The Portland Winterhawks came into the 2013/14 playoffs with just one loss in nearly three months and eyes towards a return to the championship round that ended in heartbreak last year. To get there, the Hawks would have to get past their first round opponent in the Vancouver Giants. While Portland was going in with a fully healthy lineup, the same couldn’t be said for Vancouver. Backup goaltender Jared Rathjen, whom the Giants had picked up from Victoria last season, had just come back from injury and was injured during the second game of the Portland/ Vancouver series, was struck by a puck being cleared from the Vancouver zone and ended up with 15 stitches near his eye. Vancouver would have Rathjen on the bench for game 3, but also called up an emergency backup which led to speculation that the injury was a bit more involved.
The Hawks took the first two games on Portland ice by scores of 4-3 and 3-0 by outshooting the Giants 88 – 31. The first game was a definite feeling out process for Portland who wasn’t able to convert any of the 5 power plays they had. Conversely, Vancouver wasn’t able to score on the 3 they had. It was the heroics of Oliver Bjorkstrand with just ninety seconds left in the third period to take the first game for Portland and then the physical play spilled over. The end of the game featured several skirmishes, one fight and difficulty by the officials to clear the ice of players at the final horn.
That emotion continued into game 2 with the Hawks converting 2 of 9 power plays into goals while restricting Vancouver to just 4 opportunities of which none resulted in goals and Brendan Burke earned a shutout.
Burke, who was the understudy for last season’s goaltender Mac Carruth, had seen just a partial game of action during last year’s playoffs yet was being heavily counted on to carry the load into the postseason. He has been stellar in the net for Portland and would be heavily counted on in game three.
The series shifted to Vancouver for games three and four. Game three saw fewer penalties called, although it appeared to be a rougher contest and a closer shot count as Portland outshot the Giants 34-28. Once again Portland struck on the power play when it counted, going 2 for 5 and holding Vancouver scoreless on their three chances. The Giants did score a shorthanded goal as Portland got caught too deep in the offensive zone which allowed Giant’s Joel Hamilton to break free and start a Vancouver comeback. The Hawks at one point led 4-0, but Vancouver found ways to catch up to within two before Paul Bittner put it away with less than five minutes remaining. Hawks won 6-3.
Game four in Vancouver started strong for both teams as they combined for 18 shots in the first half of the period. Both Payton Lee for Vancouver and Brendan Burke for Portland were called on for several key saves. Then the floodgates opened. A total of three goals in 56 seconds by Portland started on the power play when Brendan Leipsic converted a pass from Oliver Bjorkstrand to the far left corner of the Vancouver net. Adam DeChamplain pocketed one just 32 seconds later and then Alex Schoenborn scored as his stick broke on the shot to cap the night for Payton Lee. Jared Rathjen was called into relief and did his best to stem the flow from the Hawks and he weathered quite the storm in the first period. Vancouver would connect on the power play midway through the second, but Oliver Bjorkstrand extinguished that hope with a goal four minutes later. The Hawks added two goals in the third as Keegan Iverson scored early and Chase De Leo closed it out midway through the third. From then it was pretty much pedestrian hockey with the Hawks simply passing the puck around, killing the clock and avoiding as much of the physical contact as possible.
There were a few moments from the overage Vancouver players who seemed to want to make a statement on their way out with tactics that suspensions would normally be meted out for. Fortunately, it appeared that the Winterhawks players were able to escape relatively unscathed. The Hawks went 2 for 8 on the power play and allowed one goal on four opportunities while outshooting the Giants 45- 33. With the series wrapped up, the Hawks wait for round two which will start most likely Friday, April 4 against the Victoria Royals. The Royals hold a 3-0 series advantage with game four on Thursday night.
Kelowna Rockets, who won the Scotty Munro trophy, have their hands full with the Tri-City Americans leading 3-1 in the series with game 5 in Kelowna on Friday. Seattle is surprising many with a current 3-0 series lead and a chance to sweep on Friday against the Everett Silvertips.
The Winterhawks aren’t the only team to have a sweep so far in the WHL playoffs as the Edmonton Oil Kings swept the Prince Albert Raiders and look to face Brandon Wheat Kings who have taken a commanding 3-0 series lead against the Eastern Division leader Regina Pats. The Calgary Hitmen are locked in a war with Kootenay Ice with the series tied at 2. The average goals scored by each team so far in this series is 5. The Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current Broncos are also tied at 2 in a very defensive style series.
Two scary moments of the playoffs occurred in the WHL and OHL in the past two days. OHL London Knights goaltender Anthony Stolarz was suspended for 8 games following a vicious slash to the back of the head of Windsor Spitfires Josh Ho-Sang during a 10-2 win by London on Tuesday. Though Ho-Sang left the game for observation, he did return later in the game. Currently London, which will host the Memorial Cup tournament this year, holds a 3-0 series lead. In the WHL, following the Brandon Wheat Kings victory over Regina Pats, Jayce Hawryluk from Brandon collapsed after experiencing tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing and lack of feeling in his hands. He was taken for observation at a Brandon Hospital where he is expected to be fine.
Ice Chips: The Portland Winterhawks Booster Club is hosting viewing parties for away games at Kenton Station in North Portland. There are several other locations that are showing away games for the duration of the playoffs. The complete list is available at winterhawks.com.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
