Seattle @ Portland 3/6/15 Preview

Seattle (32-23-4-5, 73 pts, 3rd in U.S. @ Portland (37-20-2-3, 79 pts, 2nd in U.S.)

In the 11th of the team's annual 12 meetings, Seattle travels to take on Portland at 7pm in the Moda Center tonight. Seattle comes into the game, just recently rebounding from a 4 game losing streak to beat Victoria in the 2nd of back to back games on Tuesday: 4-1, behind a 3 point night from star D-man Shea Theodore.


Meanwhile, the Winterhawks have gone 8 straight games, without losing in regulation and have railed off an 18-3-2 record in 2015, propelling them to a position, breathing down the neck of the division leading Everett Silvertips.


Season Series:
-Portland is 4-4-0-2
-Seattle is 6-3-1-0
Strangely, Portland has only won 1 of 5 games in Portland vs the T-birds this year (a 4-0 win), while they have a winning record (3-2) in Seattle.


Playoff Standings:
-Seattle:
The 4 game skid, severely hurt their chances of catching the Winterhawks and obtaining home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The now have 8 games left (counting tonight), 5 of which are match ups vs. the top 3 teams in the Western Conference. That being said, Seattle has proven this season that they can go on win streaks, if their scoring is consistent. If they won out they would be at 89 point and would need Portland to go 5-5 or worse over their last 10 games, which is improbable, though not impossible. More than likely they will end up finishing 6-10 points behind Portland, firmly slotted in the 3rd seed.


-Portland
The Hawks have lofty goals to end the season and a win tonight would be a great launching point, especially in front of an increasingly swelling crowd. They have 2 games in hand on Everett and also get a crack at them one more time, next Wednesday up there. Tonight Everett plays Tri City, whom is starting to get healthy again and has given the Silvertips fits recently (winning 3 in a row in the series). All but one of the 10 games, are divisional games, so Portland can utilize these games to set the tone for the playoffs, which, after the change to start the season, is set divisionally for the first 2 rounds. Somewhat ironically, Portland needs wins in their final 2 games with Seattle to avoid facing them in the first round, as they have given Portland troubles this season.

Players to Watch:
Seattle
-#13-Mathew Barzal
-He seems firmly entrenched as one of the top 5 Center prospects in the 2015 NHL draft and has a lot of scouts following him around now. In Seattle's 6-3 win in Kent, a few weeks ago, Barzal blew past Portland D-man Adam Henry and scored on Adin Hill. This is just an example of the blazing speed that he has, which makes him a terrible match up for Portland's slower of foot or not positionally sound  D-men. Look for Portland to utilize the last change, by matching up the top 2 D-pairings at all times with Barzal. He has 10 pts in 8 games vs Portland this year, though started the season with 6 in his first 3.


-#12-Ryan Gropp
-Gropp's 2015 NHL draft status has much more fluctuation, as a deep playoff run with Seattle, will most likely warrant him more attention and a ultimately higher selection in June. He is another forward who started the season torturing the Hawks; notching 11 points in his first 8 games, but has now been held off of the score sheet the last 2 meetings. His quick wrist shot can be a problem and Portland has done a better job, as of late, in keeping it out of the net. While the Theodore's, Barzal's and Lispsbergs have been out, Gropp has really been the one offensively consistent player.


-#17 Shea Theodore:
-His defensive play has improved markedly this season, warranting him shutdown minutes and even making him a guy Anaheim refused to trade during the NHL trade deadline.  He now has 34 points I his last 24 games since returning from the World Junior Championships and his point shot is always a danger, as it has been for his entire career. During his first few years in Seattle, Portland has had their way against his team, but he has consistently found a way to keep his team in games, with a timely rush or slap shot. He is the team's MVP in my opinion.

Portland
#7 Paul Bittner:
The other main reason, a lot of scouts will be present in Portland tonight. He fought through a lot of struggles point wise earlier this season and faced somewhat un-warranted criticism. After the WJC's and his top line mates returns, he can go back to the style of play that has worked for him in his career and it has shown as he has 28 points over his last 20 games. There is not a game that goes by that I don't see him do something just a little bit better.


