.

Putting the game up against corporate sibling Valour FC's kit reveal party...wasn't their smartest move ever.

 

[ps241]

I was at the Ice game today. For some reason I haven‘t gone to a game yet and I found it really enjoyable. Game day experience is pretty good and the sound system works allot better in a small venue like that. Good crowd today and a solid atmosphere. Couldn’t get food from a concession unless you wanted to blow off a period in the line up but hey who needs to make money as an owner.

Since I was with my kids and sitting a bit too close to the glass in behind the net I couldn’t quite observe the game the way I wanted too. Sucks that Benson was not playing.

A couple of things that stood out:


Savoie was as advertised, very slick with the puck on his stick. Dude is small though so we’ll see how that all works out at the next level.

Geekie was just ok today. Not sure I get it with him but its a one game sample size.

Lambos looked really comfortable playing at that level

When I use to watch Junior hockey 35 years ago fighting and fighters were kind of a thing. Those players were missing today but it was replaced with a much faster more skilled game.

Not sure the Ice have the physical edge to win in the playoffs but we’ll see.

Ice Power play was lethal.

Danielson played a decent game for the wheat Kings

I would go back to an Ice Game again.

 

[Guardian17]

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

whl.ca

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

whl.ca

 

[jetsmooseice]

I was at the Ice game today. For some reason I haven‘t gone to a game yet and I found it really enjoyable. Game day experience is pretty good and the sound system works allot better in a small venue like that. Good crowd today and a solid atmosphere. Couldn’t get food from a concession unless you wanted to blow off a period in the line up but hey who needs to make money as an owner.

Since I was with my kids and sitting a bit too close to the glass in behind the net I couldn’t quite observe the game the way I wanted too. Sucks that Benson was not playing.

A couple of things that stood out:


Savoie was as advertised, very slick with the puck on his stick. Dude is small though so we’ll see how that all works out at the next level.

Geekie was just ok today. Not sure I get it with him but its a one game sample size.

Lambos looked really comfortable playing at that level

When I use to watch Junior hockey 35 years ago fighting and fighters were kind of a thing. Those players were missing today but it was replaced with a much faster more skilled game.

Not sure the Ice have the physical edge to win in the playoffs but we’ll see.

Ice Power play was lethal.

Danielson played a decent game for the wheat Kings

I would go back to an Ice Game again.

Great takes. I always enjoy reading and hearing first impressions about the ICE.

A few comments to add...

For food, the secret is to go to the concessions a minute before the buzzer. Or get food from one of the concessions that isn't the really busy one near the entrance. That means either pizza or smoked meat sandwiches from the SW corner concessions, but it beats standing in line for a long time. Even better, just eat before the game and then only get drinks from the bars by the party area where there are never lineups

A fair comment about Geekie, sometimes he looks like Landeskog and other nights he looks more like Adam Lowry. Usually the latter. I'm sure he will turn out to be a fine NHL player but will he live up to his first round billing? Definitely not certain. But Savoie on the other hand I can easily see playing the role of the finesse scoring forward, sort of a KC type.

Lambos gets huge minutes, looks to me like the dude is regularly playing a half hour a game. He looks like he is ready for prime time.

On the physical side of things, Karter Prosofsky is the closes thing that the team has to an enforcer but he was out of the lineup the last couple of games, not sure exactly why. It did get heated in the late stages of the game, I'm sure his presence would have been useful. Ashton Cumby brings a bit of that edge too. But I do agree, it does feel a bit like last season where I'm not 100% sure that the ICE have the size and grit necessary. When you consider last season, Edmonton was huge, practically pro-sized. Seattle was big and heavy too and they are again this season. The ICE made strides in that direction this season adding some bigger boys like Ostapchuk and Latimer (currently injured) but I hope it's enough.

 

[ps241]

Great takes. I always enjoy reading and hearing first impressions about the ICE.

A few comments to add...

