Monday, October 31, 2016

Skid hits five games as Kelowna sweeps weekend set from Portland with 3-2 win


Portland played 34 minutes of quality hockey against Kelowna Sunday night. They owned possession and had far more quality scoring chances than the Rockets, but were only able to out two of those home. Then the wheels fell off as they gave up a short-handed goal late in the second and two more goals in the third to drop their fifth straight game. All of these were lost in regulation, so Portland is thus pointless in five straight. The last time they lost five straight games this way, was at the start of the 2014-15 season under former coach Jamie Kompon. The Winterhawks had countless opportunities to pad their minuscule lead in the first two periods, but were either turned away by the goaltending of Brodan Salmond, or just failed to convert open looks. Portland has found themselves unable to add to small leads ever since returning from their East Division trip and with the high-tempo system they play, this has been a recipe for disaster. In fact, the last time Portland held a lead of three or more was, 11 games ago on October seventh at Moose Jaw.

Portland got the scoring started for the second straight night and it was the same face doing it. After controlling possession in Kelowna's zone, they hit pay dirt when Joachim Blichfeld tipped home the shot from the point by Henri Jokiharju. This was Blichfeld's fifth goal of the year. He has scored in every game since he was moved to the top line to play with Cody Glass and Skyler McKenzie.

Portland actually added to their lead in the second period and again the goal was netted by a player who had scored the previous night vs. Kelowna. Whole on the power play, Cody Glass created the play by driving the zone and threading a pass in traffic to Keegan Iverson. The Winterhawk captain deftly dropped a pass to Skyler McKenzie and the winger drove the right, flicking a backhand back the other way. The puck found a way past Salmond and Portland had their first two-goal lead in four games. Just like that two-goal lead though, this one was also destined to evaporate. While on the power play defenseman Keoni Texeira had his pocket picked by Nick Merkley and the Arizona Coyotes' first round pick threw a pass out front to Rodney Southam. The Rockets' captain faked a shot and drove around the out of position goalie Cole Kehler. He then, quite easily tucked the puck into the vacant net. After playing well and controlling most of the play, the Hawks found themselves nursing a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes, all because of one big mistake.

As expected, the Rockets finally woke up in the third period. They outshot Portland 19-11 and scored twice to win the game. First, while on the man advantage Calvin Thurkauf fired a cross-ice pass right onto the tape of Merkley's stick. The sniper then one-timed the puck right to the top shelf. After failing to score in his first nine games this season, Merkley scored in two straight vs. Portland. The winning goal for Kelowna was scored thanks to a fortunate bounce as a shot from Kole Lind was blocked by Henri Jokiharju. The puck took a strange bounce, eluding a poke-checking Cole Kehler. Tomas Soustal got to the biscuit first and filed it home, giving Kelowna the 3-2 lead. The Winterhawks had their chances late in the game, including a couple where a bouncing puck did not take the same fortunate hop for them as it had for Kelowna. Unfortunately, Salmond was game to the task and Kelowna left the Rose City with a sweep of the weekend's games. Kelowna has now won six straight games, recovering from a lackluster start to the season.


Game Notes:
-Cody Glass assisted on both Portland goals and now is just two points back from the WHL-leading Mason Shaw. With 23 points, he is just four away from tying his career high of 27.
-With his 10th goal, McKenzie is tied for third in the league and sits just two behind WHL-leading Michael Rasmussen and Zak Zborosky.
-Blichfeld's five goals has him tied for fourth in league rookie scoring.
-Alex Overhardt's pointless streak has hit seven games so far. Just like last season, he has really struggled with finishing the scoring chances he has been given. He has provided strong defensive play and has won a majority of his face offs, but he just isn't providing any offensive production right now.
-Another Winterhawks' forward who has struggled during this slide is Ryan Hughes. After hanging around with the league scoring leaders for most of October, he has just two assists in his last five games. He was set up on a brilliant feed from Ilijah Colina, but missed an empty net with a one-timer.
-One of the reasons, I think that Evan Weinger and Hughes have not had consistent production, has been the constant rotation of Lane Gillis and Colina in as their centers. Coach Mike Johnston is doing these two wingers a disservice by having them play with Gilliss one night and Colina the next. True chemistry will be hard to find this way.
-Portland next plays on the road in Tri-City Friday. Gettign back on the road might be a good thing for Portland, who has lost four straight at home.

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Sunday, October 30, 2016

Portland runs out of magic and loses their fourth straight: 5-3 to Kelowna


It was a textbook Portland-Kelowna game Saturday night with an end-to-end style leading to many quality scoring chances both ways. It even had a heart-breaking ending for Portland fans, as Keegan Iverson struck the post with what would have been the tying goal with a minute left.

The difference in the game ended up being the thing that has been Portland's biggest strength all season. The number one ranked power play in the WHL went 0/6 on the night and gave up the game-winning-goal. Devante Stephens was the big hero with two goals, including the winner and an assist. This was not only his first three-point game in his WHL career, it was his first two-goal game and multi-point game of any type. Suffice it to say, he isn't expected to provide offensive production, but he did this night. Tomas Soustal also had two goals in the game and Calvin Thurkauf had two assists for the Rockets.

Skyler McKenzie and Keoni Texeira led the way for Portland with two points apiece.

Portland opened the scoring Saturday night, when defenseman Caleb Jones activated and won a battle behind the Rockets' net. Skyler McKenzie was next on the puck and he fired a very quick and perfectly placed cross-crease pass to a waiting Joachim Blichfeld. The Danish sniper tapped it home for his fourth goal of the season. Kelowna tied the game at one later in the first when Portland d-man Henri Jokiharju couldn't get a bouncing puck to settle for him and Kelowna's Conner Bruggen-Kate was able to force the puck away from him. Kole Lind took advantage of the confusion by corralling it and driving into the Portland zone and dropping a pass to Tomas Soustal. The import winger fired a shot past Bullion to knot the score up after one.

Just 23 seconds into the second period, Kelowna caught Portland napping and took their first lead of the game. Jake Kryski got tied up along the boards with Portland blue-liner Brendan De Jong. This freed up space for Devante Stephens to pick up the loose puck and walk in on Bullion, beating him. Kelowna took advantage of the momentum gained from this goal to tilt the ice and control most of the possession. Michael Bullion helped them keep the game within the reach with some timely saves.

Portland got enough going late in the second to give them hope and cashed in early in the third. It was another goal due to a big battle won along the boards. This time it was Keoni Texeira who activated and Keegan Iverson who sucked in the defense, before feeding McKenzie in the slot. McKenzie protected the puck and roofed a backhand shot past Kelowna goalie Michael Herringer to tie the game. Just over two minutes later, Kelowna not only retook the lead, they got one of their key players out of a season-long slump. Nick Merkley buried his very first goal of the year, when a shot from Calvin Thurkauf was clocked by Jokiharju and rolled right over onto the stick of Merkley. Sometimes when an elite player is struggling, they just need luck to go their way and Merkley did in that sequence. The Winterhawks again bounced back though with a highlight reel goal. A slick outlet pass from Keoni Texeira to Evan Weinger somewhat handcuffed the winger. He made a heads up play though, by passing the puck into space and away from two Kelowna defenders, before getting it back and breaking in alone on Herringer. He made a power move in tight then, beating Herringer on his glove side, tucking it past his pad along the ice. This was a great thing to see, as Weinger has struggled this season with scoring goals on breakaways.

The game would seemingly be going Portland's way shortly after the Weinger goal as they drew a penalty and set themselves up with a power play. They even had several high-quality looks on the power play, before a blocked shot set up Rodney Southam and Stephens on a two-on-one break. Southam got his pass onto the stick of Stephens, despite Caleb Jones' efforts and the d-man netted his second of the game short-handed. Portland turned up the pressure late, but after Iverson struck iron, the Rockets sealed the game with an empty-net-goal from Soustal. The goal was scored from deep within the Rockets' own zone.

Michael Herringer got the win for Kelowna, stopping 38 of 41. Bullion was handed the loss, due to only being able to stop 34 of the 38 shots he saw. This was Bullion's first start in over two weeks.

Portland's power play was 0/6 with a short-handed goal against and is now 30.6 percent on the season. The team is now second overall in the WHL, as Medicine Hat has overtaken them. Kelowna was 1/4 on their PPs. The Winterhawks PK is now seventh in the league with an effectiveness percentage of 82.6.

Game Notes:
-Skyler McKenzie now has nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points. His current career high is the 25 he had last season in 68 games. He is a completely different player out there under coach Mike Johnston. The increase in confidence is the most notable. In the position he was in one his goal in this game, he would have deferred last year.
-With the two assists, Texeira is tied for sixth in the league in scoring among d-men with 13.
-Caleb Jones was a woeful minus three on the night. His inability to stop the pass that set up the winning goal was puzzling to me. He seemed to be stuck between laying out to stop the pass and playing to standing up. In his indecision, he did neither. While he should not expected to be a shutdown blue-liner in his role in this system, he has to make plays like this when he needs to.
-Iverson wasn't the only Hawk to draw iron as Cody Glass made a slick move to get alone in tight on Herringer before hearing the "clink" of a close call. Without a point in this one, Glass fell to third in WHL scoring behind Medicine Hat's Mason Shaw and Spokane's Kailer Yamamoto.
-M.J. made his first big change to Portland's top lines, exchanging Joachim Blichfeld for Keegan Iverson. Putting Blichfeld on that line gives them a more potent, play-making unit, but it also takes away the force that is Iverson and gives McKenzie and Glass less room to operate. I'd like to see another game or two from this line, before deciding whether this was a good move or not.
-A line I don't want them to change at all is the unit of Brad Ginnell-Jake Gricius-Bronson Sharp. This fourth line owned possession practically every time they were out there and was one of the big reasons Portland was able to turn momentum around in the second period. Ginnell is the engine that makes this unit go, as he has the speed and creativity that makes them dangerous. Sharp and him combined for two quality chances back to back at one point that Herringer was forced to stop. The best play Ginnell made all night, though was his back check that tied up the stick of a Rockets' player that was about to tap in a goal in third period. Ginnell had to skate all 200-feet of ice to make the play.
-Portland and Kelowna go at it again Sunday night with Portland desperate to put an end to this four-game losing streak.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Winterhawks fall to Americans 4-3 yet again



Portland valiantly came back from a 3-1 deficit to Tri-City, only to give up a late third period goal in falling to the Americans by a 4-3 score. This only a week after falling to them by the same exact score. Portland took the opening game in the series, so T.C. has a 2-1 series lead. Vladislav Lukin led the way with two goals for T.C., while Parker AuCoin and Juuso Valimaki each had two points. Cody Glass had two more points in the loss.

