Two Winnipeg teams you should be paying attention to before it’s too late

In the dead of yet another cold, snowy Manitoba winter, many Winnipeg sports fans are likely drawn to those warm memories of the Blue Bombers winning back-to-back Grey Cups back in December, or holding hope the Jets will make a playoff push despite a challenging schedule ahead.

But a couple of other local teams have been red-hot this season and are worth checking out.

The Winnipeg Ice and University of Winnipeg Wesmen women’s basketball team have been making light work of opponents since their respective seasons began, each drawing significant national attention.

If you haven’t already, you may want to turn your attention to these teams. As their season wind down, there are only a few opportunities to catch these star-studded squads in action while they are here.

Here’s what you’ve been missing:

WINNIPEG ICE

Where to even begin with the Ice?

For starters, they lead the Western Hockey League with a .803 win percentage, sitting five points back of the Edmonton Oil Kings for the Eastern Conference lead despite playing eight fewer games. They’ve also been the Canadian Hockey League’s top-ranked team for an unbelievable run of 11 straight weeks.

This team is littered with NHL-calibre talent.Winnipeg-born defenceman Carson Lambos (Minnesota Wild), forwards Connor McClennon (Philadelphia Flyers), and recently acquired Jack Finlay (Tampa Bay Lightning), as well as goalie Gage Alexander (Anaheim Ducks) have all been drafted to NHL clubs – and proving their worth.

But the buzz surrounding those yet to be drafted could be the talk of the town.

THE YOUNG GUNS

Four players have been identified as top prospects by NHL Central Scouting on the Midterm report, including forwards Matthew Savoie and Connor Geekie --- both of whom could go in the top five at this summer’s draft.

Savoie is no stranger to the spotlight, as it’s been shining on him well before entering this season and the pressure has not slowed him down.

The 18-year-old is meeting, if not exceeding expectations in his first WHL campaign.

Savoie leads the team and all WHL rookies in scoring this season.

With 20 goals and 57 points through 39 games played, Savoie finds himself ranked third among North American skaters in the midseason NHL Central Scouting report.

Though slightly undersized, the centreman has eluded defenders with his speed, setting up teammates with high-quality scoring opportunities, while remaining a scoring threat himself. Given how the St. Albert, AB native has handled pressure so far in his young career, it will be interesting to see what level he can take his game to once the Ice playoff run begins.

Right behind Savoie at number four on the scouting report is Strathclair, Man. product Connor Geekie.

Geekie’s numbers aren’t as eye-popping, but they are still impressive. The big-bodied centre is averaging more than a point per game with 12 goals and 41 points through 39 contests. At six-foot-four and weighing a little more than 200 pounds, the 18-year-old can be physically imposing, but it’s his elite hockey sense and playmaking ability that sets him apart. Geekie creates scoring opportunities with his ability to read the ice and make crisp passes to his linemates, and complements it with a thunderous shot. That combination makes him a threat every time he touches the puck. Making the jump to the NHL likely shouldn’t be much of an issue for Geekie, who watched his older brother, Morgan, carve out his own NHL career, albeit with less acclaim heading into his draft year than is bestowed on Connor.

It's rare to see two players on the same team be projected as top-five picks, and clearly Savoie and Geekie are having a ton of fun sharing the experience. Game after game, they’ve leaned on one another for support, while putting up great numbers to match expectations. The two have become close friends this season allowing them to keep things light – visible on the ice through their play and trademarked post-game hugs.

Joining them on the midterm report is 80th-ranked Mikey Milne.

The 19-year-old winger has bounced back from an injury that sidelined him for a good portion of the shortened 2021 season inside the Regina bubble.

Milne currently leads the team with 24 goals and sits five points back of Savoie for the team lead in points.

Milne has seen a steady incline in production since joining the Ice in 2019-20, before the team made the move to Winnipeg from Kootenay and is peaking at just the right time.

Defenceman Maximilian Streule has also been gaining traction lately and finds himself ranked 224 on the central scouting rankings. The import-drafted Swiss blueliner has seven points and is a plus-14 through 32 games. The 18-year-old was selected to the Swiss national team for the World Juniors before the tournament was cancelled because of COVID-19.