For food, the secret is to go to the concessions a minute before the buzzer. Or get food from one of the concessions that isn't the really busy one near the entrance. That means either pizza or smoked meat sandwiches from the SW corner concessions, but it beats standing in line for a long time. Even better, just eat before the game and then only get drinks from the bars by the party area where there are never lineups

A fair comment about Geekie, sometimes he looks like Landeskog and other nights he looks more like Adam Lowry. Usually the latter. I'm sure he will turn out to be a fine NHL player but will he live up to his first round billing? Definitely not certain. But Savoie on the other hand I can easily see playing the role of the finesse scoring forward, sort of a KC type.

Lambos gets huge minutes, looks to me like the dude is regularly playing a half hour a game. He looks like he is ready for prime time.

On the physical side of things, Karter Prosofsky is the closes thing that the team has to an enforcer but he was out of the lineup the last couple of games, not sure exactly why. It did get heated in the late stages of the game, I'm sure his presence would have been useful. Ashton Cumby brings a bit of that edge too. But I do agree, it does feel a bit like last season where I'm not 100% sure that the ICE have the size and grit necessary. When you consider last season, Edmonton was huge, practically pro-sized. Seattle was big and heavy too and they are again this season. The ICE made strides in that direction this season adding some bigger boys like Ostapchuk and Latimer (currently injured) but I hope it's enough.

Good points and nice to have a back and forth

Yesterday all the concessions were getting rocked except for the drinks at the party bars. Those were as you advertised.

Lambos was working allot with Woo for stretches in the 2nd and 3rd periods so that was interesting to see. Woo is small and 16 but I was really impressed with how he reads the game both defensively and offensively. Ice did pack some punch and some physicality but it seems like some of their key talent is smallish.

I absolutely loved watching Hauser move in net. The kid is like grease lighting and has a nice battle level too.

Savoie was fun to watch, he has supreme confidence in his ability which is nice to see.

 

[snowkiddin]

Great takes. I always enjoy reading and hearing first impressions about the ICE.

A few comments to add...

For food, the secret is to go to the concessions a minute before the buzzer. Or get food from one of the concessions that isn't the really busy one near the entrance. That means either pizza or smoked meat sandwiches from the SW corner concessions, but it beats standing in line for a long time. Even better, just eat before the game and then only get drinks from the bars by the party area where there are never lineups

A fair comment about Geekie, sometimes he looks like Landeskog and other nights he looks more like Adam Lowry. Usually the latter. I'm sure he will turn out to be a fine NHL player but will he live up to his first round billing? Definitely not certain. But Savoie on the other hand I can easily see playing the role of the finesse scoring forward, sort of a KC type.

Lambos gets huge minutes, looks to me like the dude is regularly playing a half hour a game. He looks like he is ready for prime time.

On the physical side of things, Karter Prosofsky is the closes thing that the team has to an enforcer but he was out of the lineup the last couple of games, not sure exactly why. It did get heated in the late stages of the game, I'm sure his presence would have been useful. Ashton Cumby brings a bit of that edge too. But I do agree, it does feel a bit like last season where I'm not 100% sure that the ICE have the size and grit necessary. When you consider last season, Edmonton was huge, practically pro-sized. Seattle was big and heavy too and they are again this season. The ICE made strides in that direction this season adding some bigger boys like Ostapchuk and Latimer (currently injured) but I hope it's enough.

Yeah, we’re absolutely underdogs against Seattle if we get there. Seattle loaded up and we did not, but I think I like our depth a touch more than theirs. They have better high-end players and having Lambert sent there and Guenther returned to junior after they traded for him will make them a very, very tough out.

 

[Halfy]

It’s so dumb how a combination of:
- No reporting
- Team never revealing anything

means we have no idea how long Benson will be out. Heck I follow the team pretty closely and Latimer was just randomly spotted on crutches after missing a couple games. Pretty frustrating sometimes.

 

[jetsmooseice]

It’s so dumb how a combination of:
- No reporting
- Team never revealing anything

means we have no idea how long Benson will be out. Heck I follow the team pretty closely and Latimer was just randomly spotted on crutches after missing a couple games. Pretty frustrating sometimes.

I agree, it is weird and annoying how hard it is to find out information about the team. Mike Sawatzky was doing a decent job of providing at least some basic level of reporting in the Free Press, but once that arena story blew up he was off the beat. The Sun never covers the ICE. I find myself looking to Perry Bergson in Brandon, or Gregg Drinnan for news tidbits.