#16 Blake Heinrich:
Quietly moving his way to top minutes among Portland's D-men as the season has gone on. Heinrich has looked more comfortable in his last 20 games or so and this has shown with how much more Assistant Coach Kyle Gustafons and Head Coach Kompon have trusted him. At the start of the season, Layne Viveiros was getting most of the penalty killing minutes and now Heinrich has firmly supplanted him next to Anton Cederholm in that role. I still think there's more offensive potential there somewhere, but can't argue with how good he is in his own end.


Outlook:
-A win tonight over Seattle, would really help with confidence for the playoffs, especially since they are most likely top face them in the first round. The T-birds threw 51 shots on Adin Hill last game and that cannot continue for the Hawks to win games vs their hated rival. A lot of the things that have worked against Portland this year have been point shots, wither through deflections or going straight in with a screen. Seattle has 3 D-men (Theodore, Ethan Bear and Jarrett Smith that are extremely good at utilizing this). Coverage out on the perimeters by the wings is going to be very important for the Hawks to be successful.


More on Oliver Bjorkstrand in my next piece.

Stats for Saturday 2/28/15 @Seattle

Below are the Stats for Last Saturday's 5-2 Win Over Seattle:

Player	TOI	Shots	Faceoff %	Hits	Blocked Shots
7	21:06	4	N/A	0	0
19	22:52	2	12/21=57%	0	1
27	22:32	6	N/A	0	1
43	14:16	2	N/A	2	1
23	17:25	2	7/13=53.8%	2	0
12	18:18	5	2/3=66.7%	0	0
13	15:04	1	N/A	2	0
9	17:12	1	3/6=50%	0	0
25	13:10	1	N/A	1	0
26	3:53	0	N/A	0	1
17	3:37	0	3/3=100%	0	1
36	3:46	0	N/A	2	0
2	22:37	1	N/A	1	2
42	21:19	0	N/A	1	1
16	23:39	0	N/A	1	1
44	19:12	0	N/A	1	0
6	19:05	2	N/A	0	1
4	13:40	1	N/A	1	1

Analysis:
-12/28 or nearly 50% of the team's shots came from the top line. This is not surprising if you watched the game, because the other 3 lines, could not get much of a consistent cycle going.
-There was a change in the rotation, with the Turgeon line going right after Petan's; with De Leo's line going 3rd and the Overhardt line getting 2 shifts a period.
-The crazy amount of face off's Petan takes, seem to be more about Coach McKittrick wanting to put them out at every stoppage of play, regardless of when they had their last shift. This is a reason their Time On Ice (TOI) is so much higher then the other forwards consistently (well more of how it's implemented then a reason).
-Overhardt going 3/3 goes to show why he is probably going to stay as a Center next year (#2 or 3 depending on if De Leo comes back for his over-age season), while Skyler McKenzie (who started as a Center) has been moved to the wing. Also, playing McKenzie on the wing, finds him a role on the 3rd line with any top 9 winger out, while also utilizing his speed on breakouts out of the zone.
-1 hit and 0 shots are both well below what Blake Heinrich usually does. He had a ton of ice time too, but didn't play his best, as evidenced by these numbers.
-Miles Koules had the most shots outside of the top line (5) and this is probably why that line is playing well right now. Turgeon and McKenzie are both solid in the corners, digging pucks out and putting them on a line with Koules, gives them somebody to feed the puck.
-4 total shots from the blue line is not enough for a successful playoff team and this continues to be an issue for the Hawks.
-I'm really interested to see where Alex Schoenborn is slotted when he returns from injury. Evan Weinger has played well on De Leo's line and it would be a real shame to see with him or McKenzie bumped down to the 3-4 minutes the 4th line has been playing.

Vancouver @Portland 2/20/15 Preview

Vancouver (25-30-1-2, 53 Pts, 3rd in B.C. Division) @Portland (33-20-1-3, 70 Pts, 2nd in U.S.)

The Portland Winterhawks, host the Vancouver Gianta in the last of their 4 game season series. The Hawks are hoping for a win to earn a split. Both teams have won the matchups at home up until this point.

Play on the road has been an issue for Vancouver, as of late this season. Outside of a 6-2 win last Saturday, over a depleted Tri City Americans squad in Kennewick, the Giants have lost 5 straight on the road by a combined score of 29-4 against. Scoring goals has been a major issue away from the Pacific Coliseum as they have been shut out 8 times this season on the road. The Giants have not won a road game vs. a non wildcard seeded playoff team sine December, 12th, when they beat Victoria 6-3.

