During the regular season, the Winnipeg Blues and Winkler Flyers were neck in neck in the standings all year long, so it's fitting that these two teams began their post season last night against each other at the MTS Ice Plex.
And Winnipeg drew first blood, opening the series with a big 7-3 win.
Winnipeg came out flying in the first period, and notched the opening goal, with Blues captain Jeff Borse showing some great eye hand co-ordination, knocking a puck out of mid air over the shoulder of Flyers starting netmiinder Ryan Bembridge.
The Blues then found themselves with a two man advantage, and made Winkler pay, as Jared Morris scored his first of three with seven seconds left in the first man advantage, and Jake Heisinger was allowed to walk to the net unattested, slipping the puck under Bembridge, giving the Blues a 3-0 lead midway through the opening period.
Winkler would get on the board with a nice deflection by Jordan Neduzak, leaving no chance for Blues goalie Isiah Plett, making the score 3-1.
Winnipeg regained their three goal lead before the period ran out, with Morris notching his second of the game, getting a beautiful feed from Kurt Keats and making a nice move around Bembridge, giving Winnipeg a 4-1 lead after the opening frame.
In the second, Winkler made a goalie change, putting in Corey Koop, but the Blues kept coming, as defenseman Paul Bonar notched his first of the post season on the powerplay, putting Winnipeg up 5-1.
Winkler didn't back down, and started putting the pressure on the Blues, and Jordan Nuduzak and Chapen Leblond scored 23 seconds apart, making it a 5-3 game just six minutes into the second.
Winnipeg stopped the bleeding and got momentum back on their side as Jared Morris would complete the hat-trick, taking another sweet feed, this one from Derek Gingera, who had four assists on the night, and the Blues once again had a three goal lead.
Paul Bonar would put home his second of the evening on the powerplay, making it 7-3 for the Blues, and that's how this one would end, with no scoring in the third, and gives Winnipeg a 1-0 series lead.
Game two goes Sunday night in Winkler, with Game three set back at the MTS Ice Plex on Tuesday night.
Puck drop for both games is 7:30.
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