Emotion Detector…

One of the things that has come about in the aftermath of the Hawks come-from-behind 4-3 shootout win over the Seattle Thunderbirds is some fans reaction to Jacob Berglund’s emotional reaction to his goal to even the shootout at 1-1 in the second round (see the shootout video below).

Some fans thought it was over-the-top and disrespectful…others found it OK and just a raw show of emotions.

For me…well…it was great to see.

It’s not often I go on a rant or a soap-box disertation…but this is going to be one of those times…so, bear with me.

Hockey is an emotional sport…probably more emotional than any other sport due to the speed, intensity and sometimes violent nature of the game.   I remember watching the game growing up and getting caught up in the emotions, both good and bad, and have left the buildings feeling like I could conquer the world (after a huge win) or like the world had ended (after a devastating loss).

And I wasn’t even on the freakin’ ice!

In my opinion, the game needs more emotional displays like we saw from Berglund in the shootout.

This isn’t a tee-ball league where they don’t keep score and every kid gets a trophy just for showing up.   This is a league where the winner should celebrate and loser should feel like they need to extract revenge (by winning the next game, not necessarily with physical violence) the next time the two teams meet.

The political correctness of the world has made its way into sports and the feeling that we shouldn’t “show-up” the opponent has transpired into players not celebrating the way they once did when they scored a huge goal.   I showed a DVD of highlights from the late 80’s that had a lot of Troy Mick/Dennis Holland celebrations that included big pin-wheel arm spins with low fist pumps that ended in an elaborate low-five between the two players.

The response from most of the players is that “I wouldn’t do that now”…well, why not?

Who can forget Marian Hossa’s salute after scoring or Brandon Dubinsky’s plexiglass leaps?

Alexander Ovechkin is arguably the most exciting player to watch in the NHL (when healthy)…he throws big hits and scores goals in a variety of ways.   What adds to his excitement is the way he celebrates every goal…with reckless abandon that sometimes draws the ire of his opponents and critics.

I’d take any Ovechkin celebration over some cookie-cutter, vanilla celebration any day.

Now…to clarify…I don’t want the sport to become what the NFL has become with there being some form of dance or celebration on every play, routine or not.   Also, you don’t do an overly demonstrative celebration when you’ve scored to make the score 6-1 in either direction.

But, when it is a huge goal in a close game…let ‘er rip.

Was Berglund taunting the Thunderbirds bench?  Maybe…it looked like he was responding to something said to him after his shootout goal celebration…either way, if it adds to getting this once spirited rivalry back to where it was, so what?

At the other end…it was great to see the mob scene after Kurtis Mucha preserved the victory with the stop on Charles Wells.

I’ve seen too many emotionless games in the past few years…lets bring the emotion and swagger back to Portland Winterhawks hockey…it will make it that much more enjoyable.

End rant…

 

 

 

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Video Highlights…

The Francis tying goal:

done

The entire shootout:

done

A Little Bit of Everything…

Last night’s game at the Rose Garden was like a good movie…it had a little bit of everything…drama, intrigue, controversy, heroes, villians, and in the end, a happy ending for the home crowd.

Certainly, it was a good night for the guy pictured on the left (photo courtesy Bryan Heim) as Chris Francis scored three times and then potted the game winner in the shootout to propel the Hawks to an improbable 4-3 victory over Seattle.

Improbable because it isn’t often a team scores with less than a second left in regulation to force overtime, not necessarily because of the way the team played.

Give Seattle a ton of credit, they played a solid bend-don’t break road game that on most nights would have led to two points behind the solid goaltending of Calvin Pickard.

The game came down to a mere nine tenths of a second that was added to the gameclock after Pickard held a dump-in shot long enough to get a whistle from Derek Zalaski.  The clock showed 1.7 seconds and it appeared that it would stay that way.  But, the video review booth, as they are supposed to do, reviewed the footage and determined that there was 2.6 seconds left and the time was added.  This was just enough time for Francis to find a loose puck and wrist home a bouncing shot from the left face-off circle to tie the score and send the crowd into pandemonium.

The shootout had a couple dandy goals – by Jacob Berglund and Francis – and a tremendous poke check by Kurtis Mucha on Sena Acolatse to send the Hawks to their second shootout win of the season and fourth win in four games that have gone into extra time.

In the end, it was a tremendously entertaining hockey game that came at a perfect time for Portland with nearly 9,000 people in the Rose Garden and a game that could hopefully bring many of those fans back out to watch this team.

Also, the game was televised on Comcast Channel 15 last night and if you want to watch the game, if you are a Comcast Digital subscriber, the game is available On Demand right now (we got it on right now at home!).   Search the On Demand feature and you will find the broadcast.

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Lastly, a swim-a-thon update on my daughter Aiden…

They held the event yesterday morning at the outside pool at the Hillsboro Park and Rec Center and it was a fun event.