The Portland Winterhawks meanwhile have won 9 straight at home, last losing on December 31st to Seattle, without the services  of Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nic Petan and Chase De Leo. Scoring goals has not been an issue for the Hawks as they have scored 6 goals or more in 4 of the last 5 home games.

This time of year, after the pro and college football seasons are over, the crowds tend to grow and the Hawks seem to feed off the energy. Also, chemistry among the #s 2 and 3 lines seems to be getting better, providing scoring depth, as 6 of the Hawks 12 goals over the last 2 games, were scored by them.

Playoff Push:
Vancouver:
-They have won 2 straight games, while the Kamloops Blazers have dropped 2 in a row, meaning that they took over the #3 seed in the B.C. Division and now lead them by 3 points, with one game in hand. The road woes are worrisome as 4 of their next 6 games are away from home. Tri City, who is holding the last wild card spot is 2 points ahead of Vancouver and 5 ahead of Kamloops.

Portland:
-This weekend is huge for the U.S. Division race to the playoffs. Everett has the lead by 6 points currently over Portland and hosts Tri City tonight before traveling down I-5 to take on Seattle Saturday night. They also host the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sunday. The Hawks play Vancouver tonight and then host the Lethbridge tomorrow night. Sitting in 3rd place (5 pts behind Portland) is Seattle and they are the first to host the Central Division Canes, before their pivotal match up vs. Everett. I don't think that Lethbridge foresaw as their season started to go sideways that they would play such an important role in the U.S. Division Title race.

By the end of the weekend, Portland and Seattle will both have a game in hand on the Silvertips.

Injuries:
Vancouver:
-#14, F, Matt Bellerive, illness, week to week. #15, D, Shaun Dosanjh, upper body, day to day.

Portland:
-#14, D, Nick Heid, Upper Body, Indefinite. #22, F, Alex Schoenborn, upper body, week to week. 

Players to Watch:
Vancouver:
-#17-F-Tyler Benson:
He may've lost to Spokane's Keanu Yamamoto as the best 16 year old in the "Best of the West" poll, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been as advertised in his rookie campaign. His set up abilities are already elite and should be scary good in the next few years as he develops. He has 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points, which is 4th on the team. His recent pairing on their top line with Alec Baer and Carter Popoff has been solid and was a key reason that Mason Geertsen scored the OT winner against Moose Jaw in their last game. Benson has 6 points in the 3 games so far vs. Portland and seems to bring his best against the Hawks.

-#20-D-Arvin Atwal:
Not often do I put a player to watch on this list who might not even play, but because of  what has happened with him lately, I thought it worthy of notation. Atwal last played in Seattle on February 7th and has been healthy scratched in the 4 games since. No reason has been handed down but noteworthy is the fact that Atwal has been forced to sit for disciplinary reasons in the past. He is 19 years old and going into the season was going to be counted on to be a leader. Needless to say, this does not appear to have taken place. He has 6 goals and 19 assists this season for 25 points. He must really have done something to irritate Head Coach Claude Noel, for Noel to role out 16 year old Ryely McKinstry and 17 year old Brennan Menell in his place during important games toward the end of the season. It is unknown if he will make his return back to the lineup tonight.

-#44-D-Mason Geertsen:
3 points, including the OT winner in his last game vs. Moose Jaw and has 2 or more points in 10 games this season. He does not have any points against Portland so far this year, but it is safe to say that his playing style will certainly be on display. That fine line he walks between irritating the other team's top players and keeping hem off their game, while making sure he does not put his team a man down in pivotal situations is something to keep an eye on tonight.

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Portland:
-#9-F-Chase De Leo:
Always seems to get the best out of his linemates, regardless who they pair him with. He is currently paired with Evan Weinger and Keegan Iverson and they have played much better since they started playing with him. De Leo has 4 points in the 3 games against the Giants, which is comparable to the rate that he's scored at all season. Recently, he has 16 points in his last 11 games and is the key player that drives the Hawks offensively outside of their top line.

