Ian White Leads Huskies To Their First Win

The Steinbach Huskies called in Ian White to help them win their first game of the season 7-5 over the Red River Wild Wednesday night at the T.G. Smith Centre.

Both teams were in awe when they realized moments before the game that the former Detroit Red Wings defenceman would be suiting up to play.

"There was a little bit of disbelief at first, but then I saw the Red Wings bag come in - he's here fellas," said the coach of the Red River Wild Mike Gilmour leading up to the game. "I was jacked, he looked good. Obviously he had 4 or 5 points."

It was hard not noticing White, who was wearing his red Detroit Red Wings pants as he went out to score 3G/2A for 5 points in the game.

"You rarely get these opportunities, so when the chance came around I jumped at it," White said about playing forward for the Huskies. "It was lots of fun coming out to skate with some old friends, just play care-free hockey."

White's adventure with the Huskies isn't over yet. He said he'll be in Steinbach for the next couple of weeks before he travels to Switzerland to resume his professional hockey career. He says he's not sure where he will be playing in Switzerland, but he did mention that he hopes to get back into the NHL sooner than later.

In the meantime, the Huskies will need to get use to having White in the dressing room for the next couple of games. "At first I didn't believe it, this must be some kind of publicity stunt," said Huskies defenceman Justin Giesbrecht about White playing more than one game. "It's going to be really good for us. The morale boost is huge for us."

After the Huskies rough 0-4 start, putting them in last place in the league, Giesbrecht said the addition of White is just what they needed to get back on track.

"We definitely needed that first win to get us going to know that we can beat these teams. Red River is a good team, and now that we know we can beat them it will change the rest of the season for us," Giesbrecht said.

Despite White wearing white and blue, the Wild didn't let that affect them, scoring the first goal of the game, going into the first period intermission up 1-0. But White and the Huskies were too much in the 2nd, tallying 5 goals to build a 5-3 lead heading into the final intermission.

The Wild built some momentum early in the third, pulling within a goal 18 seconds into the period. But the Huskies weren't going to lose at home, especially with White on the roster, sealing the game with two more goals before the Wild added another late in the game.

Justin Giesbrecht, Derek Loepky, Adam Loewen, and Jamie Penner also scored for Steinbach while former Steinbach Pistons player Cole Brunet tallied for the Wild along with Cory Schroeder, Jay Roberts, Reggie Bildodeau and Clint Lucier.

Both teams are at the bottom of the Carillon Senior Hockey League with the Grunthal Red Wings, with only one win so far this season.

The Wild travel to play their next game 8pm Friday against the St. Malo Warriors and the Huskies, along with White, will be hosting the Springfield 98's 7pm Sunday evening at the T.G. Smith Centre.