The Portland Winterhawks dropped two overage players this past week following their latest autograph appearance. Joshua Smith and Travis McEvoy were dropped prior to the weekend games which left the Hawks at 25 players. The team then had two tough divisional opponents to battle this last week.
The first game was on the road against Everett and one which the team would love to have a redo. It seemed nothing went well offensively; three of the goals against were as a result of offensive turnovers in a 6-2 decision. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nic Petan scored the goals for the Winterhawks which are the expected output players this season. The Hawks were outshot 40-25 and ironically scored the goals on their least shot totals, those being the first and second periods. The hard work on the penalty kill resulted in Everett scoring once in six tries, however, the Hawks were shutout on the power play on two opportunities.
Less than 24 hours later, the Hawks were on the ice at the Moda Center versus the Seattle Thunderbirds, who have owned a wide margin in the scores this season between the teams. The Winterhawks seemed to have incredible jump in this game and nearly opened the scoring just 12 seconds in as Nic Petan nearly fooled Seattle netminder Taran Kozun. That work ethic continued for the Winterhawks who peppered 13 shots on the Seattle netminder. About 8 minutes into the game, Oliver Bjorkstrand fired home a shot over the shoulder of Kozun for the 1-0 lead.
Things took a turn for the worse for the Hawks after a vicious open ice hit by Seattle’s Evan Wardley knocked out Nic Petan. Josh Hanson took on Wardley which the officials cleared up immediately. Petan was carried from the ice and Wardley was assessed a major penalty for charging (which would later be changed to checking to the head), a minor for roughing and a game misconduct. Hanson received a two minute minor.
The change of penalties is interesting. Because of the league’s desire to cut down on this type of offense and Wardley being a multiple repeat offender, he could be due for a lengthy suspension. A benchmark to consider may be the Brendan Leipsic hit last season on Seattle’s Kolesar, which netted Leipsic seven games. The first game Petan could play would be this Friday, means that the WHL will have to decide based on medical reports and after viewing the video which many sports journalists have labelled “nasty.” No word has been given as to any time of return for Petan, who just recently returned from the Winnipeg Jets NHL camp.
Back to the game and without Petan, the Hawks would give up two goals early in the second period and Seattle seemed to take over the game. It wasn’t until late in the third period that the Hawks would tie it. Recent acquisition Miles Koules scored on a powerful knuckleball shot that fooled Kozun with under three minutes in regulation. The two teams battled to a scoreless overtime and Seattle was able to score once during the shootout to win the game by a score of 3-2. The Hawks gave up one goal on four power plays for Seattle, but were not able to convert any of the three chances that they had.
The team now hits the road for six road games on the “Eastern Swing” beginning this Friday, nineteen hours away from Portland in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and then further east to Brandon, Manitoba before heading west and ending in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Winterhawks will return to Portland with a game versus the current WHL league leaders, the Kelowna Rockets, on Thursday, October 30 at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. The team has, over the past few years, made great strides during and following the swing and has some matchups during the swing that should give the Winterhawks some confidence before returning home.
Ice Chips: The Portland Winterhawks Booster Club will be hosting viewing parties at Kenton Station in North Portland on Saturday, October 18 vs. Brandon and Saturday October 25 vs. Saskatoon. There will also be a meet and greet with Winterhawks players at the Burgerville in Gresham on Tuesday, October 28 from 5:30 – 7:30pm, players to be announced.
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