-#31-G-Adin Hill:
Hill is 1-1 vs Vancouver this season but made 43 and 44 saves in those 2 games. More recently, the Hawks have only allowed 19 and 25 shots in their last 2 games, both wins for Hill. His GAA and Save % this month is off his season average, but a couple great games, will bring him back to where he was. He can start that tonight.

-#44-D-Keoni Texeira:
Inconsistency has been the case for Texeira this season, but he has played decently against the Giants. He has an assist in 2 of the 3 games the two teams have played. He's pushed the puck more in his last couple games and his pairing with Blake Heinrich is leaned on when Portland needs a goal late in the game. Development of a solid point shot, would really take his game to the next level and ensure that he will be drafted in this year's NHL draft.

Further Points:
-Not sure whether Payton Lee gets another start tonight, as he has made 2 straight starts since returning from injury.
-Noel seems to like making points with his team, as he has also, recently healthy scratched forward Ty Ronning.
-These next few games have to be taken advantage of as they are against lower seeded teams and/or non playoff teams. After that they have several difficult games against Calgary and Seattle.

Portland @ Tri City 2/17/15 Preview

Portland (32-20-1-3, 68 Pts, 2nd in U.S.) @Tri City (26-28-0-3, 55 Pts, 5th in U.S, 8th in West)

-7:05 pm in Kennewick at the Toyota Center.
The Portland Winterhawks travel to Kennewick to take on the Tri City Americans in the 6th of 10 meetings between the 2 teams. Portland is currently 5-0 vs. the Ams, including a 7-1 win in Portland last Friday.

The teams are trending in different directions as the Hawks have won 8 of their last 10, while T.C. has only won 3. Further complicating matters for the Americans, is the fact that leading scorer Parker Bowles has been lost for the season, as has Defenseman Carter Cochrane and possibly backup Goalie Evan Sarthou (waiting on a Dr's diagnosis).

Playoff Positioning:

Portland:

-The Hawks are 8 points behind Everett for the U.S. Division lead and 3 points ahead of Seattle with a game in hand on both teams. They will use this game up tonight and can crawl within 6 of the Silvertips with a victory.

Tri City:

-The Americans once had a rather comfortable lead for the last wildcard spot, but has had it decrease as injuries have eaten away at their depth. They have scored only 6 goals over the last 5 games against teams outside of Everett, whom they have beaten twice in a row. Kamloops and Prince George both sit 5 points back (50 pts each), while Vancouver has 51 points and is sitting in the last spot (3rd) in the B.C. Division.

Injuries:
Portland:
-#22 Alex Schoenborn, F, has been out since February 6th with an "upper body" injury, but is listed as "week to week." So he is probably still at least 2-3 weeks away. #14 Nick Heid, D, is out for the season with a shoulder injury.
 Evan Weinger has been doing a stellar job since being moved up in the lineup, during Schoenborn's absence, playing on the Hawks 3rd and 2nd lines; notching 2 assists in his last game.

Tri City:
-#39 Parker Bowles, F, upper body, out for the season. #27 Carter Cochrane, D, upper body, out for the season, #10 Dylan Coghlan, D, upper body, 1 - 2 weeks #5 Tyler Morrison, D, upper body, 1 week #31 Evan Sarthou, G, lower body, undetermined.
Braden Purtill was moved back to play defense, as Tri City did call up a 17 year old D-man (Kurtis Rutledge)without using him much last weekend. He is no longer on the roster.

Players to Watch:
Portland:
-#27 Oliver Bjorkstrand (like there'd be anyone else listed first): 34 points in his last 15 games, since returning from World Juniors. He has 6 goals in his 3 games vs Tri City this season and will look to continue that tonight. Tri City seemed flat out intimidated during the 3 games, sitting back and giving him too much room to work his magic.

-#13 Keegan Iverson: Has been criticized (and somewhat rightly so) for most of the season for inconsistent play. Though he has only 2 points in his last 3 games, Iverson's play has been markedly better. Winterhawks coaches have recognized this and have moved him up in the lineup, now playing with Chase De Leo and Evan Weinger on Portland's 2nd line. His play along the boards has really been impressive as he is learning to use his size more in tight areas.

