Weekend recap, October 12 & 13...

Another weekend of hockey went by with the Winnipeg Ice playing two away games. Both games saw the Ice play extremely well at times, but both games also showed the importance of playing 60 full minutes.

Friday night in Ste. Anne, Manitoba, the Winnipeg Ice and Eastman Selects played a back and forth game for most of the night. The Selects came out very strong in the first period, but Kathleen Kosior was excellent in net for the Ice. With the score 0-0 to begin the second, the Ice vowed to pick up the pace and take some of the momentum away from the Selects. Despite a much stronger period from the Ice, Eastman scored on a powerplay 2:30 into the period. The Ice pushed back, seemingly not phased by falling behind, and pushed the pace once again, but could not find the back of the net. About 9 minutes later, Eastman scored from behind the goal line, and with that favorable bounce they took a 2-0 lead. The Ice stayed in it for the rest of the period, finally scoring a powerplay of their own when Michelle Anderson, after getting a pass from Sara Reuther, walked the lane and found the back of the net. The score remained 2-1 for the Selects as the third period began. Despite their slow start the Ice were confident they could win the third period, and try to walk away with a win. Even though the Ice outshot the Selects 7-6 in the third period, they could not tie the game and the score showed 2-1 for the Selects as time ran out. After the game the players pointed to the fact that 60 solid minutes of work would have gotten the job done, but on this day they came up short of that. It was not all bad news for the Ice on Friday, as the girls finally got their sharp new team apparel! The team can still take positives from this game, despite the disappointing result.

On Sunday the Ice faced their closest rival, the Winnipeg Avros. Both teams seemed to be more than motivated for this game, and neither team disappointed in the first two periods. The Ice came out very strong and took control of the play on the first shift of the game. However, on the second shift, the Avros took a 1-0 lead on a very nice individual effort from one of their stars. Not willing to let that goal affect them, the Ice pushed back hard and managed to get some momentum throughout the next 15 minutes. With 5 minutes to go in the first period the Avros worked the powerplay to perfection and managed to make it 2-0, which is the way the period ended. Despite the 2-0 deficit, the dressing room was upbeat and positive, as the Ice showed signs of being able to get back in this game. Michelle Kerdes was strong in net all night, and would give the Ice a chance to come back in the second period. 4 minutes into the second period, the Ice closed the gap on the powerplay, as Jessi Campbell scored top-shelf off a pass from Ashley Kubic. It was a very similar goal to Michelle Anderson's PP goal the night before. She took the pass and drove the lane before shooting it top corner. The Ice were back in the game and pushed for more. In perhaps the most exciting game of the season so far, the teams skated back and forth up the ice trying to gain momentum. Despite having some great chances, the Ice couldn't tie it up and the period ended 2-1 for the Avros. The intermission brought even more confidence to an already fired up Ice team. The players had played some of their best hockey this season and truly gave everything they had for 40 minutes against a very skilled Avros team. Heading into the third period, all the Ice felt they needed was a break and to find a way to tie it up at 2. However, the Avros proved to be much too strong on this day, and Ice failed to play at the level they did for the first two periods. The Avros scored early in the third period to take some of the wind out of the Ice's sails, and then twice more in a span of 31 seconds to seal the deal. The game ended 6-1 for the cross-town rival Avros, though the game was much closer than the scoreline would indicate.

If nothing else, the Winnipeg Ice were painfully reminded, in both games this weekend, that they belong in this league and can compete with any team, BUT that 60 full minutes of giving everything they have is required on a nightly basis. As tough as it seems to believe right now, this team is making strides. As the team was reminded on Friday, "it's doesn't matter how often you get knocked down, the only thing that matters is how many times you get back up". This team refuses to stay down, they will get back up. Good things are on the horizon, the day is always darkest just before sunrise.

~Coach

Slows start costs the ICE dearly...

Falling behind 3-0 in the first 10 minutes to any team in this league is devastating, nevermind when it's the defending league and National Champions. A bad break and bounce resulted in Pembina Valley's first goal, which was quickly followed up by 2 very skilled deflection goals on shots from the point. The Ice players were stunned at first, but refused to feel sorry for themselves and tried to claw their way back in the game. The rest of the first period was much better, as both teams traded chances but no more goals were scored. The Hawks outshot the Ice 14-6 in the first frame. At intermission the team spoke of patience and looked to build on their play in the second half of the first period. The Ice came out strong and put together one of their best periods of the season, resulting in a hard-working goal by Emily Barber, who scored off of a rebound. Barber's new linemates Elizabeth Carter and Madison Neapew both assisted on the goal. Pembina Valley pushed back but goaltender Michelle Kerdes stood strong in next for the Ice. The second period ended with the Ice trailing 3-1, but confidence was high. The Ice continued their strong play in the third, but PV flexed their muscles and pushed to the stretch their lead. On a late powerplay, PV found a way to beat Kerdes, and seemed to end the Ice attempt for a comeback. The Ice seemed unsettled after the goal for a few shifts, but nobody was ready to submit to defeat just yet. Immediately following a timeout, that seemed to settled the nerves a bit, the Barber, Neapew, Carter line struck again, as Carter scored on a breakaway to bring the Ice back to within 2 goals again. Spirits on the bench shot sky high and a chance to get back in this game reappeared. However, Pembina Valley once again proved why they will be favorites this year too, as they replied on the next shift with a goal to seal the deal at 5-2.

Another score line that doesn't flatter this team, but one that also doesn't tell the whole story. After falling behind 3-0 early, the Ice battled a very tough team to a 2-2 tie the rest of the way. The team did not have any excuses, they simply know where they need to improve in order to start winning games. A 0-2 start is not acceptable, but as the team makes small steps to improve each and every day, tasting victory will not be too far around the corner.

In other team news, the players were asked to vote for their team Captains, and the coaching staff was proud to announce the following:

Captain: Melissa Blaine
Assistant Captains: Michelle Anderson, Chantel Olson, Emily Barber, and Ashley Kubic

The team will have 2 assistant captains on each colour of jersey.

~Coach