Tri-City opened the scoring Tuesday off one of the stranger gaffes you will see in hockey. Portland forced play deep into the Americans' zone and started to change lines. However, only one member of Portland's fourth line made their way onto the ice, leaving them two men down. Off the rush the other way AuCoin's shot was partially saved by Portland goalie Cole Kehler and landed on top of the net. AuCoin deftly grabbed the puck off the top of the net and got it back into play. An ensuing shot from Juuso Valimaki was flubbed and went off to the right off Kehler. Defenseman turned forward Kurtis Rutledge won a battle with Caleb Jones to the loose puck and bounced a shot off of Kehler and in. Portland tied the game less than two minutes later on the power play. They scored their goal when Cody Glass' shot bounced off of Keegan Iverson once and twice more off Dylan Coghlan before it went past Tri-City goalie Rylan Parenteau and in.

Portland carried the momentum of their first goal of the game into the second and had several good looks that Parenteau turned away. Their momentum was halted when a rush up the ice forced Caleb Jones to take a hooking penalty, putting Portland short handed. While on the penalty kill, Keoni Texeira jumped up into the neutral zone and was caught, freeing the Americans to create a tic-tac-toe passing play that ended with Lukin burying a pass from Michael Rasmussen. They added to their lead when both of Portland's d-men were caught inside the Americans' zone, giving Tri-City a two-on-zero rush. Parker AuCoin easily buried a pass from Nolan Yaremeko, swiftly putting the Hawks down two in the span of 37 seconds. Slowly but surely Portland started gaining control late in the second and they took advantage off a fantastic deflection of a Ryan Hughes shot and past Parenteau. The goalie almost had the puck in his glove before Weinger got his stick on it.

Portland finished what they started early in the third period, as whole playing four-on-four, Henri Jokiharju made a heads-up pass across the T.C. blue line to Brendan De Jong. The lanky d-man looked to shoot, drawing Parenteau out, before feeding an onrushing Cody Glass for the one-timer. This knotted the game at three with 17:23 left in regulation. From this point the U.S. Division rivals traded chances before the Americans scored on another broken play. Juuso Valimaki's shot from just outside the left face off dot was blocked by Caleb Jones but Portland's d-man could not corral the puck and Valimaki won the battle to the biscuit, quickly feeding Vladislav Lukin alone in front for the eventual game-winning-goal. Portland pulled Kehler for an extra-attacker late and had some looks, but could not solve the Americans' overage goalie.

Parenteau stopped 30 of the 33 shots he faced in his second straight win over Portland. Kehler and Portland dropped their third straight game. He stopped 27 of 31 in the loss.

Portland found the net on the power play yet again, going 1/3 overall. T.C. went 1/5. Portland's PP is now 19/56 for 33.9 percent and first in the WHL. Portland's penalty kill is now 54/65 for
83.1 percent. This is sixth place in the league.

Game Notes:
-With two points, Glass retook second place in the WHL in points with 21. This is two behind Medicine Hat's Mason Shaw.
-De Jong's assist gives him six points on the young season. This is just two short of his entire total for last year.
-Portland appeared to be targeting top draft prospect Michael Rasmussen early and often. He took a hard check on the side from Keegan Iverson that sent him awkwardly into the boards head-first. The physical play did seem to have the desired effect as his body language gave away that he was frustrated. He ended up with one point, which is an off night for him.
-The defensive side of Henri Jokihrju's play continues to develop. He made two stunning plays in his own zone in the first period. First he expertly tied up the stick of Nolan Yaremko just as a pass came screaming by. Then he laid down to block Tyler Sandhu's shot as Kehler was still on the other side of the net and the net was vacant.
-Lane Gilliss was scratched as Ilijah Colina was given another opportunity to play between Evan Weinger and Ryan Hughes. The 16-year-old made a nice read on one play, gettign behind the defense and nearly beating Parenteau on one sequence.
-That line is an intriguing one as they can go quiet for most of the night, before very quickly scoring on a play that looked to be non-threatening. This was the case on Weinger's goal.
-For the second straight game, the game may've hinged on muscling in for a loose puck in front of an open net with the goalie out of position. This time it was Skyler McKenzie who could not quite get his stick on the loose puck as Parenteau was out of commission. If he had score,d it would have given Portland the 4-3 lead.
-Mike Johnston and co. are still willing to mess with the power play. They used Keoni Texeira as the net-front forward at one point and experimented with Ryan Hughes in place of Joachim Blichfeld on the left point at another.
-Portland's next game is Saturday vs. Kelowna. They play two straight at home vs. the Rockets to close out the week.
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Saturday, October 22, 2016

Seattle's Toth finally solves Portland with a 3-1 victory


When you are the overage goalie acquired by a team hoping to contend for the Ed Chynoweth cup, you want to prove yourself early on. No more so than against your team's hated rival. So when Portland scored 10 goals on Rylan Toth in just over a game and a half, he had to be entering Friday's match up with the Winterhawks with something to prove. He did just that, earning first-star honors by stopping 32 of 33 shots and earning his first win over Portland in three starts this season. Toth was not the only Thunderbird with something to prove as Ethan Bear was snubbed once again by Hockey Canda after being left off Team WHL for November's Canada Russia series. Bear also made his point by scoring the eventual game winner on a brilliant one-timer in the first period.

While Bear's goal was the winner, Seattle got their first goal of the game earlier in the first period, though it took a video review to prove it. Off a mad scramble in and around Portland goalie, Seattle's Nolan Volcan one-timed a bouncing puck off the upper part of the net and back out. Play kept going, but it was eventually whistled down and video was reviewed. Not only was it clear the puck went it after seeing the replay, it also became clear that Portland d-man Henri Jokiharju did his goalie no favors by accidentally interfering with his ability to get back into the play. Seattle doubled their lead later in the period on a power play goal from Bear. After Seattle won the opening draw of the man-advantage a pass form point to point intended for Bear went off the side boards. Instead of giving up on the opportunity, Bear wired a one-timer right over Kehler's glove. The Thunderbirds were given the power play after an ill-advised interference penalty taken by rookie Ty Kolle. Seattle took a 2-0 lead into the second period.

Portland would cut their lead in half in a familiar way in the second frame. After an interference penalty by Turner Ottenbreit, Skyler McKenzie capitalized on a tic-tac-toe passing play for his eighth goal of the young season. Caleb Jones started the play by passing across to the left wing, leaving McKenzie all kinds of room for a one-timer off a cross-ice pass back from Joachim Blichfeld. This was Portland's seventh power play goal on Seattle by Portland in three games.

The Third period was where Toth shined the most as he made two different brilliant right pad saves to preserve the 2-1 lead. His first save was off a one-timer by Blichfeld, where he looked to be well out of position. His second not only saved the game, it set up a push the other way by Seattle leading to an empty net goal for Matthew Wedman. This iced the game. He second, right pad save was a little different in that it came off the skate of a tied-up Keegan Iverson. If he were to score off the kick, it would have counted as he was outside the crease when he made contact.

Kehler also played well in his ninth start for Portland, but fell short, by stopping only 26 of the 28 shots he saw.

Portland's power play was 1/3, while Seattle's was 1/2. On the season, Portland is now 18/53 for 34 percent. Due to Tri-City failing on five opportunities tonight in Kelowna, Portland PP is once gain first in the league.

Game Notes:
-Ryan Gropp was a scratch for the match up with a yet-to-be-determined injury.
-Cody Glass took an awkward tumble into the end boards in the first period but played the rest of the game. It was eerily reminiscent to the one he took that led to him being held out of the preseason. His lack of scoring opened the door for a new WHL scoring leader, but it wasn't who I thought it would be, that took advantage. Medicine Hat's Mason Shaw followed up a five assist night on Wednesday, with a three assist night on Friday for 21 total points. This is two more than Glass' 19.
-Henri Jokiharju seems to do one thing each game that impresses me. This time it was a slick backhand pass out of the zone, when everyone in attendance was expecting him to go the other way. His tangle up with Kehler was unfortunate, but the Finnish rookie is slowly and surely impressing in his first season playing in North America.
-McKenzie's eight goals matches his career high from last season. But instead of 68 games, he only took 13 to score eight goals this time around.
-Joachim Blichfeld played up with Evan Weinger and Ryan Hughes as the game grew long in the tooth. He was Portland's best offensive player on the night, continuously driving the play towards the Seattle net. I think that this could be a go-to move for Mike Johnston late in the game, but it won't be a regular lineup option.
-Brad Ginnell seems to have adjusted the most to playing in the WHL so far, of the 16-year-old rookie forwards Portland has on the roster. Even when he made mistakes, he quickly responded and kept them from multiplying.
-Portland has the odd weekend off as they do not play again until Tuesday night when they host Tri-City.
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Parenteau gets redemption, helps Tri-City edge Portland 4-3

It turns out Rylan Parenteau just likes playing Portland in the Rose City. Just 12 days previous, the overage goalie was in net for the Prince Albert Raiders vs. Portland, who was in the middle of their road trip. Portland chased Parenteau with four goals in just over a period of play. This performance may have been the deciding factor in the Raiders dealing him away to the Americans at the deadline for going down to three 20-year-olds. In his second game in less than two weeks vs. Portland, Parenteau was the difference maker, turning away 38 of 41 shots and helping Tri-City to a 4-3 intra-divison win over the host Winterhawks. The last time Parenteau played in Portland was on October 13th, 2015, when he stopped all 36 shots he faced for a 4-0 P.A. win. His best moments in Tuesday night's Tri-City win were at the expense of Portland's leading scorer Cody Glass. He stoned the 17-year-old center four different times in tight throughout the game, giving his team a chance to come back from a 3-1 first period deficit.