-#4 Josh Hanson: The over-age D-man has been inconsistent all season, resulting in healthy scratches and very limited play. He scored his first goal of the year in his last game and has shown a ton of improvement in confidence when moving the puck up the ice. At times this season, he has served up some costly turnovers inside his own blue line, while trying to move the puck out of his own zone. I don't think it's a coincidence that his goal came, when he has played his best this season, skating the puck out of the zone and shooting more. You could tell by his teammates reactions after he scored his goal last Friday, that he is beloved in the locker room. so it's really great for the team, when  a guy like Hanson contributes offensively.

Tri City:
#18 Richard Nejezchleb: The former Brandon Wheat King was recently voted most skilled overage player in the West in the annual "Best of the West" poll. He scored 24 points in his first 18 games with his new squad, but has notched just 13 in his last 17, including 4 straight games without a point. He is -6 in those games. The Americans need more from him with Bowles out and this has not been the case so far. He has just 2 assists in his 4 games vs Portland.

#36 Brandon Carlo: The 18 year old, 2015 NHL draft eligible D-man is -6 in 5 games against the Hawks this season with no points. While he is not counted on for his production from the offensive side of the puck (3 goals and 20 assists), contributions from him have been key in getting wins this season. His last two multi-point games were in Tri City wins.

#12 Jordan Topping: By far the best American in their 7-1 loss last Friday to Portland. He has scored 3 goals in his 5 games vs the Hawks this season. He also has 5 points over his last 6 games. This is particularly impressive when considering he has 7 goals and 5 assists for 12 points in 41 games this year. He will be a player the Hawks will have to keep an eye on as like Spokane's Dominic Zwerger, he brings his best against Portland.

Other Points
Eric Comrie has given up 13 goals in his last 2 games, but essentially has no backup and possibly could be without one for the rest of the year. 5 healthy D-men has probably played a larger role then actual struggles from the Winnipeg Jets drafted Goalie. If he is feeling good tonight, he could make it difficult for the Winterhawks shooters and keep his team in a game in which they are, quite frankly, out-gunned.

Look for Tri City to lean heavily on Carlo, Parker Wotherspoon and Justin Hamonic along the back end, especially against Portland's top line. Miles Koules, Skyler McKenzie and Dominic Turgeon showed some instant chemistry in their last game and hopefully they can continue this play.

Stats for Last Weekend's Games

I was finally able to complete the Time on Ice, shots, face off and other stats for last Friday and Saturday vs Kamloops and Everett.

Here are the stats for Friday, January 30th in which the Hawks won 6-2 over Kamloops.

Player	TTOI	Shots
Bittner	22:45	2
Petan	22:51	3
Bjorkstrand	22:36	5
Koules	16:13	2
De Leo	21:01	4
Schoenborn	13:10	2
McKenzie	11:41	1
Turgeon	14:24	2
Iverson	14:18	5
Flaman	5:59	0
Overhardt	6:44	1
Weinger	6:18	0
Cederholm	16:53	0
Viveiros	20:32	1
Heinrich	19:15	1
Texeira	18:34	1
Henry	19:04	0
Hanson	19:24	0

Analysis:
-This game was 4-0 after the first period and never really got that close. This gave Coach Kompon the ability to utilize some of the players, he doesn't usually give that much ice time. Chief in this was Josh Hanson, who skated just over 6 minutes vs. Victoria, 2 days earlier and skated nearly 20 minutes in this one.
-Keegan Iverson, may've had zero points, but his 5 shots are proof that he played an excellent game and was really buzzing around the Blazer's net.
-Anton Cederholm skated only 16:53 and this wasn't just due to the fact that  he skated only 4:57 in the 3rd period. He also had only 5:18 in the first. This seemed to be part of the plan for Kompon and Co. as they knew they were going to need him more in the next game vs. Everett.

Here are the stats for Saturday, January 31st's 6-3 win over Everett, that saw Oliver Bjorkstrand notch the first 6 point game for a player since Adam Deadmarsh.

