Under-Manned Winterhawks Drop Two Straight Tight Contests to Prince George

Prince George 3 Portland 2:

Tuesday night in Prince George, Portland dropped the first of two-in-two nights to the Prince George Cougars 3-2. The Winterhawks did not seem ready from the start and fell behind 2-0 within the first five minutes of the game, before recovering and making a game of it.

Portland was without top-six forwards Alex Schoenborn and Keegan Iverson again and decided to give 16-year-old rookie Cody Glass an opportunity on the right wing of Rodrigo Abols' line. The mix up of the lines did not have positive effect in terms of goals behind Prince George goalie Ty Edmonds, as the Hawks did not score until the third period.

In the first, as I mentioned, Prince George jumped on Portland for two quick goals. On the first one, defenseman Tate Olson fired a shot that was tipped past Portland goalie Adin Hill by Aaron Boyd. The goal was Boyd's third of the year. Then, just three minutes and 22 seconds later, Brogan O'Brien put a hit in on Blake Heinrich in the Hawks' zone, freeing up the puck and allowing Chase Witala to take the puck right to the net. Jesse Gabrielle then was abel to poke the puck past Hill. After the second goal, Portland righted the ship a bit, but were still out shot in the period 20-8. Jack Dougherty also left the game after being checked from behind by Colby McAuley and headed straight to the locker room. 

Dougherty would return to the ice in the second and he would be able to finish the game. Portland responded in the second with two fantastic looks but were not able to capitalize. On the first look, Brendan De Jong pinched down and received a pass with a wide open net to shoot at, but he missed the chance. Then, Skyler McKenzie did a great job of setting up his shot in order to get it through from the slot, in traffic, but he hit the post. 

In the third period, it would be the Cougars who would be the first ones to score after a 43:14 gap in goals in the game. Jesse Gabrielle made a nifty pass right between McKenzie's legs and to defenseman Josh Anderson. Anderson then beat Hill on a sharp-angled shot that Hill probably wanted another crack at. It was  save that he has to make and it would prove to be the game-winner. Paul Bittner, who played great in the game, finally broke the goose egg for Portland as he poked the rebound of a Jack Dougherty shot past Ty Edmonds at the 13:30 mark of the third. It was a power play goal. Bittner's goal broke a scoreless streak for Portland that was 113 and a half minutes long. The Winterhawks would then ramp up the pressure on Ty Edmonds, before they finally got a goal on a scramble play in front that a pinching Keoni Texeira poked home to close the gap to one. That would be all she wrote though, as P.G. did a good job of getting the puck out of harm's way in the closing seconds.

Ty Edmonds was stellar for the Cougars, stopping 35 of 37 shots to get the win. Meanwhile, Adin Hill allowed three goals on the 38 shots he faced.

Portland's power play was 1/4 while their PK was 5/5.

Stats:

Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Shots	F/O	F/O %	Hits	B/S	PIM
Bittner	1	0	1	4	-	-	4	0	0
Turgeon	0	1	1	3	20/29	69%	2	1	0
Weinger	0	1	1	4	-	-	3	0	2
Bukarts	0	1	1	6	-	-	2	0	0
Abols	0	0	0	5	4/9	44.4%	3	1	0
Glass	0	0	0	1	-	-	1	2	0
McKenzie	0	0	0	0	1/1	100%	3	0	0
Overhardt	0	0	0	3	2/4	50%	5	0	2
Veloso	0	0	0	1	-	-	0	0	0
Clayton	0	0	0	0	-	-	2	0	0
Hughes	0	0	0	0	4/8	50%	1	0	0
Nagel	0	0	0	0	-	-	4	0	0
Heinrich	0	0	0	1	-	-	4	2	0
Dougherty	0	1	1	4	-	-	6	0	0
Jones	0	0	0	4	-	-	5	1	2
Texeira	1	0	1	2	-	-	3	1	4
MacEachern	0	0	0	0	-	-	1	3	0
De Jong	0	0	0	1	-	-	3	0	0