In a game of odd plays and bounces, Keegan Iverson's first goal of the game, in the first period, may've been the strangest. After defenseman Conor MacEachern created zone entry with a nice bank pass from his own zone, Keegan Iverson's drive to the net, was turned away by Parenteau. His save popped the puck into the air above the crease though. Forward Parker AuCoin, who was covering for defenseman Dalton Yorke, took a mighty swing at the puck, but missed so much that his back made contact with the puck. After striking his back, the biscuit bounced into the vacant net for an Iverson goal. Tri-City responded with the first career WHL goal from 16-year-old rookie Keltie Jeri-Leon. This goal was also due to a strange bounce as Brad Ginnell's clearance attempt deflected off Brett Leason and Carson Focht's following shot attempt was blocked right over to a waiting Jeri-Leon. The rookie forward smartly adjusted over to his forehand and beat Portland goalie Cole Kehler.

Brendan De Jong, who was caught flat-footed on the Americans' first goal was part of Portland's very quick response. Just 17 seconds after T.C. scored, a slow and soft pass from Cody Glass across the T.C. blue line found it's way to De Jong. The defenseman powered a one-timer off of American's d-man Juuso Valimaki's stick and over Parenteau's blocker. This was De Jong's third goal of the season and gave Portland their second lead of the game. Iverson gave Portland a two-goal lead less than four minutes later. After Joachim Blichfeld drove the zone on the power play, he showed great patience finding an open Iverson in the slot. Iverson's deceptive wrist shot picked the blocker-side corner on Parenteau. Blichfeld demonstrated on that play why he has earned a spot on Portland's top power play unit.

Tri-City scored twice in the second period though, to tie the game up. First, they notched a power play goal of their own as a Juuso Valimaki shot from the point bounced off of De Jong's back and past Cole Kehler. It was the Hockey Gods evening up their favors for the earlier Iverson goal. Then, with both teams skating four-a-side, Tri-City tied the game. On a rush up the ice, Vladislav Lukin fired a shot against his momentum and past Kehler. After 40 minutes of play, the two U.S. Division teams were knotted at three.

The deciding goal of the game was scored by a likely suspect in an unlikely manner. Defenseman Dalton Yorke fired a shot from the right wing that was stopped by Kehler. He followed his own shot, beating MacEachern to the loose puck and throwing the puck into the crease. Michael Rasmussen was completely locked up with d-man Carter Czaikowski in behind an out-of-position Kehler. The bigger forward out-muscled Czaikowski just barely enough to just nudge the puck across the goal line before Kehler could get back. Czaikowski had good positioning on Rasmussen but just did not have quite enough force to keep him from the frozen rubber. In a game of inches that play ended up being the difference. Keegan Iverson had a great chance to tie the game late and notch a hat-trick but his shot went just wide and bounded off the outside of the net.


Kehler stopped 35 of the 39 shots he saw and was handed his third loss of the year. Portland was 1/4 on the power play, while Tri-City was 1/7. Both PPs are operating at over 34 percent. The Americans is at 34.2, while the Winterhawks is at 34.0. They are the top-two in the WHL.


Game Notes:
-With two assists, Cody Glass kept pace with the red-hot Sam Steel. Both have 19 points and are atop the WHL in points. Glass is tied for most assists in the WHL with Brayden Burke of Lethbridge. Both have 13 helper points.
-Michael Rasmussen had a goal and so has 11 in just 10 games played so far this season. He is on pace to be the first 50 goals in 50 games in the WHL since Portland's Oliver Bjorkstrand in 2014-15.
-If he continues this trajectory, it seems likely he will be a top-10 pick in next June's NHL draft.
-Keegan Iverson has five goals, but they have all come in just three games. This was his second two-goal game of the year. He had only two multi-goal games all of last season.
-Cole Kehler now has eight games started to Michael Bullion's four. Entering this season, it appeared that Bullion was the primary goalie, but Kehler seems to have wrestled the starting job away in the early going.
-Overage goalie Rylan Parenteau was recently acquired by Tri-City from Prince Albert. This seems to signify that Evan Sarthou's injury is a long-term one.
-Carter Czaikowski played a two-on-one about as well as you could want in the second period. He does not have the reach and so made up for that with perfectly reading when and where the pass was coming across and picking it off. He then quickly pushed the puck up the ice and out of the zone.
-Portland continually rolled out the Colton Veloso-Alex Overhardt-Joachim Blichfeld line out there against T.C.'s top line of Vladislav Lukin-Michael Rasmussen-Tyler Sandhu, every chance they got. There seems to be a real effort at getting this Portland line matched up vs. the top line for the other team. Overhardt and co. did a pretty good job in this game, limiting the amount of good looks that Rasmussen and his group were able to get.

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Monday, October 17, 2016

Winterhawks end trip on high note, edge Chiefs in the shootout


We knew coming into this year that Caleb Jones would be relied upon a lot as the young Winterhawks found their legs. The Edmonton Oilers' signed prospect has done just that and more through Portland's first 11 games. After scoring the overtime winner (his third in two seasons) in Regina Wednesday, he notched the shoot out winner Saturday night in Spokane. This kind of clutch production just doesn't come from a WHL defenseman that often.

With the win over Spokane, Portland finished their eight-game road trip with a remarkable 6-2 record. They are now 8-3 overall and sit one point behind the U.S. Division leading Everett Silvertips. With another intra-division victory, Portland is now 4-1 within the U.S.

Portland went through large segments of play, where they looked road weary, so a clutch win is all the more important and surprising. Portland proved they could win a game within the division, when they weren't at their best.  Maybe their record can maintain it's current trajectory and a season of rebuilding is not what's in store.

Spokane and Portland played a tight-checking game in the first period, but neither got on the scoreboard until there was 2:16 left in the session. Logan Foster took advantage of a miscommunication between Portland defenders and fed a driving Koby Morrisseau. The Chiefs' forward buried the puck past Portland goalie Cole Kehler and it was 1-0 Spokane after one. This was Morrisseau's first goal in the WHL.

Portland got that goal back, just over five minutes into the second frame. Ryan Hughes circled the Spokane zone and looked to pass enough that Spokane goalie Dawson Weatherill was lulled out of position. Hughes then picked a corner from a tight angle for his fourth goal of the season.

Spokane jumped on a tired-looking Portland team in the third period, not allowing a shot on their net through the first ten minutes and dominating possession. They got their second lead of the night off another Portland miscue. Jake Gricius could not handle a puck in his skates at the blue line and Kailer Yamamoto scooped up the puck. The younger Yamamoto brother then found a driving Curtis Miske, who tipped home his pass. The Chiefs had chances to add to their lead, but Portland's Kehler made some clutch saves. After Riley McKay was the second man in on a check and was whistle for interference, the Winterhawks woke from their slumber. They carried possession for several minutes and cashed in with 3:05 left in the game. The tying goal came when defenseman Brendan De Jong drove the left wing and fired a pass to Weatherill's left pad. The ensuing rebound came right to Cody Glass, who buried it. This was Glass' sixth goal of the year and ultimately forced overtime.

Portland survived overtime with the Yamamoto brothers, which is not an easy task when playing three-on-three hockey against two relatives.

The shoot out ensued and Weatherill and Kehler exchanged stops, before Jones won it with a backhand through the Spokane goalie's five-hole.

Cole Kehler was Portland's best player in this game, stopping 29 of 31 shots. His biggest save came with four seconds left in the game when he closed the angle on an open Evan Fiala and stoned Spokane d-man. Spokane's Weatherill made another bid for the starting job with 27 saves on 30 shots. He has played well this season and may be starting to supplant overage goalie Jayden Sittler.

Portland's power play was 0-for-3, while Spokane's was 0-for-4. Despite not scoring on it, Portland's power play off the McKay penalty was the turning point in the game.

Game Notes:
-Carolina Hurricanes' prospect Hudson Elynuik was scractched for the game as he serves the first game of a "T.B.D" suspension. The suspension was for a hit to the head in Spokane's loss to Everett Friday. That five-minute major penalty was pivotal as Everett scored twice on the power play en route to a 4-3 overtime win.
-Spokane found a tactic for interrupting the flow of Portland's high-flying offense. They threw two fore-checkers at Portland's defense and created a multitude of turnovers. They scored twice off the turnovers and held Portland from any sort of real possession their zone for large segments of the game. Portland countered by having their d-men carry the puck more out of the zone, which limited how quickly they could gain zone entry. It will be interesting to see if other teams try this tactic.
-The 6-2 road trip record is impressive. They now head home where they will take on Tri-City on Tuesday.
-Cody Glass now shares the WHL lead in points, as Sam Steel also has 17.
-Cole Kehler has six wins and appears to be getting the bulk of the starts for Portland.