Player	TTOI	Shots
Bittner	21:05	4
Petan	23:39	3
Bjorkstrand	22:18	6
Koules	19:02	5
De Leo	20:37	5
Schoenborn	16:25	6
McKenzie	12:43	3
Turgeon	13:23	2
Iverson	15:35	0
Overhardt	4:44	0
Weinger	3:35	0
Cederholm	27:12	2
Viveiros	21:50	0
Heinrich	20:15	0
Texeira	14:51	0
De Jong	10:59	0
Henry	17:39	1
Hanson	6:48	0

Analysis:
-The Hawks top line dominated this game. They combined for 13 of the team's 36 shots.
-Second straight game where not a lot of shots came from the point. 3 total in each of the game's last weekend.
-Alex schoenborn had his most time on ice in the 3 games I've recorded. This was because the Hawks used him on as the left wing on their 4th line along with Weinger and Overhardt.
-As I was saying about Cederholm's ice time. With the Hawks either tied or holding onto a tight lead throughout the game, Cederholm skated over half the 3rd period (10:13). He is their go to guy along the blue line in tight games, especially when controlling a 1 or 2 goal lead.

Hopefully it will not take me as long to post the numbers for the games this weekend Seattle and Everett.

Stats for Victoria Game/Analysis

There has been a lot of talk in regards to the amount of minutes Portland's top line of Bittner, Petan and Bjorkstrnad, as well as, power play partner Chase De Leo, have been playing lately. 

Since there is no way to really track the ice time out there, I decided to take it upon myself to calculate the total time on ice (TTOI) myself. As I get more comfortable, doing these stats, I'd like to add face off wins/losses/win %, as well as block shots, hits and giveaways/takeaways (wishful thinking I'm sure).

But lets start with TTOI and shots to begin with though for the Wednesday, January 28th 4-3 win over Victoria.

Player	TTOI	Shots
Bittner	24:57	1
Petan	24:10	2
Bjorkstrand	25:13	3
Koules	18:34	2
De Leo	24:51	7
Schoenborn	16:25	2
McKenzie	15:09	3
Turgeon	14:25	3
Iverson	16:18	2
Overhardt	0:00	0
Flaman	0:00	0
Cederholm	22:57	2
Viveiros	25:08	4
Heinrich	22:35	1
Texeira	14:25	0
De Jong	8:33	1
Henry	16:39	3
Hanson	5:57	0

Analysis

• Player with the most ice time was Oliver Bjorkstrand with 25:13, followed by Layne Viveiros, Bittner, De Leo and Petan. 

• -Seems odd that 4 of the 5 players with the most time on ice are forwards, unless you knew that the gap between the high end talent and their other players(2nd/3rd line) on the Hawks, is high right now so that playing them a ton is the best way for you to win. This is especially true when you consider that they are all so good in their own zone as well.

• -Playing the top 4 forwards this much, is a gamble though, as the final 6 weeks of the season plus the playoffs is intense and could cause exhaustion and injuries. Kompon is gambling a lot in this right.

• -Both Jack Flaman and Alex Overhardt did not get a single shift as the team's de facto 4th line. This I do not understand as they both have improved a lot this year and have not shown signs lately of being a huge risk out there for 1 or 2 50 second shifts.

• -Skyler McKenzie ended up with more minutes then his center-man Dominic Turgeon. This is because he had several extended shifts, where he got pinned deep in his own zone and/or made a mistake in timing his change. These can be forgiven during the regular season, but he needs to shore this up in order to get consistent ice time in the playoffs.

• -Keoni Texeira ended up with the 5th most ice time for D-men. This is due to Adam Henry taking his spot next to Blake Heinrich in the 3rd period. Texeira only had three shifts, a total of 2:16 in the final frame. In one of these shifts, he was beaten severely to the net front by Alex Forseberg, leading to a Forseberg goal. Lack of ice time could be a reason he was beaten there, but regardless, he did not receive another shift for the rest of the game. Not sure that this was completely fair.

• -Chase De Leo was buzzing around the net all game so his 7 shots, is not too surprising.

I should have more of these stats for the last 6 weeks of the season, so I can average out average time on ice and shots per game/shot %.

A Look Around the U.S. Division

With 19 of the Winterhawks remaining 25 games against the U.S. Division, all 5 teams in the division separated by only 18 points and the change in playoff formatting this season. I figured now would be as good a time as any to look around the Division at the Hawks and their 4 rivals.