Notes:
-Cody Glass got the start on right wing of the line of Rodrigo Abols and Rihards Bukarts. Neither Colton Veloso, nor Evan Weinger have really seized the opportunity they were given with Keegan Iverson and Alex Schoenborn down, so Glass was given a chance.
-Overall, he played pretty well, though he had a chance with Edmonds sprawled out on the ice and was unable to put the puck over him.
-This is the third time, by my count, this year that Jack Dougherty has left with a suspected injury during the game. Only one of those times, did he not return. He has been trying to commit to a more defensive style this season and it appears his body is adjusting to the rough stuff.
-Evan Weinger was not good in this game. Dominic Turgeon and Paul Bittner would create a good cycle in the Cougars' zone and the cycle would stop when it reached Weinger.
-Keoni Texeira was even worse then he's been in recent games. He has really been struggling recently with outlet passes under pressure. His skill set is more in the realm of skating the puck out of zone, while under pressure and this has shown, when he's tried to get a quick rush going the other way. It's backfired far too much on him.
-Rodrigo Abols is getting in the right spots on the ice, but cannot get his shots from these spots on net. He's had countless chances in prime scoring areas, often without the goalie even standing and he has not been able to finish. You have to think that he is going to bust out of this slump. Counting Wednesday's game, he has been pointless in his last four games, during a time when the remaining players in the top-six need to step up. Another thing I've noticed with Abols, is that while he is one of Portland's beck back-checkers, he really seems to shy away from contact in the open ice. Twice on Tuesday he turned the puck over at his own blue line as a Cougars' fore-checker was bearing down on him. This is an aspect of his game, if it continues to show through, may keep him from getting drafted this coming June.
-Caleb Jones tripped Chase Witala, late in the third period right after Portland scored to close the gap to two and had all of the momentum. This was a pretty pivotal penalty to take as Portland had been having great possession and another goal seemed inevitable.
-Portland seemed to really be cycling all six of their d-men more than usual. With how well Brendan De Jong and Conor MacEachern have been playing, they really have earned the increase in ice-time that they are seeing.
-Colby McAuley of the Cougars was a thorn in Portland's side all night. He seemed to get a little too much freedom in throwing hits on Portland's skilled forwards. Without Schoenborn and Iverson, Portland really needs someone else to step up and make sure a pest like McAuley gets checked every time he touches the puck and is made aware that he does not have free reign on the ice.

Prince George 5 Portland 3

Portland looked to stop from getting their third three-game losing streak of the season and at two different points in the game, appeared to have commanding leads, before a spirited effort from Prince George got the Cougars' the come from behind win.

Portland had all of the early pressure in the game as they appeared to really not want to repeat the mistakes of the early going of the previous game. They would even get a hard won goal off a great cycle play from Evan wringer and Dominic Turgeon behind the Cougars' net. Paul Bittner would be the one to poke the puck home, for his 10th of the year. The goal would keep a hot streak of play going for Bittner, who now has a point in eight of his last 10 games. Unfortunately, he would leave shortly after he scored the goal and not return with some unknown injury. The Winterhawks would get the two-goal lead in the first, even without Bittner when Jack Dougherty's point shot found a way past P.G. goalie Nick McBride. After no points for Dougherty in his first four games, he now has 15 in his last 18 games. The Winterhawks would be unable to escape the period with the two-goal lead as the Cougars swung possession and made the Hawks pay. Chase Witala was able to get one past Adin Hill off of a rebound and the score was 2-1 Portland after one.

The first Cougars' comeback would be completed off a terrible gaffe by Hill outside of his net. Hill mishandled  the puck and allowed Brad Morrison to skate around him on his left, finding Jared Bethune with a wide open net to tie the score. Fortunately for Hill, Portland got that one back just over two minutes later as Dominic Turgeon received a pass in the slot and picked a spot over McBride's right shoulder to get the lead back. The goal would chase McBride from the game and bring Ty Edmonds in.  P.G. would add another goal in the second to tie up the score once again. Jesse Gabrielle was the Cougar scorer as a nice pass down the left wing sent him in one-on-one with Keoni Texeira. He got his shot off and picked the glove-side corner on Hill from a sharp angle.

In the third period, Portland was outworked and it showed on the scoreboard. First, off a good cycle for P.G., Luke Harrison found Kolby McDonald in tight on Hill and the latter player backhand roofed the shot past Hill. Then, the Cougars got a lucky bounce when McDonald's shot bounced off of Harrison's body in front, with him seemingly unaware it was even coming, and past Hill for the final 5-3 score.

Hill had one of his poorer efforts in net for Portland as he gave up five goals on 40 shots. I would argue that three of the goals were off of shots that he would normally stop. His recent play has really slipped and I do not know what is wrong with him. A lot of goals are coming from distance with him having time to take the right angle and just not doing so. He needs to get back on track, as Portland could be without three of their top-six forwards now.

Nick McBride was not great for P.G. and he got the quick hook. He only stopped nine of twelve shots by my count. Edmonds was strong in relief for the Cougars, stopping all 13 shots he faced. In the two games he played vs. Portland he saved 48 of 50 shots he faced.