Aiden swam for two hours continuosly and she nearly made the target of 200 lengths, swimming 184 lengths in the two hours which measures out to 4,600 yards.   The last 20 minutes or so were swam in a pouring rain…a tremendous effort.

Trust me, she was tired when she was done…

Thanks to all that contributed to her fund-raiser and there is still time to donate if you want to do so…drop me an email at hawksblog@comcast.net if you’d like to help her in her fund-raising efforts.

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That’s it for now…

 

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Back-to-Back Frustrations…

I had some time to think last night as I had to drive to Seattle for work after the 4-0 loss to Vancouver at the Rose Garden. It didn’t help ease the frustration after the second of back-to-back shutout losses on home ice.

Spending the day slogging through rainy Seattle traffic didn’t help ease the frustration much either, but I digress…

In the past three years, the Hawks have been shutout a lot…more than I care to remember, but these past two games have been especially frustrating.  Maybe it is the fact that goals weren’t hard to come by in the first 18 games, where the Hawks averaged nearly 4.5 goals per game…or maybe it is the knowledge that the team can perform better.   Either way, it made a long drive longer…

I’m sure that there is some soul searching going on in the Hawks locker room and I’m sure that Mike Johnston and crew are going to work their hardest to turn it around, but in reality…it’s only two of 72 games and the Hawks could just as easily turn it back around on Saturday against Seattle.

At the end of the day, the Hawks are 13-7-0-0 after 20 games, in the upper half of the Western Conference and have played more road games than any team in conference.   Things are looking up and the frustration I know won’t last as long as it has in the past.

Confidence is fickle and it is easier to lose it than it is to find it…hopefully the Hawks search to regain it will be short lived…

Back to Portland tomorrow evening…

 

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Support Your Local Swim Team…

Ready to go in lane 5...

Forgive the diversion from hawkey talk…but…

My daughter Aiden’s swim team, the Hillsboro Heat, are having their annual swim-a-thon fund raiser this Saturday.  The funds raised help pay for operating the team and for equipment to help train the athletes to become their best as they strive toward becoming one of the top swim clubs in not only the Pacific Northwest, but in the United States.

On that note…if any of you generous hockey fans would like to sponsor Aiden in the swim-a-thon, please drop me an e-mail at hawksblog@comcast.net with your sponsor amount.  It is best to do a set dollar value as she is planning on doing a ton of laps in the two hour session (the team sets a goal of 200 25-yard lengths or 5,000 yards per swimmer in two hours…last year Aiden did over 3,000 yards as an 8 year old…we’ll see how she does being a year older).

Also, thanks to the Portland Winterhawks for donating four tickets to any game this season as one of the raffle prizes for the swim-a-thon.

Payment isn’t due by Saturday, so you won’t need to get me the sponsor money by then…we can work out the details of collecting next week for all of those inclined to sponsor…if not, thanks for being a loyal reader of the blog.

Thanks for all your support…

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Where Are They Now?

Here is a list of former Hawks and where they are playing in 2009-10:

NHL:

Braydon Coburn – Philadelphia Flyers

Brandon Dubinsky – New York Rangers

Andrew Ference – Boston Bruins

Paul Gaustad – Buffalo Sabres

Jannik Hansen – Vancouver Canucks

Marian Hossa – Chicago Blackhawks

Jason LaBarbera – Phoenix Coyotes

Cody McLeod – Colorado Avalanche

Brenden Mikkelson – Anaheim Ducks

Brenden Morrow – Dallas Stars

Scott Nichol – San Jose Sharks

Dave Scatchard – Nashville Predators

Matt Walker – Tampa Bay Lightning

AHL:

Dan DaSilva – Worcester Sharks

Travis Ehrhardt – Grand Rapids Griffins

Michael Funk – Manitoba Moose

Rob Klinkhammer – Rockford IceHogs

Frazer McLaren – Worcester Sharks

Michael Sauer – Hartford Wolf Pack

Colton Sceviour – Texas Stars

KHL:

Marcel Hossa – Riga Dynamo

Jakub Klepis – Omsk Avangard

Nolan Pratt – Khabarovsk Amur

Richard Zednik – Yaroslavl Lokomotiv

ECHL:

Curtis Darling – Ontario Reign

Craig Valette – Stockton Thunder

Patrick Wellar – South Carolina Stingrays

Europe:

Stanislav Balan – Zlin ZPS HC – Czech

Jozef Balej – Trinec Ocelari HC – Czech

Max Brandl – Hamburg Freezers – Germany

Garrett Festerling – Hannover Scorpions – Germany

Colin Forbes – Mannheim Eagles – Germany

Josh Green – MODO – Sweden

Stefan Langwieder – Iserlohn Roosters – Germany

Andrej Podkonicky – Liberec Bili Tygri HC – Czech

Harlan Pratt – Ljubljana Olimpija HK – Austria

Richie Regehr – Berlin Polar Bears – Germany

Viktor Sjodin – Bofors IK – Sweden

Brandon Smith – Straubing Tigers – Germany

IHL:

Robin Big Snake – Muskegon Lumberjacks

Danny Lapointe – Dayton Gems

Todd Robinson – Muskegon Lumberjacks

CHL:

Marty Standish – Tulsa Oilers

Canadian University:

Alex Aldred – University of New Brunswick

Kyle Bailey – University of New Brunswick

Dustin Butler – University of Calgary

Max Gordichuk – University of British Columbia

Teegan Moore – University of Calgary

Brayden Nargang – University of Lethbridge

Matt Schmermund – Ryerson

Tyler Swystun – University of Calgary

Kevin Undershute – St. Francis Xavier

Keith Voytechek – University of British Columbia

Jordan White – University of British Columbia

Brian Woolger – University of Alberta

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If you have others that I missed, let me know…

 

 

 

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Turnabout Fair Play…

As frustrated as the Portland Winterhawks made the Spokane Chiefs in the 2-0 win for Portland in Spokane on Saturday, the Chiefs equalled the frustration last night with a 3-0 win at the MC to end the Hawks five game winning streak.

Four straight power plays in the first period gave Spokane the momentum, scoring once, eve though the Hawks killed off a full two minute two-man advantage for the Chiefs.

The real turning point came in the second period when it looked like the Hawks had evened the score on a rebound goal by Luke Walker of a Ty Rattie entry shot, but referee Colby Smith ruled that Walker was in the crease and waved off the goal.   Spokane went the other way off the next faceoff, forced a turnover and Mitch Wahl set up Kyle Beach for their insurance goal just 14 seconds after the Hawks had the apparent tying goal waived off.

I watched the video this morning and from the angle, it sure didn’t appear that Walker impeded James Reid in the blue paint as it looked like Walker was to the side of Reid and reached in front of him to tip the puck home.   Smith was behind the goal line and from the video angle, it looked like he had to look through the net as well as Jared Cowen and Reid to see where Walker was positioned.

There is no guarantee that if the goal had stood that the outcome would have been different, but you never know.

I thought both goaltenders played well, but Reid certainly responded after a couple poor outings to backstop the Chiefs and earn the shutout on the night.

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Next up, the Hawks take on the Vancouver Giants on Wednesday, the first game of the season in the Rose Garden.  When you look at the Giants roster, gone are the big names from years past – Sexsmith, Blum, Regner, Shira, Kane, Wright and others – but they continue to produce, leading the B.C. Division with a record of 11-4-1-2, good for 25 points in 18 games.

Craig Cunningham leads the offense with 26 points in 18 games, but they are a balanced team up front, scoring by committee most nights.

Their defense is young, but they are getting great production from 16 year old David Musil and overage Ryan Funk.  Add in Kevin Connauton and they have a formidable group on the blue line.

Jamie Tucker is the #1 guy in the nets, posting 2.62 and .900 save percentage in 15 games.   His back-up Brendan Jensen has better numbers at 1.83 and .915 in just four appearances.

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Derrick Pouliot (pictured left), the Hawks 1st overall selection in this past Bantam Draft, as well as three other Hawks prospects took part in the Western Canada U-16 Challenge Cup this past weekend in Blackfalds, AB.

Pouliot’s Team Saskatchewan finished third in the four team tournament, knocking off Team BC for the bronze medal.

The Hawk prospect that stole the show was Brendan Leipsic, the diminutive forward from Manitoba, was leading all scorers after three days and while I haven’t seen the official numbers following the event, it appears that he finished with 3-4-7 in four games as his team took home the Silver after falling to the host Alberta team in the Championship game.

Leipsic was named to the tournament all-star team for his efforts.

Taylor Leier also played for Saskatchewan and had 2-1-3 (unofficial) in 4 games while Pouliot had 1-2-3 (unofficial) in 4 games.

Reece Wilcox played for team BC and (unofficially) didn’t hit the scoresheet in the tournament.

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Congrats to Taylor Peters for a successful start to his stint in the BCHL after being assigned to the Penticton Vees last week.   Peters posted 1-3-4 in two games, with his goal coming short-handed.

Also, congrats to former Hawk Ryan Kerr, who is showing some goal-scoring ability after potting four goals in his last three games, including an OT winner.  Kerr has 5-5-10 playing with the Spruce Grove Saints in the AJHL.