Austin Lotz

1) Everett Silvertips (46 GP , 30-12-3-1, 64 Pts)
-The Tips dropped 2 in a row at the end of 2014 and were headed on their 6 game East Division swing to start 2015, which did not look promising for them. Instead Kevin Constantine's squad has won 5 of 6 on the trip and returned to win 4 in a row against Spokane, Seattle and Prince George.
-Last season the Tips had 13 players score 19 points or more. This year they already have 13 players with that amount or more.
-They are led by Nikita Scherbak, (57 pts), Carson Stadnyk (46), Kohl Bauml (42) and Ivan Nikolishin (41); giving them some needed 25-*scoring depth.
-Carter Hart (2.27 GAA, 0.915 Save %) and Austin Lotz (2.45, 0.913 Save %) gives Everett the best Tending duo in the Division.


Inside the Division:
-14-7-1-1 overall record. They have played over half of their games so far this season vs. divisional opponents.


Vs. Portland:
-4-2-1-0 (3 games remaining; 2 at home, 1 in Portland)
-Won 4 of their first 5 match ups, but have dropped 2 straight since including the most lopsided of the games, a 7-1 loss in the Rose City.
-Last time they played was December 6th and next time they play is January 31st.


Vs. Spokane:
-3-2 (3 games remaining; all in Spokane)
-2 of the Tip's only 3 regulation losses through the first 19 games of the season were to the Chiefs/
-All 4 games so far have been within 2 goals.
-Last time they played was January 16th and the next time they play is February 3rd.


Vs. Seattle:
-4-2 (4 games remaining; 2 at home and 2 on the road)
-Would play each other in the first round as it stands now; which would be the 2nd year in a row the I-5 rivals would square off in the post-season.
-Last time they played was January 18th and the next time they meet is February 14th.


Vs. Tri City:
-3-1-0-1 (5 games remaining; 3 at home and 2 in Kennewick)
-All 5 games so far have been within 2 goals and the most goals either team has scored vs the other in regulation is 4.
-Last time they played was December, 28th and the next time they play is February 6th.

Bjorkstrand

2) Portland Winterhawks (47 GP, 25-19-0-3, 53 Pts, 9 back of Everett)
-The pre-season favorite in the Division has struggled with inconsistency, large defensive lapses and the constant disappearance of important play-makers, yet still has a shot at taking their 3rd straight U.S. Division crown.
-Portland has won 4 of their last 5 games, including a sweep of the Prince George Cougars.
-Since returning from the World Juniors, Oliver Bjorkstrand has been on a tear, notching 14 points in 6 games. Also Adin Hill has finally given the Hawks some consistent Goaltending; notching a 2.66 GAA and an incredible 0.929 Save % this season. Portland has plenty of other players who have underwhelmed so far this season and if Hill can stay hot and they can start to get consistent scoring from their 2nd and 3rd lines, they could go on a tear. They won 6 in a row in late November-early December when they were near 100% healthy and present. If one team can put a scare into the Tips, it's probably the defending champs.
-Portland is led by Bjorkstrand (54 Pts), Chase De Leo (51), Nic Petan (38), Miles Koules (35) and Paul Bittner (34). Between the top 5 scores, they have missed a total of 41 games so far this season.


Inside the Division:
-9-9-0-3 overall record. They have played 21 of 38 games within the division.


Vs. Everett:
-3-3-0-1 (3 games remaining, 2 of which are in Everett).
-After dropping 4 of their first 5 vs the Tips, they have won 2 straight; a 12-4 overall score.


Vs. Spokane:
-1-3 (4 games remaining, 2 at home and 2 in Spokane).
-Blew leads in all 3 losses to the Chiefs, a team they dominated for the last 2 seasons.
-Would be a first round match up as it stands now.
-Next play tonight in Portland and they last played on January 9th.


Vs, Seattle:
-2-3-0-2 (5 games remaining, 2 at home and 3 in Seattle).
-Both teams have been missing top players for all 7 games so far,
-Next play tomorrow night in Seattle and they last played on January 4th, a 4-0 Hawks win.


Vs. Tri City:
-3-0 (5 games remaining, 3 at home and 2 on the road).
-Hawks have outscored the Americans 11-5 overall in the 3 games.
-Next play on Sunday and they last played on January 3rd (a 3-0 Hawks win).

