For those who chewed some of their nails in the last series for the Portland Winterhawks, better have a little bit left because it doesn't get any easier. The Hawks have won all their playoff road games thus far, but only one at home, that being game two. It was mainly due to a very strong goaltender in 17 year old Austin Lotz, who despite giving up 23 goals at home, was the deciding factor in all of the games he played in. Without him, the Everett Silvertips would have easily seen double digits per night and not just in shots on goal. The Hawks were repetitious in nightly drilling of shots at the Everett netminder, with over 50 shots in three of the games and showing they had complete control of the puck almost 90 percent of the time. Powerplay numbers were strong and despite the one shorthanded goal given up, the Hawks made use of the valuable time with the man advantage.
So how do the Hawks stack up against the Spokane Chiefs who they will face at home starting on Friday? Well. they controlled the season series, both at home and away, but know that it's going to be a physical and fast skating series. How did we get to the matchups? There was one game left to play to decide who would travel where.
Game 7 between the Kelowna Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds started off tentative and it carried a 0-0 tie after the first. Two goals were scored in the second, one by each team and just 12 seconds apart. Near the end of the second period Tyson Baillie took a double minor and the Rockets were able to kill it, swinging momentum back to Kelowna. During the third, a scary moment occurred just after Ballie's penalty expired. Jordon Cooke was run into by Seattle's Luke Lockhart sending Cooke crashing into the net and sent his mask flying to the corner.. No penalty was called and after a few minutes Cooke found a way to come back and play the remainder of the game. Just as a Seattle minor penalty ended, Tyson Baillie was able to recover his own rebound and sent a shot over the right pad of Brandon Glover to put Kelowna up 2-1 with just six minutes left. The Thunderbirds pulled their goaltender with just over a minute left in the period and went on the offense. There were two situations where non calls could have sealed it for Kelowna, however, Luke Lockhart was able to capitalize on the opportunity out front to tie the game at 2 with 7.3 seconds left. It would mark the 5th game out of the 7 that had gone to overtime. Finally, after 5 minutes, Tyson Baillie concluded the game with his hat trick goal after a pass from Madison Bowney opened a spot for Baillie to bang it home. Seattle had 3 shots that could have been described as "labelled" yet Cooke was able to make unbelievable stops and Kelowna, with its 1 shot on goal, scored the game winner.
Three stars of the game Tyson Baillie, Brandon Glover, Jordon Cooke. Kelowna outshot Seattle 35-26. The attendance of 5518 in Kelowna, BC made the game on hours notice and were enthusiastic throughout the game.
Both Portland and Spokane will have been off for a few days prior to the series start. The difference from the last series is that several key members of the Tips were former Winterhawks, players like Ben Betker, Brayden Low and rookie Tyler Sandhu along with the coach and GM Gary Davidson who was the Hawks Director of Player Personnel and having knowledge of Hawks strategies helped them to deflect much of the pressure. In the end with the Tips, it was too much speed, too much experience and it was all too much for a very young Everett team to handle. They will be back, better and smarter next season and will give a couple players the breakout seasons that the Hawks have enjoyed this year.
The Hawks will open the series at the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum on Friday at 7pm, followed by a shift to the Rose Garden Arena on Saturday at 7pm. The Hawks hit the road with back to back games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The other series is Kamloops Blazers who won their series in six over the Victoria Royals, squaring off against.Kelowna Rockets. That series will start on Saturday so Kelowna can get a couple days rest. With only having 4 regular defencemen, they'll need the time to see if they will have anyone available or use the two 15 year olds they played tonight.
In the Eastern Conference, number one Eastern seed Edmonton Oil Kings will host the number seven seed in Medicine Hat Tigers. The Kings took their last series in five over the Kootenay Ice and similar to the Portland/ Tips series, had two lopsided wins. Against the Tigers, they face a team who swept Saskatoon Blades who despite being the hosts for the Memorial Cup, were also the second seed in the Conference. The difference was goaltending. Cam Lanigan, who started off as an Oil King, was traded to Kamloops Blazers and played backup to Cole Cheveldave during last year's playoffs. He appeared in a couple games for the Blazers when Cheveldave was injured and while not having the best series and ultimately losing, an eye was kept on him by the Winterhawks. When it appeared that Portland's Mac Carruth, who had signed with NHL Chicago Blackhawks, was to head to the pros, Lanigan become exposed in a waiver by the Blazers and the Hawks scooped him up. His first game was a shutout for the Hawks and he found himself a new home, or so he thought. With the NHL lockout, Carruth found himself the odd man out when it came to getting a pro assignment and he was sent back to Portland. The team already had 3 20's (the maximum allowable per team) and Carruth's arrival gave them 4. Near the deadline for cementing a roster, Winterhawks Coach and GM Mike Johnston brokered a deal with the Tigers that sent Lanigan to Medicine Hat for a draft pick. Since then, Lanigan has been the key to the Tigers success and he will be heavily relied on in the series. Lanigan recorded a shutout, a 1.00 GAA and a .976 save percentage Lauren Brossoit for Edmonton has a .76 GAA and a .968 save percentage. This will be the series to watch!
The other series is another tough one as the Calgary Hitmen face off against their closest counterparts in Red Deer Rebels. With just 90 minutes driving distance between the teams, this will be a war. The Hitmen took out Swift Current Broncos in 5 games while the Rebels took out the second seeded Eastern Division Prince Albert Raiders in 4 games. Again, goaltending for the Rebels was the key to their wins as Czech born goalie Patrik Bartosak gave up just 5 goals in their 4 game series.
Ice Chips: Portland Winterhawks offered a deal for the first two home games on Groupon with a limited quantity available. Link is here http://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-portland-winterhawks-19
Viewing parties will go Tuesday and Wednesday at Sportspage Beaverton, Kenton Station, North Portland, McGillacuddy's NE Portland, Brix Tavern Downtown Portland, Game Time in Lake Oswego, The Rock Pizza in Vancouver. Kenton, Game Time and The Rock are all ages.
The Portland Winterhawks Booster Club will raffle off a Portland Winterhawks game used stick signed by the 2012-13 team at the Friday and Saturday games. The Booster Club is offering 2013-14 memberships to the Club prior to the end of the home playoff games which allow each member to have a chance to win a replica jersey signed by the entire team. Mail in membership applications will also be accepted. The online link http://www.pwhbc.com/membership.html
Stuart Kemp is the President of the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club, a 501(c)(3) Registered Charity that raises funds for the Continuing Player's Education Fund and helps to contribute funds to assist in local Junior Hockey programs. For more information, stop by the Booster Club table at the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum Entry BB, The Rose Garden Arena Entry A-12 or visithttp://www.pwhbc.com
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