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Thursday, October 13, 2016

Caleb Jones and Winterhawks turn out the lights on the Pats 5-4 in overtime


Wild end-to-end games and the Portland Winterhawks seem to be going hand in hand this year. Especially on an East Division road trip that concluded Wednesday night with a 5-4 overtime win for the Hawks. Caleb Jones got the overtime winner for Portland, which is his third in two seasons for Portland. He seems made for the three-on-three overtime as he is one of the better offensive d-men in the WHL and isn't afraid to jump into the play and take chances.. The Hawks and Pats played a back-and-forth game that saw the teams trades 103 total shots. Amidst the shooting galleries, were some after the whistle shenanigans and two different accidental shutting off of the Brandt Centre's lights.

The Pats and Winterhawks had a combined five power plays and traded 14 shots apiece, but both Michael Bullion for Portland and Tyler Brown for Regina refused to yield any goals.

The goose egg for Portland was broken 5:40 into the second period off a great play by Joachim Blichfeld. The Danish import was in his own end, in the corner and he smartly lobbed the puck off of the glass and out to center. This set up a two-on-one rush for Lane Gilliss and Bronson Sharp. Gilliss looked off Tyler Brown, convincing him he would pass, before slipping the puck through Brown's five-hole. This was Gilliss' third goal in four games. Since moving between Ryan Hughes and Evan Weinger, Gilliss has five points in as many games. That Pats tied the game very late in the second on a smart play by Adam Brooks. The WHL points leader for the 2015-16 season, collected the rebound of a Jake Leschshyn shot and spun around to get a forehand shot past Bullion. Just like the previous night when Reid Duke scored against Portland in his first game back from professional training camp, Adam Brooks did as well.

The third period was where things got wild Wednesday night. The two teams traded four goals in less than three minutes and six overall. Portland opened the period's scoring when Ryan Hughes slipped past James Hilsendager along the right wing boards and forced Brown to make a save. Brown also stopped Gilliss' rebound chance, but could not turn away Evan Weinger's follow up chance. Just 32 seconds later, Portland made it 3-1. Brad Ginnell won a puck battle in the Regina zone and fed an onrushing Colton Veloso. The 19-year-old right wing's first try was stopped, but he poked home his own rebound. This was Veloso's fourth goal of the year.

Regina responded 34 seconds after that as a point shot from Sergey Zborovskiy was intercepted by. Adam Brooks who backhanded a shot into the open part of the net for his second of the night. Bullion was heavily screened on the play and was expecting a straight shot on net. Then on the power play, Filip Ahl dug the puck out of Bullions' glove and Anaheim Duck's prospect Sam Steel slammed home the rebound. Regina took their first lead of the game with 9:48 left off another point shot from Hobbs. Bullion's glove, once again, could not contain the puck and Ahl put home the rebound himself this time. Regina appeared to be clamping down late in the period, holding a 4-3 lead, but one sequence changed all of that. Joachim Blichfeld drove through the neutral zone and forced a stick-less Ahl to hold him. After the whistle blew for the penalty, Rykr Cole and Evan WEinger came together and both fell to the ice. Carter Czaikowski took exception, apparently believing it was an intentional kneeing hit by Cole. Connor Hobbs then tackled Czaikowski from behind and took him to the ice in a headlock. His actions set Portland up with a five-on-three power play with 4:40 left in the game.

They converted after Caleb Jones set up Keoni Texeira with room for a slap shot and the d-man wired a shot past Brown's glove. Texeira now has four power play goals and five total. Texeira's key goal set up overtime, where both teams continued to trade chances. After Riley Woods missed the net short-side on one end in over time, Caleb Jones collected the puck and had a two-on-one with Blichfeld. He waited until he got very close to the net, before beating Brown to win the game.

Bullion's athleticism was again on display as he stopped 48 of the 52 shots he faced. He made another highlight-reel stop in this game, as he dove to his left and made an excellent toe save. he was seemingly way out of position on the play. Bullion is an extremely athletic goalie, but this sometimes gets him into trouble, as evidenced by a couple of Regina's goals. Brown turned away 46 of 51 or Regina.

Portland's power play again found the net and was 1/5 overall. They are now 16/43 on the season for 37.2 percent. Regina was 2/5 on their man-advantages.


Game Notes:
-Colton Veloso was moved down to the fourth line with Jake Gricius and Brad Ginnell. Brosnon Sharp drew into the lineup and played on Portland's third line with Alex Overhardt and Joachim Blichfeld. Veloso responded with a goal and now has six points in 10 games. I don't think this was a demotion, but was more of an attempt to look for some more chemistry in the bottom-six.
-Sharp also saw some power play time in an increased role.
-Another lineup note was the increased playing time for Carter Czaikowski. The defenseman was essentially the team's fourth d-man, after spending most of the year as their clear number five guy. This increased time could also be because of Portland playing six games in just eight days.
-Besides the Czaikowski, Hobbs dust up, there was another interesting interaction after the whistle. This was when Skyler McKenzie checked Adam Brooks after the whistle and the two traded some checks. McKenzie appeared to throw the check because Brooks was heading right for an ill-prepared Keegan Iverson well after the whistle. The play by McKenzie handed Regina a power play. Iverson had upset the Pats after throwing a huge open-ice check on Hilsendager, right before the defenseman received a pass. While the check didn't hit Hilsendager's head, it caught him by surprise and appeared to injure him.
-Portland finished the East Division trip with a 4-2 record and is now 5-2 on their eight-game road trip. The trip concludes with a game on Saturday in Spokane.
-Portland now has the 1-2-3 leading scorers in the WHL now as Ryan Hughes had two points. He now has 13 points and is three points behind Cody Glass. Skyler McKenzie has 12 points and is third in the WHL (tied with four others).


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Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Old time hockey back in Brandon as Portland wins 7-6


The Portland Winterhawks (6-3) and the Brandon Wheat Kings (2-3-1) played a wild, back and forth affair Tuesday night. This would be a complete anomaly for most teams, but Portland fans are getting used to this type of game. The Winterhawks have 42 goals for, which is eight more than any other team and 31 goals against, which is third highest in the league. Their 73 total goals scored in their games is five more than the next WHL team (Vancouver with 68).

A big reason that so many goals were scored a Westman Place Tuesday night was the 18 total power plays that were handed out. Portland converted on five of their nine, while Brandon scored on two of their nine.  Portland's top-ranked power play is now zooming along at a 39.5 percent clip (15/38).

Portland was led to to their win by three assists from Skyler McKenzie and a goal and two assists from Joachim Blichfeld. Brandon's Tanner Kaspick scored twice for the Wheat Kings, while Reid Duke had three points in his return to the WHL.


Brandon jumped on a road weary Portland team early and forced them into four straight penalties to start the game. Their first power play goal came when Reid Duke sent a saucer pass to defenseman Jordan Wharrie plenty of room to shoot. His slap shot beats Cole Kehler for his first with the Wheat Kings. Then, after Portland captain Keegan Iverson took an interference penalty in Brandon's zone, the Wheat Kings scored their second, early power play goal. Top NHL-draft prospect Nolan Patrick found Ty Lewis open on the left wing. Lewis fired a shot on and the rebound from Portland goalie Cole Kehler bounced off a Portland skate and in. Portland d-man Brendan De Jong was fighting for positioning and he was unlucky enough to have the puck bounce off his skate and in. The Wheat Kings out shot Portland 18-12, in an up and down period.

Portland responded well in the second period and scored three straight to take the lead. There would be a total of six goals scored in the crazy period. Portland  notched their first power play marker, when Caleb Jones made a brilliant spin move, after holding the puck in at Brandon's blue line. He then fired s nice spin pass to a wide open Lane Gilliss, who teed up a slap shot for his second of the year. The goal came just six seconds after the Wheat Kings had killed off Portland's five-on-three man advantage.The Winterhawks tied the game up just over four minutes later on the power play. The Hawks scored on the rush as Skyler McKenzie appeared to be trying for Cody Glass in the middle of the ice, but his pass went behind him. Joachim Blichfeld followed up the play, received the pass and wired a shot top shelf that beat Brandon goalie Jordan Papirny.  After Brandon tried to notch a short handed goal, Ryan Hughes led a four on three rush the other way. Hughes was patient and drove  away from the net, feeding Evan Weinger on the right wing. Weinger swiftly fired a slam dunk pass to Keoni Texeira back door. The goal was Texeira's fourth of the season. Three of those four goals have been scored while on the man advantage.

Brandon tied the game on another fortunate bounce. Reid Duke's shot off the face off was saved by Kehler, but Caleb Jones' clearance pass bounced  right off of Tanner Kaspick and in. Portland took their second lead of the game with just over five minutes left in the period. Alex Overhardt was johnny-on-the-spot for the rebound of a Keoni Texeira shot from the point and it was 4-3. The Wheaties just refused to go away though as their fore check set up their fourth goal of the game. Rookie forward Brad Ginnell was out-muscled by Tanner Kaspick and he lost puck deep in his own zone. Stelio Mattheos beat Colton Veloso to the loose puck and he fed the puck back to Kaspick. Kaspick waited out Kehler and backhanded it past him.

Joachim Blichfeld played his best game in a Portland sweater so far Tuesday night and his play is what gave Portland their third, one-goal lead of the game very early in the third period. Blichfeld circled the Brandon net and he found an opening in tight, to Papirny's right. Keegan Iverson muscled his way in and poked home the loose puck. Brandon responded 46 seconds later as Reid Duke wrecked havoc in the Portland zone, while on the PK. He forced a bad pass out of the zone, which was collected by Connor Gutenberg and given right back to Duke on a break. Duke deked out Kehler and slipped a backhand shot past the goalie.