Helewka

3) Spokane Chiefs (44 GP, 23-17-3-1, 50 Pts, 14 back of Everett and 3 of Portland)
-Spokane was doubted by many to begin this season but has scratched and clawed their way back into games; never really ever going away and thus surprising the Division and conference with a solid season so far.
-They are currently on a 3 game losing streak; losing 3 straight to divisional opponents.
-After a 50 pt season last year, Adam Helewka already has 56, showing himself to be an elite player in the league.
-Jason Fram has also been a godsend for the Chiefs, notching 39 points so far, while also providing scoring form the back end.
Garrett Hughson also has been better then expected with a 2.85 GAA and 0.903 Save %.
-Only U.S. Division team that has yet to go on their Eastern Division swing.


Inside the Division:
-13-8-2-1 overall record. They had the best record within the division prior to last week's 3 losses.


Vs. Everett:
-2-2-1 (3 remaining)
-If they don't stop the slide, they could face the Tips in the first round.


Vs. Portland:
-3-1 (4 remaining).
-Kailer Yamamoto and Adam Helewka each have 7 points in 4 games vs. Portland, while Paul Bittner has 6 vs. Spokane. In only 2 games vs the Chiefs, Oliver Bjorkstrand has 5 points.


Vs. Seattle:
-3-3-1-1 (2 games remaining; both at home).
-Entertaining series between the 2 so far as they have already seen each other 8 times (most in the Division).
-Next play each other January 25th and last matched up on 1/13.


Vs. Tri City:
-5-2 (5 games remaining; 3 at home and 2 on the road).
-Yet another team that has done well vs. the Americans.
-The Chiefs dropped the Americans 10-2 on New Year's Eve but lost to them 7-0 last week.
-Next play each other tomorrow night.

Kozun

4) Seattle Thunderbirds (44 GP, 22-17-2-3, 49 Pts, 1 pt behind Spokane and 3 ahead of T.C. for first Wild Card spot)
-Seattle has faced long stretches without their 2 best players (Shea Theodore and Mathew Barzal) and should be close to 100% healthy soon.
-Lack of goal scoring has contributed to some of the T-bird's struggles. They are led by Ryan Gropp (33 Pts).
-Taran Kozun has held them in a lot of games this season with a 2.36 GAA and a 0.915 Save %.


Inside the Division:
-15-8-1-3 overall record. 13 games remaining in the Division.


Vs. Everett:
-2-2-1-1 (4 remaining).
-Blown out in Everett last weekend 6-0.


Vs. Portland:
-5-2 (5 remaining).
-Will be tougher sledding from here on out vs the Hawks as they should have some of their stars back in the lineup, but so will the T-birds.


Vs. Spokane:
-5-2-0-1 (2 remaining).
-Back to back 4-1 wins over Spokane in recent meetings.
-Next play on Sunday.


Vs. Tri City:
-3-2-0-1 (2 remaining).
-Next play tonight in Kennewick.

Bowles

Tri City Americans (46 GP, 22-22-0-2, 46 Pts, 17 Pts behind Everett for Division and 6 pts ahead of Vancouver for final playoff spot).
-They were expected to ride the Goaltending of Eric Comrie but between injuries and time away at the World Juniors, he has only played in 24 games, while backup Evan Sarthou has played in 22.
-Another team that has struggled scoring; they are led by Parker Bowles (39 Pts), Brian Williams (36), Beau McCue (35) and Richard Nejezchleb (29 in 24 games since being acquired from Brandon).
-This team looks like a year or two away from making an impact as D-men Parker Wotherspoon and Brandon Carlo, as well as, Forwards Ty Comrie, Vladislav Lukin, Ty Comrie and Taylor Vickerman are showing marked improvement and are 1996 and 97 born players.


Inside the Division:
-7-12-0-2 overall record.
-Have fared the worst in the Division.


Vs. Everett:
-2-2-0-1.
-Oddly enough one of the Divisional teams they have fared the best against has been the first place Tips.
-Next play Feb. 7th.


Vs. Portland:
-0-3.
-Only team who the Ams have yet to beat.
-In years past they have had a lot of success in Portland, where there is 3 more games.


Vs. Spokane:
-2-5.
-With a lot (5) of games against Spokane left, they have a good chance of making a run at home ice, but it is not looking likely.


Vs. Seattle:
-3-2-0-1.
-Only U.S. team they have a winning record against.
-Sarthou shut out the T-birds on 12/13.


Outlook:
-In a real tight division that should have all 5 representatives in the playoffs, it will be very interesting to see how the last month and a half plays out.