TERRIFIC TANDEM

And where most teams struggle to find one elite goaltender, the Ice has two.

Gage Alexander has been solid since returning from his first NHL camp with the Ducks in the fall. The 19-year-old has a 2.30 goals against average with a .911 save percentage earning 16 wins through 23 starts, including two shutouts. Heck, he even has three assists on the year.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Daniel Hauser set the Canadian Hockey League record for games started in a career without a regulation loss, going 20-0-2 before taking his first regulation loss in late January to the Saskatoon Blades.

Hauser, though small in stature, has been a wall in net for the Ice. Through 16 starts, he’s posting a 2.17 GAA, .912 save percentage collecting 14 wins and three shutouts along the way. While he’s not on the central scouting radar yet, it’s not far-fetched to believe he too will be getting calls from NHL teams in the not-so-distant future.

And that is just a handful of stars that are on display.

THE DEPTH

Throw in the likes of forwards Jakin Smallwood (42 points) and Zachary Benson (35 points), along with blueliner Ben Zloty (4 goals, 34 assists), and you could argue the stacked Ice team could go down as one of the best rosters ever assembled in Canadian Junior hockey.

The fact the Winnipeg Ice play in the intimate 1,400-seat Wayne Fleming Arena at the University of Manitoba, you’ll likely never see this much high calibre NHL talent this up close again.

WESMEN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

It’s been three decades since the University of Winnipeg’s women’s basketball program has won a national title.

This year’s team could end that drought.

THE BIG 3

The Wesmen asserted themselves as national championship contenders (assuming there will be a national championship) before the season began when the program announced Keylyn Fliewich, 2019 Canada West Player of the Year, was transferring from the University of British Columbia to play her last eligible year of Canada West Basketball for her hometown Wesmen.

Expectations had already grown after another local basketball star, Kyanna Giles, transferred from the University of Regina in 2019. The guard only made her Wesmen debut this season, after an ACL tear and the pandemic kept her off the court for the better part of two years.

The arrival of Filewich and Giles was also a reunion with fifth-year Wesmen forward Faith Hezekiah, along with head coach Tanya McKay.

Hezekiah and McKay won a U17 national title together as Team Manitoba in 2014.

Together, the Wesmen “Big Three” of Filewich, Giles, and Hezekiah are causing fits for their opponents.

The Wesmen lead the league with 85.9 points per game this season, and were undefeated through 11 games before losing to the defending national champion University of Saskatchewan Huskies--just one day after the Wesmen served the Huskies their first loss of the season, for an impressive 11-1 record.

Filewich has been leading the way averaging a double-double on the season with nearly 19 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game while averaging 1.3 blocks at the defensive end.

Giles, a two-time all-Canadian, has developed a new elite element to her game as she’s been able to show off her playmaking abilities with her new/old teammates, averaging 5.6 assists per game since joining the Wesmen, which is good for second in Canada West.

Primarily a scorer for the University of Regina, Giles is now seeing a more balanced role, playing alongside two other Canada West all-stars.

The speedy guard’s ability to drive the basket or step back and shoot the three still makes her a feared scorer for opposing defences averaging nearly 19 points a game. Only now she’s scoring with less pressure, having a couple of Canada West all-stars she can dish the ball to.

Giles still has a year of eligibility left after the season and has a very realistic goal of playing professional basketball when she graduates, though all three of these players have a bright future in the sport long after their university careers.

Hezekiah, like Giles, is having a comeback season of her own.

Hezekiah only played two games in what was supposed to be her fifth year in 2019-20 and successfully appealed for a medical redshirt season, allowing for the stars to align on this Manitoba reunion.

The East St. Paul forward is averaging 16.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season and has been part of a dangerous transition tandem with Giles.

If the Big Three can keep up this pace, it could be the return of a national championship to the downtown university. But first, they’ll need to capture the Canada West title which will likely mean a highly anticipated rematch with the Huskies.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT

Nothing lasts forever.

Both teams have rosters full of elite athletes with professional potential, but if you wait too long, it will be too late.

Once it ends, it will never return as these athletes will be on to bigger and better things which will most likely be outside of Winnipeg.

Your next chance to catch the Ice is March 2 at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

The Wesmen play their final home games of the regular season on Friday and Saturday against the University of Regina.