The Rose Garden and the Portland Coliseum have been a safe haven for the WinterHawks this season. Their 23-3-1 record at home is the second best in the Western Hockey League. Only the Tri-City Americans have a better home record. That is where the Hawks found themselves on Friday, in the unforgiving Toyota Center in Kennewick. Three previous games in Kennewick for the Hawks, three previous losses. On Friday, the Hawks broke through.
The WinterHawks hottest player kicked off the scoring 16:20 into the first. Sven Bartschi beat Americans goaltender Eric Comrie stick side off a pass from Marcel Noebels for a 1-0 lead. The game would become defensive, with both teams cracking down on scoring opportunities. Not that aggression ever died down between these two rivals. Rattie’s moves to the net drew the ire of the Americans defense, especially Americans star Drydn Dow.
The aggression reached a dangerous level near the end of the second, when WinterHawks center Brendan Leipsic checked Americans winger Brendan Shinnimin into the boards, leaving his feet in the process. Shinnimin took exception, and both players found themselves in the box. The penalty flood had opened. One minute later, WinterHawks defenseman Joseph Morrow hit Americans winger Jesse Mychan from behind with an elbow. Morrow was given a five minute major for the hit, and was immediately ejected, his third ejection of the season. Fortunately for the Hawks, the Americans failed to capitalize on the penalty, and would finish 0-4 on the power play on the night.
After the scoreless second, Chase De Leo lit the lamp early in the third to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. Ty Rattie would score his 43rd goal on the power play after Jordan Messier of the Americans was sent away for high-sticking six minutes later, extending the lead. Rattie’s 43 goals are second in the league behind Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Americans rallied, scoring two quick goals late, but Brad Ross scored an empty net goal with 48 seconds left to seal the game. Of course the teams were not going to let the game go by without more fighting, with Taylor Leier and Pearce Eviston of the Hawks and Lukas Walter and Lucas Nickles of the Americans starting a massive brawl with five seconds remaining. Leier and Walter would be given a game misconduct for the fight.
The Hawks were helped out immensely in this game by the absence of Americans goaltender Ty Rimmer, who was resting, and the ineffectiveness of Americans leading scorer Adam Hughesman, who did not tally at all, and was rendered inert by winger Oliver Gabriel.
With this win, Hawks goaltender Mac Carruth is now three wins away from tying the Hawks single season record for wins, set by Brent Belecki in the 1997-1998 season. Carruth’s goals against average has dropped to 2.96, though his 90.6 save percentage is only 11th in the league.
The Hawks and the Americans have three more games this season, all of them in Portland, next one Wednesday at the Portland Coliseum at 7 pm.
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