The funny thing is that some information gets shared in the pre/post game shows on 1290, but most fans miss it because we're at the games. I almost never catch the 1290 broadcasts because I'm usually in my seat for warmups and don't get back to my car until they're halfway through the postgame show. Someone at Sunday's game told me that they heard on the pre-game show that Benson's x-rays "looked good" but I have no idea how much stock to put into that.

My kid noticed Latimer on crutches Friday night, that was my injury report

In light of the minimal reporting on the team, I wish the ICE were a little more proactive in disclosing this stuff themselves. Keeping fans totally in the dark is not great.

 

[RetroWinnipeg]

Great takes. I always enjoy reading and hearing first impressions about the ICE.

A few comments to add...

For food, the secret is to go to the concessions a minute before the buzzer. Or get food from one of the concessions that isn't the really busy one near the entrance. That means either pizza or smoked meat sandwiches from the SW corner concessions, but it beats standing in line for a long time. Even better, just eat before the game and then only get drinks from the bars by the party area where there are never lineups

A fair comment about Geekie, sometimes he looks like Landeskog and other nights he looks more like Adam Lowry. Usually the latter. I'm sure he will turn out to be a fine NHL player but will he live up to his first round billing? Definitely not certain. But Savoie on the other hand I can easily see playing the role of the finesse scoring forward, sort of a KC type.

Lambos gets huge minutes, looks to me like the dude is regularly playing a half hour a game. He looks like he is ready for prime time.

On the physical side of things, Karter Prosofsky is the closes thing that the team has to an enforcer but he was out of the lineup the last couple of games, not sure exactly why. It did get heated in the late stages of the game, I'm sure his presence would have been useful. Ashton Cumby brings a bit of that edge too. But I do agree, it does feel a bit like last season where I'm not 100% sure that the ICE have the size and grit necessary. When you consider last season, Edmonton was huge, practically pro-sized. Seattle was big and heavy too and they are again this season. The ICE made strides in that direction this season adding some bigger boys like Ostapchuk and Latimer (currently injured) but I hope it's enough.

Isn't there an app where you can order food to your seat? That's advertised all over the arena.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Isn't there an app where you can order food to your seat? That's advertised all over the arena.

Yes! Great point.

I never bother with it as I seldom get hot food at the games. I usually go get my kids popcorn or candy right before the period starts and there usually isn't much of a line. But I do see the workers carrying trays of food to the stands, so some people must be using that service.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

Lack of marketing and lack of reporting. It's no wonder the team struggles to sell tickets in a 2,000 seat venue despite being the best team in the WHL.

Grrrrrrr. it ticks me off that some scrub with the Oil Kings hurts the Ice's best player in Benson. If he is gone for the season, I think the team has little chance of reaching the Memorial Cup.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Lack of marketing and lack of reporting. It's no wonder the team struggles to sell tickets in a 2,000 seat venue despite being the best team in the WHL.

Grrrrrrr. it ticks me off that some scrub with the Oil Kings hurts the Ice's best player in Benson. If he is gone for the season, I think the team has little chance of reaching the Memorial Cup.

In fairness to the ICE, it isn't up to them how much the news media reports on them. I'm sure the ICE would welcome more coverage. But there isn't much aside from some snippets in the Free Press, although there's less than before the big arena brouhaha. Who else covers them? Maybe the Sun once in the odd time? Illegal Curve on occasion? That's pretty well it.

As for Benson, I don't think it's certain that his season is done. I'll assume that he will be back for the playoffs unless I hear otherwise.

 

[Guardian17]

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

whl.ca

 

[jetsmooseice]

Not the greatest outing by the ICE, they were pressed hard by an aggressively forechecking Raiders team. Gave up the first two and managed to claw back, but still not great to win by one goal over a team that is pretty well out of the playoff race, even if that team did manage to beat down the Saskatoon Blades on the weekend.

I get that you can afford to kick back a little when you have first place clinched, but the ICE do have two more games against PA this weekend.

 

[RetroWinnipeg]

Game #1 up against Jets vs. Red Wings downtown.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Man. Would it have killed them to space out games 1 and 2? I don't get back to town until 8 pm on April 1.