Portland notched their sixth goal off a broken play around their opponent's net while on the power play. Evan Weinger's back door pass to Iverson banks off of his skate and went into a mass of bodies. Cody Glass was the late-comer to the scrum and he poked it home.  This gave Portland a 6-5 lead. Brandon pressed late in the game, hitting a post with all of their pressure, but Cole Kehler turned away all of their other chances. The Wheaties pulled Papirny for an extra attacker late in the game and it partially backfired on them. They gave up a empty net goal to Evan Weinger, after Colton Veloso sprung him with a slick bank pass. off of the far boards. Nolan Patrick notched a goal with four seconds left, but it was not enough.

Portland's Kehler did not play too poorly, despite the six goals against. He stopped a total of 40 of the 46 pucks he saw. Two of the six goals he gave up were off really strange passes and his defense hung him out to dry on most of the other goals. Brandon's overage goalie Papirny, meanwhile turned away
29 of the 35 shots he faced.

Game Notes:
-Portland was really sloppy early in the game.They were chasing the puck from the get-go and some of their penalties were direct results of this.
-Four power plays for Brandon in the first 12 or so minutes of the game.
-One such penalty was rookie d-man Matt Quigley hitting a player behind the play, away from the puck. Interference was  common call for the referees.
-I've not been too impressed with defenseman Carter Czaikowski's play so far, but he was much better tonight. He fired one brilliant stretch pass that nearly sprung Skyler McKenzie in for a breakaway. I like how his head is always up while holding the puck in his own zone. He is constantly looking for a good outlet pass.
-Nolan Patrick was not his best this night. Yes, he scored once and had an assist, but he also took two really bad penalties. Both were when he was caught flat-footed and he had to slow down two different Portland centers.
-With his goal, Cody Glass is still atop the point charts with 16 points in nine games. His linemate McKenzie is tied for second in the league with 12 points now.
-Texeira has 10 points, which is tied for most in the WHL among d-men.
-Blicheld has seven points in only seven games. It should not be too surprising that he played his best game the same day it was announced Rodrigo Abols had been released. The overage, import center could not find a suitor in the WHL and so Portland was forced to release him. Abols is extremely talented, but did not show enough consistency in performance to warrant another WHL team to make room for the two-spot Latvian. Hopefully, he finds a home in the OHL or QMJHL like a couple overage WHL goalies did last year. Blichfeld now has the peace of mind that he is with the team for the rest of the season, instead of having to worry abut what move would be made to take care of Portland's import dilemma.
-Reid Duke had a strong game back as he was returned from his tryout with the Hartford Wolf pack of the AHL. He did hit Weinger with a cheap shot after the Californian scored his empty-net-goal.
-Alex Overhardt also got caught up in the act minutes later as he took exception to Tyler Coulter getting a late stick in on his goalie. Overhardt lost his cool, going after Coulter and he was given a late game misconduct. 
-Three Manitoba natives played for Portland Tuesday night in their home province. Colton Veloso and Cody Glass are from Winnipeg and Cole Kehler hails from Altona, Manitoba. 
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Sunday, October 9, 2016

Flodell shuts down Winterhawks 3-1

The Logan Flodell story in Saskatoon, is quickly becoming one of the more intriguing ones in the WHL this season. Flodell started out both last year and this year as the expected starter for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Last season, the Birds elected to bring in Landon Bow, putting Flodell back to the back up role he was in previously. Then Seattle chose to trade for another overage goalie in Rylan Toth, spelling the end of Fldell's time in Seattle. Saskatoon picked him up, by trading 1998-born defenseman Anthony Bishop to Seattle. Since arriving in the "toon" Flodell has had a lights out 1.75 GAA and 0.947 save percentage in four games.

The most recent of those four games, was Saturday night vs. Portland. Flodell was stellar turning away 34 of the 35 shots that he saw, en route to a 3-1 Blades' victory over the visiting Portland squad. Saskatoon got goals from Josh Paterson, Mason McCarty and Bralyon Shmyr, while Jake Gricius notched his first career WHL goal for Portland.

McCarty opened the scoring in the first period for Saskatoon. He took advantage of a poor turnover in front of his own net by Cody Glass, swiftly flicking a wrist shot over Portland goalie Cole Kehler's shoulder. Glass was handcuffed by a bouncing puck and could not re-direct it away form danger, before it was stolen form him. Portland answered behind a a very pretty goal from Jake Gricius. The fourth-line center demonstrated great hands by pouncing on a bouncing puck and stick-handling around Flodell in tight.

The lone goal of the second was also a thing of beauty. Bralyon Shmyr rushed up the ice and sold a shot on defenseman Henri Jokiharju, before sniping a shot past Kehler. Jokiharju bit on the fake and this gave him enough room to score. Keegan Iverson took a bad stick-handling penalty on the power play, setting up the four-on-four that Shmyr converted on.

Portland fired 14 shots on Flodell in the third period, but the 19-year-old net minder was up to the task. His best two saves were late in the period. First, he got just enough of his pad on an Evan Weinger shot after the winger got behind the defense. Then, after tic-tac-toe passing set up Alex Overhardt with a good look, Flodell got there just in time. The Blades iced the game with an empty net goal from Josh Paterson.

The Hawks are now 2-2 on their East Division swing and 3-2 on the road trip. They next play on Tuesday vs. Brandon.

Portland's Cole Kehler stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced for his first loss in net with Portland. It was the first time that a Portland goalie had been given consecutive starts this year.

The Hawks power play went 0/5, while their PK was 3/3.


Game Notes:
-Ilijah Colina was given his spot between Evan Weinger and Ryan Hughes back. This, despite the fact that Lane Gilliss has been great in that spot. This could be Portland trying to get a longer look at the 16-year-old to see if he should stick around or be re-assigned. This could be a tough decision for Portland. They came into this year, preaching that they were all about the youth this year. However, a 5-3 start could have them convinced that they could make a run this year.
-Portland still has 16 forwards on their roster. One would think that at least two of those are on their way out. If Abols is dealt, that leaves another forward to be moved. I like Colina, but I think he would be best served by being re-assigned.
-The Hawks love to use the sauce pass. Nic Petan was perhaps the best I've seen at it. Joachim Blichfeld could make a run at that "title" though. He fired a couple great passes that freed up line mates for odd-man rushes up the ice. There is a lot to like about the Dane, especially on the power play.
-Jackson Caller got to play his old team as the 17-year-old d-man was sent to Saskatoon in September.

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Saturday, October 8, 2016

Winterhawks tame Warriors 5-2


After a brief four minutes of disaster Tuesday night, this road trip through the East Division has been going smoothly for Portland. On Friday night in Moose Jaw, after falling behind 2-0 early, they rallied, scoring five straight. They were, once again, led by Cody Glass. The WHL's leading scorer had three more points for 15 on the season. He's had back-to-back three point games and ten points over his last four outings. Skyler McKenzie had two goals for Portland now sits second in goal in the league with seven. Cole Kehler turned away 20 of the 22 shots he faced and has now won all four games that he has started for Portland.

The Winterhawks fell behind in the first period behind two goals from the Warriors over a a three minute span. First Jaiden Halbgewachs was first to the puck behind the Portland net and he found Brett Howden all alone. The Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick swiftly netted his fifth goal on the young season. Then Portland again lost a puck battle behind their net and the puck ended up in it. Henri Jokiharju was double-teamed by Luka Burzan and Tanner Jeannot, losing the puck. It came free to Ryan Bowen in the slot and it was 2-0 Moose Jaw. Lane Gilliss, Evan Weinger and Ryan Hughes got the shift right after Moose Jaw's second goal. They responded immediately with a goal, cutting the lead to one. Weinger won a battle in the Moose Jaw corner and found Gilliss alone. The center beat Moose Jaw goalie Brody Wilms for his first career WHL goal. Portland was able to tie the game before the end of the period, while on the power play. Ryan Hughes drove the zone up the left wing, drawing three Warriors' defenders to him. He then deftly flipped it to Skyler McKenzie in an open area of the ice. The sniper beat Wilms and the game was tied. This was Portland's 10th power play goal on 24 chances, in the young season.

From start to finish, the second period was a thing of beauty for Portland. They out shot Moose Jaw 19-1 and out scored them 3-0. Cody Glass was in on all three goals. First, the Hawks took the lead when Caleb Jones' point shot was deflected on net by Glass. Skyler McKenzie was first to the rebound for his second goal of the game. Then, Moose Jaw turned the puck over because of pressure by Glass and McKenzie and Keoni Texeira's point shot slipped past Wilms. Finally, Glass drove the zone and because he was given the room, fired a heavy wrist shot in, for his fourth goal of the year.

Portland relied on a steady Cole Kehler in net to put the game away in the third for the 5-2 road win.

Game Notes:
-Skyler McKenzie and Rodrigo Abols were the most hated Winterhawks in Mosaic Place Friday night. McKenzie made excessive contact with Wilms and was given a goalie interference penalty. After that, McKenzie seemed to draw Warriors to him likes flies after every whistle. It certainly didn't help that he fired a shot on net after the whistle in the same period. McKenzie provides the team with someone who is willing to piss off the other team.It certainly helps that he's backing up his after-the-whistle play with goal scoring.
-Abols also irritated the opponent with a hit from behind. This caused Josh Thrower, to lose his cool late in the third period. Thrower drew the instigator on his fight with Abols and a 10-minute game misconduct. He jumped Abols after a rush to an icing in the Warriors' zone and lost his cool, jumping the Latvian overage forward.
-Conor MacEachern also had a fight in the game. He looked pretty good overall. He was more comfortable; jumping up into the play and creating looks for team mates.
-Joachim Blichfeld was scratched in favor of Abols. The deadline for dealing Abols or releasing Blichfeld is arriving rapidly. I believe they have to do one or the other, by the end of this weekend.
-Short and sweet tonight, as  I had some duties with Dub Network, that drew a lot of time away from this blog


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Thursday, October 6, 2016

Winterhawks hold off Raiders 5-3 behind Glass's three points



The Portland Winterhawks, playing their second road game in as many nights, jumped out a 4--0 lead, before holding on in Prince Albert. Portland chased Raiders' goalie Rylan Parenteau with four goals in the first 33:17 of game action. They then had to hold on in the third period, as P.A. played inspired hockey and nearly pulled off the come back. The Winterhawks were led by two goals and an assist from Cody Glass and two points apiece from Joachim Blichfeld and Keegan Iverson. Glass is having quite the draft year, as he currently leads the WHL in scoring with 12 points in only six games. He had his third straight multi-point night. Glass has a reputation as a set- up artist, but found the twine twice tonight for his first career multi-goal game.