Portland's power play was 1/4 in the game, while their penalty kill was 1/1. Their PP on the season is now 23/107 or 21.5% (eight in the WHL) and their PK is now 90/109 for 82.6% (sixth in the WHL).
Stats:

Player	Goals	Assists	Points	Shots	F/O	F/O %	Hits	B/S	PIM
Bukarts	0	1	1	5	-	-	3	0	0
Abols	0	0	0	1	14/20	70%	1	1	0
Glass	0	0	0	0	-	-	3	3	0
Bittner	1	0	1	2	-	-	0	0	0
Turgeon	1	1	2	3	16/23	70%	1	0	0
Weinger	0	1	1	1	-	-	4	1	0
McKenzie	0	0	0	1	0/1	0%	5	0	0
Overhardt	0	0	0	0	3/6	50%	2	0	0
Veloso	0	0	0	0	-	-	1	0	0
Clayton	0	0	0	0	1/1	100%	1	1	0
Hughes	0	0	0	1	4/5	80%	2	0	0
Nagel	0	0	0	0	-	-	6	1	0
Jones	0	0	0	1	-	-	3	3	0
Texeira	0	0	0	1	-	-	6	2	0
Heinrich	0	0	0	5	-	-	2	0	2
Dougherty	1	0	1	3	-	-	4	0	0
MacEachern	0	0	0	0	-	-	1	0	0
De Jong	0	0	0	1	-	-	2	0	0

Notes:

-Dominic Turgeon and Rodrigo Abols have not been jointly this dominant in the face-off circle all season. Turgeon has broken 60% fairly consistently but Abols has not down it too often. They have never reached 70% in the same game until now. Coach Jamie Kompon showed more confidence in Abols taking draws then he has all season. I believe (I'll have to check) that Abols won more draws in this game then any other. Despite the face-off wins, I would be hard-pressed to say that Portland won the possession battle.

-The loss of Bittner, required Skyler McKenzie to double-shift. He played on his normal line centered by Alex Overhardt, as well as, the line centered by Abols. McKenzie played pretty well, even ringing a shot off of a post at one point. He appeared to be pretty worn down by the end of the game though.

-Colton Veloso also left the game at one point, but returned. He did not seem to be the same player after he returned though and appeared be battling through some nagging injury.

-Keoni Texeira played his best game in awhile for Portland. He had really been struggling positionally but was much better in this game. He also appeared to be gaining confidence in his outlet passes.

-Oddly enough, for Portland, Blake Heinrich took Bittner's spot as a net-front presence on the top power play unit. He did not have that much success, but could get better with more time there, should it be needed. Hopefully, he will not be needed in that role.

-Conor MacEachern continues to improve for Portland. In the early-going he made a great play, boxing out overage forward Chase Witala and allowed Hill to corral a rebound. MacEachern and Brendan De Jong have slowly been growing as a pairing and should be fun to watch over the next couple of years. Should MacEachern start showing some offensive skill, he could get some notice from NHL scouts.

-Tanner Nagel had a career-high six hits in the game and played a lotos the shifts that Veloso missed. There is a lot to like with the 17-year-old forward. He fore-checks like mad and does not shy away form the tough areas of the ice. 

-Speaking of rough stuff, after time expired, Kolby McDonald put Keoni Texeira in a  headlock and threw him to the ice. Texeira then got fired up and attempted tot take on both McDonald and Josh Anderson before the linesmen intervened. I check the video, but was unable to really tell what Texira did that upset McDonald.

-Portland's next game will be Friday night in Kamloops.

Winterhawks in the NHL:

Tuesday:
-Ryan Johansen had his 13th assist of the season in a 2-1 Columbus loss to Montreal.
Thursday:
-Craig Cunningham was sent back down to Springfield of the AHL, after a six game stint with Arizona. He was pointless in those games, with an overall minus one rating.
-Matt Dumba scored his third goal of the year and it was the only one of the game as Minnesota beat Toronto 1-0.
-Vancouver fell to Dallas by a 4-2 score, Jannik Hansen netted his eight goal of the year. He now has 16 points on the year and his plus 11 rating ranks him seventh in the NHL. Luca Sbisa sat out the game for Vancouver with a hand injury suffered after blocking a shot recently. Sbisa dealing with a hand injury will ring familiar to Hawks' fans who remember his brief time with Portland.

Winterhawks in the AHL:

Wednesday:
-Ty Rattie broke a five-game pointless streak with two points for Chicago  in an 8-2 win over Manitoba. His former teammate Chase De Leo had a power play goal for the Moose in the loss.
Thursday:
-Oliver Bjorkstrand is reportedly nearing a return for the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters. He had an upper body injury and has not played since October, 29th.

Winterhawks in the ECHL:

Wednesday:

-William Wrenn had an assist in a 2-1 Alaska Aces' loss to Colorado. Newly acquired defenseman Daniel Johnston made his debut in the loss. Acquiring Johnston means that Alaska now has four d-men on their blue line who played at some point for Portland.