Portland opened the scoring 8:55 in off a great defensive play in their own end. Zach Andruziak of Prince Albert, tried to receive a pass in the slot and had his stick tied up by Lane Gilliss. The forward, playing his first game with Portland as a center, then sprung Evan Weinger with a smooth outlet pass the other way. Weinger used Ryan Hughes as a diversion and beat Parenteau on the short side. Then off a broken play, Colton Veloso scored a beauty of a goal. Joachim Blichfeld drove the zone and tried to beat the P.A. defender one-on-one. He lost the puck, but it was swiftly kicked to the far post by Glass. Veloso collected the strange-looking pass and spun around, tucking the puck around Parenteau's left pad.

Portland added to their lead in the second period behind two goals from the league's top scorer. First, Keegan Iverson smartly bounced a pass along the right boards all the way from his own zone into the opponent's. Skyler McKenzie collected the puck and squirmed past the Raiders defender. He then fed a pass right into the slot for a wide open Glass. Then, on the power-play after Parenteau made a great stop on Glass, the 17-year-old center collected the rebound of an Iverson shot, to score his second of the period. This last goal prompted the raiders to replace Parenteau with Ian Scott in net. Parenteau allowed four goals on 22 shots.

Early on in the third period, the Raiders were a different team. they jumped on a complacent Winterhawks team and this led to an early goal. How the goal was scored was a matter of some controversy. With hectic play going on in Portland's zone, Alex Overhardt had a chance to clear the zone but could not. Raiders' captain Tim Vanstone then collected the rebound of a shot from the point and collided with Portland goalie Cole Kehler, knocking his helmet off. Sean Montgomery was opportunistic, scoring on the vacant net with Kehler down and out. They reviewed the play, but decided there was not enough evidence to overturn it. I was able to watch the replay a number of times and it seems pretty clear that Vanstone's rear end catches Kehler in the head, knocking the goalie's helmet off. The play probably should have stopped at this point due to goalie interference as the collision took place in Portland's crease.  However, it did not and the referees did not have the ability to slow down the play like I was able to. The goal stood and Portland's lead was down to three.

Momentum had swung the other way and the Raiders continued to be on the offensive. Henri Jokiharju tried to stickhandle out of his own zone and he lost the puck. Rookie Cole Fonstad, who had been one of this team's better forwards took advantage beating Kehler on the blocker side for his first career WHL goal. The Raiders pulled to within one with just over nine minutes to play on another defensive lapse by Portland. Carter Czaikowski took a poor angle on P.A. forward Luke Coleman, allowing a pass to go right into the slot. Simon Stransky was in prime position and he beat Kehler for his fourth of the year. Because they were within one, the Raiders pulled Scott for an extra attacker late in the game. It backfired on them as Blichfeld picked Fonstad's pocket in the neutral zone and iced the game with an empty net goal.

Kehler had a solid game, stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced. Kehler is now 3-0 on the season. Ian Scott's play in relief was a major reason the Raiders came back, as he stopped all 16 shots that he saw.

Glass' second goal was on the power-play. Portland was one-for-three on the man advantage and is now nine-for-21 on the season. That's good for 42.9 percent this year. P.A. was zero-for-three on the man advantage themselves.

Game Notes:
-The Raiders cleaned up their overage situation prior to the game, by releasing center Kolten Olynek. The 20-year-old was promptly scooped up by the rival Saskatoon Blades, who had room for an overage player. However, the Raiders are still awaiting the return of Reid Gardiner from training camp with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. If Gardiner does return, Parenteau's performance in this game will not be a good argument for him to be kept as one of the three 20-year-olds.
-As I discussed in the previous game's notes, Lane Gilliss has proven himself capable of playing in the top-six. He got his chance Wednesday night in P.A. He played his first game in the middle, between Ryan Hughes and Evan Weinger. He still looked to be getting comfortable with playing deep defensively in his own zone, but his set up on his team's first goal showcased his skill.
-Jake Hobson got into the lineup and played against his hometown team. He is from Christopher Lake, Saskatchewan, which is about 30 minutes away. He played for the Prince Albert Mintos hockey program, before coming to Portland.
-Nick Heid got his first chance since last season to play against his old team. His role just increased with the team, as the Raiders traded away veteran d-man Brennan Riddle to Lethbridge earlier this week.
-Colton Veloso was typecast as a fourth-line grinder last season. He ended up earning some time as a penalty-killer, but never moved beyond that role, despite scoring 11 goals. This year, he's being given more of a chance to make a difference and did so tonight. He was all over the ice, making plays on both ends.
-Zone exits continue to be an issue for Portland at times. They are being asked, in Mike Johnston's system, to make risky passes out of their own zone. These can sometimes create odd-man rushes one way, but they can create them the other way as well. Portland's wingers will improve at the quick touch pass at the blue line as the year goes. But right now, this is one of the primary causes of the other team's best scoring chances.
-The East Division road trip continues Friday night at Moose Jaw.
-Portland is now 4-2 on the season. This is considerably a better start than they have had in awhile. Last year they were 1-5 in their first six games and they went 0-6 the previous year.




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Winterhawks hold off Raiders 5-3 behind Glass's three points



The Portland Winterhawks, playing their second road game in as many nights, jumped out a 4--0 lead, before holding on in Prince Albert. Portland chased Raiders' goalie Rylan Parenteau with four goals in the first 33:17 of game action. They then had to hold on in the third period, as P.A. played inspired hockey and nearly pulled off the come back. The Winterhawks were led by two goals and an assist from Cody Glass and two points apiece from Joachim Blichfeld and Keegan Iverson. Glass is having quite the draft year, as he currently leads the WHL in scoring with 12 points in only six games. He had his third straight multi-point night. Glass has a reputation as a set- up artist, but found the twine twice tonight for his first career multi-goal game.

Portland opened the scoring 8:55 in off a great defensive play in their own end. Zach Andruziak of Prince Albert, tried to receive a pass in the slot and had his stick tied up by Lane Gilliss. The forward, playing his first game with Portland as a center, then sprung Evan Weinger with a smooth outlet pass the other way. Weinger used Ryan Hughes as a diversion and beat Parenteau on the short side. Then off a broken play, Colton Veloso scored a beauty of a goal. Joachim Blichfeld drove the zone and tried to beat the P.A. defender one-on-one. He lost the puck, but it was swiftly kicked to the far post by Glass. Veloso collected the strange-looking pass and spun around, tucking the puck around Parenteau's left pad.

Portland added to their lead in the second period behind two goals from the league's top scorer. First, Keegan Iverson smartly bounced a pass along the right boards all the way from his own zone into the opponent's. Skyler McKenzie collected the puck and squirmed past the Raiders defender. He then fed a pass right into the slot for a wide open Glass. Then, on the power-play after Parenteau made a great stop on Glass, the 17-year-old center collected the rebound of an Iverson shot, to score his second of the period. This last goal prompted the raiders to replace Parenteau with Ian Scott in net. Parenteau allowed four goals on 22 shots.

Early on in the third period, the Raiders were a different team. they jumped on a complacent Winterhawks team and this led to an early goal. How the goal was scored was a matter of some controversy. With hectic play going on in Portland's zone, Alex Overhardt had a chance to clear the zone but could not. Raiders' captain Tim Vanstone then collected the rebound of a shot from the point and collided with Portland goalie Cole Kehler, knocking his helmet off. Sean Montgomery was opportunistic, scoring on the vacant net with Kehler down and out. They reviewed the play, but decided there was not enough evidence to overturn it. I was able to watch the replay a number of times and it seems pretty clear that Vanstone's rear catches Kehler in the head, knocking the goalie's helmet off. WHL and NHL rules stipulate that play shoudl have stopped at this point. However, it did not and the referees did not have the ability to slow down the play like I was able to. The goal stood and Portland's lead was down to three.

Momentum had swung the other way and the Raiders continued to be on the offensive. Henri Jokiharju tried to stickhandle out of his own zone and he lost the puck. Rookie Cole Fonstad, who had been one of this team's better forwards took advantage beating Kehler on the blocker side for his first career WHL goal. The Raiders pulled to within one with just over nine minutes to play on another defensive lapse by Portland. Carter Czaikowski took a poor angle on P.A. forward Luke Coleman, allowing a pass to go right into the slot. Simon Stransky was in prime position and he beat Kehler for his fourth of the year. Because they were within one, the Raiders pulled Scott for an extra attacker late in the game. It backfired on them as Blichfeld picked Fonstad's pocket in the neutral zone and iced the game with an empty net goal.

Kehler had a solid game, stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced. Kehler is now 3-0 on the season. Ian Scott's lay in relief was a major reason the Raiders cam back, as he stopped all 16 shots that he saw.

Glass' second goal was on the power-play. Portland was one-for-three on the man advantage and is now nine-for-21 on the season. That's good for 42.9 percent this year. P.A. was zero-for-three on the man advantage themselves.

Game Notes:
-The Raiders cleaned up their overage situation prior to the game, by releasing center Kolten Olynek. The 20-year-old was promptly scooped up by the rival Saskatoon Blades, who had room for an overage player. However, they are still awaiting the return of Reid Gardiner from training camp with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. If Gardiner does return, Parenteau's performance in this game will not be a good argument for him to be kept as one of the three 20-year-olds.
-As I discussed in the previous game's notes, Lane Gilliss has proven himself capable of playing in the top-six. He got his chance Wednesday night in P.A. He played his first game in the middle, between Ryan Hughes and Evan Weinger. He still looked to be getting comfortable with playing deep defensively in his own zone, but his set up on his team's first goal showcased his skill.
-Jake Hobson got into the lineup and played against his hometown team. He is from Christopher Lake, Saskatchewan, which is about 30 minutes away. He played for the Prince Albert Mintos hockey program, before coming to Portland.
-Nick Heid got his first chance since last season to play against his old team. His role just increased with the team, as the Raiders traded away veteran d-man Brennan Riddle to Lethbridge earlier this week.
-Colton Veloso was typecast as a fourth-line grinder last season. He ended up earning some time as a penalty-killer, but never moved beyond that role, despite scoring 11 goals. This year, he's being given more of a chance to make a difference and did so tonight. He was all over the ice, making plays on both ends.
-Zone exits continue to be an issue for Portland at times. They are being asked, in Mike Johnston's system, to make risky passes out of their own zone. These can sometimes create odd-man rushes one way, but they can create them the other as well. Portland's wingers will improve at the quick touch pass at the blue line as the year goes. But right now, this is one of the primary causes of the other team's best scoring chances.
-The East Division road trip continues Friday night at Moose Jaw.
-Portland is now 4-2 on the season. This is considerably a better start than they have had in awhile. Last year they were 1-5 in their first six games and they went 0-6 the previous year in that span.




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Winterhawks hold off Raiders 5-3 behind Glass's three points



The Portland Winterhawks, playing their second road game in as many nights, jumped out a 4--0 lead, before holding on in Prince Albert. Portland chased Raiders' goalie Rylan Parenteau with four goals in the first 33:17 of game action. They then had to hold on in the third period, as P.A. played inspired hockey and nearly pulled off the come back. The Winterhawks were led by two goals and an assist from Cody Glass and two points apiece from Joachim Blichfeld and Keegan Iverson. Glass is having quite the draft year, as he currently leads the WHL in scoring with 12 points in only six games. He had his third straight multi-point night. Glass has a reputation as a set- up artist, but found the twine twice tonight for his first career multi-goal game.

Portland opened the scoring 8:55 in off a great defensive play in their own end. Zach Andruziak of Prince Albert, tried to receive a pass in the slot and had his stick tied up by Lane Gilliss. The forward, playing his first game with Portland as a center, then sprung Evan Weinger with a smooth outlet pass the other way. Weinger used Ryan Hughes as a diversion and beat Parenteau on the short side. Then off a broken play, Colton Veloso scored a beauty of a goal. Joachim Blichfeld drove the zone and tried to beat the P.A. defender one-on-one. He lost the puck, but it was swiftly kicked to the far post by Glass. Veloso collected the strange-looking pass and spun around, tucking the puck around Parenteau's left pad.

Portland added to their lead in the second period behind two goals from the league's top scorer. First, Keegan Iverson smartly bounced a pass along the right boards all the way from his own zone into the opponent's. Skyler McKenzie collected the puck and squirmed past the Raiders defender. He then fed a pass right into the slot for a wide open Glass. Then, on the power-play after Parenteau made a great stop on Glass, the 17-year-old center collected the rebound of an Iverson shot, to score his second of the period. This last goal prompted the raiders to replace Parenteau with Ian Scott in net. Parenteau allowed four goals on 22 shots.

Early on in the third period, the Raiders were a different team. they jumped on a complacent Winterhawks team and this led to an early goal. How the goal was scored was a matter of some controversy. With hectic play going on in Portland's zone, Alex Overhardt had a chance to clear the zone but could not. Raiders; captain Tim Vanstone then collected the rebound of a shot from the point and collided with Portland goalie Cole Kehler, knocking his helmet off. Sean Montgomery was opportunistic, scoring on the vacant net with Kehler down and out. They reviewed the play, but decided there was not enough evidence to overturn it. I was able to watch the replay a number of times and it seems pretty clear that Vanstone's rear catches Kehler in the head, knocking the goalie's helmet off. WHL and NHL rules stipulate that play shoudl have stopped at this point. However, it did not and the referees did not have the ability to slow down the play like I was able to. The goal stood and Portland's lead was down to three.

Momentum had swung the other way and the Raiders continued to be on the offensive. Henri Jokiharju tried to stickhandle out of his own zone and he lost the puck. Rookie Cole Fonstad, who had been one of this team's better forwards took advantage beating Kehler on the blocker side for his first career WHL goal. The Raiders pulled to within one with just over nine minutes to play on another defensive lapse by Portland. Carter Czaikowski took a poor angle on P.A. forward Luke Coleman, allowing a pass to go right into the slot. Simon Stransky was in prime position and he beat Kehler for his fourth of the year. Because they were within one, the Raiders pulled Scott for an extra attacker late in the game. It backfired on them as Blichfeld picked Fonstad's pocket in the neutral zone and iced the game with an empty net goal.

Kehler had a solid game, stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced. Kehler is now 3-0 on the season. Ian Scott's lay in relief was a major reason the Raiders cam back, as he stopped all 16 shots that he saw.

Glass' second goal was on the power-play. Portland was one-for-three on the man advantage and is now nine-for-21 on the season. That's good for 42.9 percent this year. P.A. was zero-for-three on the man advantage themselves.

Game Notes:
-The Raiders cleaned up their overage situation prior to the game, by releasing center Kolten Olynek. The 20-year-old was promptly scooped up by the rival Saskatoon Blades, who had room for an overage player. However, they are still awaiting the return of Reid Gardiner from training camp with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. If Gardiner does return, Parenteau's performance in this game will not be a good argument for him to be kept as one of the three 20-year-olds.
-As I discussed in the previous game's notes, Lane Gilliss has proven himself capable of playing in the top-six. He got his chance Wednesday night in P.A. He played his first game in the middle, between Ryan Hughes and Evan Weinger. He still looked to be getting comfortable with playing deep defensively in his own zone, but his set up on his team's first goal showcased his skill.
-Jake Hobson got into the lineup and played against his hometown team. He is from Christopher Lake, Saskatchewan, which is about 30 minutes away. He played for the Prince Albert Mintos hockey program, before coming to Portland.
-Nick Heid got his first chance since last season to play against his old team. His role just increased with the team, as the Raiders traded away veteran d-man Brennan Riddle to Lethbridge earlier this week.
-Colton Veloso was typecast as a fourth-line grinder last season. He ended up earning some time as a penalty-killer, but never moved beyond that role, despite scoring 11 goals. This year, he's being given more of a chance to make a difference and did so tonight. He was all over the ice, making plays on both ends.
-Zone exits continue to be an issue for Portland at times. They are being asked, in Mike Johnston's system, to make risky passes out of their own zone. These can sometimes create odd-man rushes one way, but they can create them the other as well. Portland's wingers will improve at the quick touch pass at the blue line as the year goes. But right now, this is one of the primary causes of the other team's best scoring chances.
-The East Division road trip continues Friday night at Moose Jaw.
-Portland is now 4-2 on the season. This is considerably a better start than they have had in awhile. Last year they were 1-5 in their first six games and they went 0-6 the previous year in that span.




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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Road trip starts with a thud for Portland: as they lose in Swift Current 7-3


All in all, it wasn't an awful effort for Portland, Tuesday night in Swift Current. They played back and forth hockey with the Broncos for most of the night and stayed with them, until one four and a half minute segment of hockey late in the second period. That small segment of hockey turned the game and doomed Portland. The Broncos were led by a career-high four point game by defenseman Artyom Minluin and three points apiece by Lane Pederson and Glenn Gawdin in the win. Both team's head coaches were absent as they attended the board of Governor's meetings.

The Broncos first goal of the night was the first of his WHL career, for 16-year-old Riley Stotts. Defenseman Kade Jensen got a quick shot towards the net and Stotts got a stick on the shot, deflecting it past Portland goalie Michael Bullion. Then in a goal eerily similar to one he scored on Saturday night in Seattle, Skyler McKenzie found the twine for the fifth time this year. Finnish d-man Henri Jokiharju fired a high wrist shot in on Swift Current goalie Travis Child. The net-minder made the save but the puck fell to the ice, to his right. Cody Glass was first to it and instead of shooting, he passed it across the crease, to a wide open McKenzie for the goal. The rest of the first was played with the up and down style Portland likes to play. Everything looked pretty rosy, considering they were out shooting the Broncos 16-11.

Instead, Swift Current seized the early second period momentum off a broken play. Glenn Gawdin entered the Portland zone and twice tried a pass into the middle for Arthur Miller. On the second try it bounced away from Miller and right onto Minulin's stick on the right wing. The d-man charged deep into the zone and beat Bullion on his blocker-side for his team's second lead of the game. The Broncos tacked on another goal off a pretty rush by former Seattle Thunderbirds forward Lane Pederson. The 19-year-old took the puck from his own blue line, through the neutral zone and into Portland's zone. 16-year-old rookie Ilijah Colina could not get the puck from him and Pederson found some room to fire a shot right past Bullion's glove. Swift Current found themselves another opportunity, when they were handed a power-play mid-way through the period. Portland instead notched their third short-handed goal this year off of the stick of Colton Veloso. He took advantage of some mis-communication between defenseman Colby Sissons and a Broncos' forward and burst in all alone on Child. He put on a nifty fake and beat him forehand, glove-side for his second goal of the year. Swift Current still had the man advantage though and answered Portland's short-handed marker, reinstating the two-goal lead at 4-2. They scored it on another deflection as Glenn Gawdin was left alone in front of Bullion and he tipped a shot from Max Lajoie past the Winterhawks' goalie. Gawdin's goal was with 3:35 left in the period and it was the start of a scoring barrage for the Broncos that swung the game.

Just 23 seconds later Conor MacEachern misplayed a bouncing puck and Tyler Steenbergen corralled it for the Broncos. He skated right past Colina, who couldn't slow him down and fired a quick shot form the slot, past the hapless Bullion. Minulin then set up another odd-man rush for Swift Current off a fantastic bank pass less than a minute later and Aleksi Heponiemi found himself with a great look from the slot. The Finnish import wired a beauty of a wrist shot top shelf, blocker-side on Bullion and it was 6-2. Unfortunately the scoring spree wasn't over as Minulin made a great back door pass on the power play to Gawdin and the St. Louis Blues' drafted player tapped home his second of the game. The score went from 3-2 to 7-2, so fast associate coach Kyle Gustafson's head was spinning on the Portland bench.

Bullion did not make it back out on the ice for Portland, as his night was over, after making 21 saves on 28 shots. He was badly out of position on three of Swift Current's goals, but also made one of the best WHL saves, I've seen in awhile. Stotts made a nice give-and-go play on the power-play with Heponiemi and received the pass back with a wide open net to look at. Bullion dove across his crease, getting airborne and making a dandy of a glove save on the rookie.

Portland notched another power-play goal in the third period as Keegan Iverson drove straight into the teeth of the opponent's defense and the puck ended up on Cody Glass's stick. Glass made yet another pretty pass, across the zone to Joachim Blichfeld. He was wide open and fired it into the vacant net for his first career WHL goal. That was all she wrote though as Child stood tall and helped seal the win with a few good saves late.

Child was solid for the Broncos, turning away 33 of the 36 shots he faced. Often, he took away Portland's shooting angles by using his size and perfect positioning to give them nothing to shoot at. Kehler was a solid wall in relief, stopping all 14 shots he faced and looking extremely comfortable doing it.  Kehler has stopped 39 of the last 40 shots he has seen. There is little doubt he will be in net Wednesday night in Prince Albert.

Portland's power-play went one-for-four and is now eight-of-eighteen on the season. Swift Current's power-play was one-for-five with one short-handed goal against.


Game Notes:
-The lack of physical play from Portland stood out to me on Tuesday night. While, Portland is not going to be known as a bruising team under Mike Johnston, they failed to throw the body around much at all this night.
-Portland's youth was a major weakness this night as well. Colina had his poorest showing with Portland, failing to stick-check or put his weight into a Broncos' players when given the chance. He was out there for two big goals against. This is going to happen at times though for Portland and as long as their young players learn from their mistakes, they will grow into great players.
-The Carter Czaikowski and Conor McEachern defensive pairing has struggled a lot so far this year. MacEachern looked great at the Neely Cup and during the preseason, but has yet to look comfortable jumping up into the play in the regular season. I feel like this will come with time. Defensively though, they need to work on their gap control, as onrushing forwards are allowed easy entry into their zone.
-Swift Current looks like a team that can make a lot of noise in the East Division this year. Lane Pederson and Aleksi Heponiemi were all over the ice and look extremely happy playing the fast system that new coach Emmanuel Viveiros has employed. Pederson was at his best attacking Portland's defense and taking quick advantage of any turnovers this caused. Heponiemi, meanwhile has the look of a player who will soon be a super star in this league. These two were the major reason Portland got beat at it's own game Tuesday night.
-Lane Gilliss showcased a lot of skill and looks to be growing out of the fourth-line grinder role he's been assigned. He hit the post on one great rush up the ice and also fed line mate Ty Kolle with an outstanding cross-ice saucer pass that the rookie couldn't get past Child.
-Glass now has nine points in five games for Portland. He sits one point behind WHL points-leader Jared Bethune of Prince George, while having played one less game. In four of the five games he's played, he has two points or  more.
-My notes end on a little bit of an odd occurrence late in the game. Right-handed Ilijah Colina chose to take a face off against a Broncos' center left-handed. This does not happen too often and it will be something I will look for in the future with Colina.


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Saturday, October 1, 2016

Portland spoils Seattle's ceremonies: 6-1



There was a lot of energy in the crowd on the night of Seattle’s home opener. No doubt chills were going down the spines of the 6,138 fans in attendance as an extended ceremony was put on before the game. A video highlighting not just last year’s Western Conference title team, but a few of the big moments in years before as well was part of the presentation. After the banners were raised and homages were paid through, Portland spoiled the festivities with four power play goals en route to a 6-1 victory.


The Thunderbirds were their own worst enemies early and often and Portland’s crisp passing and work in the tough areas while on the power play helped them make Seattle pay.


Portland was led by a career high four assists from defenseman Keoni Texeira, one goal and two assists from Ryan Hughes, two goals and one assist from Keegan Iverson and two points from Cody Glass. Texeira now has seven points in just four games this year, while Hughes has eight.


Not only did the teams face a long delay due to the opening night events, they had to wait another 10 minutes or so just five minutes into the game, for a sheet of plexiglas along the corner boards to get replaced. After the flow of the play finally got going a bit, Ryan Hughes was able to draw a holding call and Portland’s power play went to work. After some nice movement around the exterior, Cody Glass got a good look in tight on Seattle goalie Rylan Toth and Skyler McKenzie was quick to the rebound on the far post to poke it home. Then while on another penalty kill later in the first, Brandon Schuldhaus delivered a crowd-pleasing hit on Alex Overhardt. The center got the puck to Texeira and a mini two-on-one developed off of the hit. Colton Veloso found some room on the far post, deflecting a hard pass in for his first of the season. Seattle really went out of their way imposing their will on Portland, but were finding that it sometimes had a negative impact.



Any hope of a quick comeback in the second period for Seattle was quickly fading as Cody Glass smartly read the play and set up another goal. He did this by waiting for an activated Texeira to create an odd-man rush in Seattle’s zone. Iverson was the recipient of a slam-dunk pass to an out-of-position Toth’s’ right and it was 3-0 Portland. Seattle continued to sustain heavy pressure on Portland, but the Winterhawks’ defense and goalie Cole Kehler bent but did not break. Kehler’s best save of the night and period was in a series of stops during this time, where he deftly flicked out his left pad, turning away a wide-open Nolan Volcan shot. The momentum seemed to be swinging Seattle’s way anyways, until 16-year-old rookie Ty Kolle drew a tripping call on Seattle defenseman Bryan Allbee and Portland’s power play cashed in again. This time it was a strong slapshot from the point by Texeira that came right to Evan Weinger, who was nearly on top of Toth. Instead of trying to just jam the puck in on the down Toth, he cleverly flipped a backhand pass out to a wide open Ryan Hughes in the right slot. Hughes powered home the puck for a 4-0 Portland lead on his third goal of the season. This was the end of the night for Seattle’s overage net-minder as rookie 16-year-old Carl Stankowski came into the game in relief. Toth has given up ten goals to Portland in just around a game and a half.


The goalie change did inspire the Thunderbiurds though as rookie Elijah Brown caught Portland napping and got behind their defense. His try was turned aside by Kehler, but Donovan Neuls found Alexander True alone in the slot as a result and Seattle was on the board.


Instead of this being the start of some great comeback though, Portland put some salt in the wound in the third period, to the tune of yet another power play goal. Cody Glass made a quick drive to the net and drew a high-sticking call on Seattle’s Scott Eansor. Then on the man-advantage, Ryan Hughes made a beauty of a drop pass to Alex Overhardt and the 19-year-old center buried it past Stankowski. Portland would add a late penalty shot goal with Keegan Iverson sending a nifty backhand past Stankowski. Iverson had earned the penalty shot while on the penalty kill off a nice breakaway.


Portland’s power play is now a very impressive 7/14, after going four-for-five on the night. Seattle could not convert on any of the seven chances they had on the man-advantage.


The Winterhawks could be leaning Cole Kehler’s way in the battle of 19-year-old goalies, after he was very impressive, stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced. Stankowski turned away eight of the ten shots he saw in relief.



Game Notes:
-This was the first of eight straight on the road for Portland, as they now head to the province of Saskatchewan to take on Swift Current on Tuesday night. They will face all six teams in the east division, before returning to the United States to take on Spokane on October 15th.
-Joachim Blichfeld made a good case for Portland to choose him over Rodrigo Abols with some quality play on Portland’s top power play. While he didn’t factor into the scoring, he made several key passes that helped lead to goals.
-Henri Jokiharju is an interesting player to watch for both good and bad reasons. At times, he flashes all-world talent and at times he gives the puck over right in the slot in his own zone. Mike Johnston and company will be working with him to limit these mistakes, while trying to make sure, he continues to take chances.
-Besides Abols, scratched for Portland were Lane Gilliss, Brett Clayton, Brad Ginnell, Conor MacEachern, Jake Hobson. The Winterhawks continue to rotate games around the peripherie of their lineup.
-Cody Glass, Keegan Iverson and Skyler McKenzie are really clicking for Portland. They combined for six points tonight.
-Elijah Brown and Matthew Wedman were lined up with Alexander True and it was a line that I really liked for Seattle. The two younger forwards flash all kinds of skill and True was often able to use his size to create more room for them. I would look for this line to start picking up the scoring as Wedman and Brown gain WHL experience.
-Seattle is definitely a team that needs to find some chemistry in a hurry. They have a lot of talent and if this trend continues, I would not be surprised if deals start being made.
-Keegan Iverson and Cavin Leth were both getting under the opponent’s skin tonight, so it was only fitting the two of them got into a dust up. This one was a little different in that there were two officials actively trying to break them up as they were throwing blows. Both were given ten-minute misconducts and roughing minors.

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