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That’s it for now…

 

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1st Quarter Stastical Comparison…

Time for a stats purge…here is how the stats for the first quarter of 2009-10 compares with the same 18 game period of 2008-09 (there really is no comparison):

Record:

2009-10 — 13-5-0-0, 26 points

2008-09 — 4-14-0-0, 8 points

At Home:

2009-10 — 4-1-0-0, 8 points

2008-09 — 1-6-0-0, 2 points

On Road:

2009-10 — 9-4-0-0, 18 points

2008-09 — 3-8-0-0, 6 points

Power Play Overall:

2009-10 — 22 for 92 — 23.9%

2008-09 — 10 for 90 — 11.1%

Power Play Home:

2009-10 — 9 for 32 — 28.1%

2008-09 — 3 for 37 — 8.1%

Power Play Road:

2009-10 — 13 for 60 — 21.7%

2008-09 — 7 for 53 — 13.2%

Penalty Kill Overall:

2009-10 — 79 of 100 — 79.0%

2008-09 — 62 of 90 — 68.9%

Penalty Kill Home:

2009-10 — 20 of 23 — 87.0%

2008-09 — 28 of 37 — 75.7%

Penalty Kill Road:

2009-10 — 59 of 77 — 76.6%

2008-09 — 34 of 53 — 64.2%

Goals For:

2009-10 — 78 (4.33/game)

2008-09 — 35 (1.72/game)

Goals Against:

2009-10 — 56 (3.11/game)

2008-09 — 77 (4.27/game)

Shots For:

2009-10 — 625 (34.72/game)

2008-09 — 467 (25.94/game)

Shots Against:

2009-10 — 595 (33.06/game)

2008-09 — 633 (35.12/game)

Stats For Returning Players:

2 – Troy Rutkowski

2009-10 — 18 GP, 7-13-20

2008-09 — 18 GP, 1-3-4

5 – Joe Morrow

2009-10 — 15 GP, 1-9-10

2008-09 — 8 GP, 0-2-2

6 – Brett Ponich

2009-10 — 18 GP, 1-8-9

2008-09 — 18 GP, 0-4-4

11 – Oliver Gabriel

2009-10 — 4 GP, 0-1-1

2008-09 — 17 GP, 1-0-1

12 – Chris Francis

2009-10 — 18 GP, 6-17-23

2008-09 — 12 GP, 1-3-4

14 – Luke Walker

2009-10 — 18 GP, 11-9-20

2008-09 — 18 GP, 4-2-6

17 – Riley Boychuk

2009-10 — 15 GP, 6-2-8

2008-09 — 14 GP, 2-2-4

18 – Brad Ross

2009-10 — 18 GP, 9-9-18

2008-09 — 18 GP, 5-6-11

21 – Colin Reddin

2009-10 — 17 GP, 3-3-6

2008-09 — 18 GP, 3-2-5

27 – Travis Bobbee

2009-10 — 18 GP, 2-4-6

2008-09 — 13 GP, 0-2-2

28 – Stefan Schneider

2009-10 — 18 GP, 3-5-8

2008-09 — 18 GP, 1-0-1

55 – Tayler Jordan

2009-10 — 16 GP, 0-1-1

2008-09 — 4 GP, 1-1-2

35 – Kurtis Mucha

2009-10 — 11 GP, 7-3-0-0, 3.02, 90.4%, 1 shutout

2008-09 — 12 GP, 2-10-0-0, 4.17, 88.7%

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There you have it…Hawks and Chiefs tonight at the MC, game time is 5:00…

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Halloween Treats in Spokane…

Well..,it wasn’t a bag full of “fun-size” candy bars, but the Portland Winterhawks 2-0 win over the Spokane Chiefs on Halloween night in Spokane was still pretty sweet.

The win continues the improbable trend of success on Halloween for the Hawks as they are now 8-0-1 in nine games on Halloween in their history in Portland.

It was a very sweet night for 20 year old goaltender Kurtis Mucha, who stopped 35 shots (to match his uniform number) to post his eighth career WHL regular season shutout to tie Lanny Ramage for first overall on the Hawks all-time shutout list.   Mucha also has two post-season shutouts, for a combined career total of 10.

Mucha was steady when he had to be and spectacular when called upon to be to frustrate the Spokane attack.   He was in the proverbial “zone” all night and it was a carry-over from the confidence we saw from Mukes after the shoot-out win over Brandon on Tuesday night.   He continued his strong play in the one-on-one battles, stopping Mitch Holmberg on a penalty shot seven minutes into the second period.  The win was also the 60th of the WHL career for Mucha.

It was also sweet for Spencer Bennett, who scored the opening goal (which turned out to be the game winner) on a night when he celebrated his 19th birthday.   The bus gave Benny a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday’ as we rolled out of Spokane for the long 5 1/2 hour bus ride back to Portland.

The game itself had a playoff-like intensity to it (or at least as close to it as I can remember…it’s been awhile since I’ve experienced the playoffs) and the Chiefs came at the Hawks hard all night long.   The Hawks stood their ground and skated away with a very big win early in the season.

I will post some stats tomorrow comparing the opening quarter of the 2009-10 season with the opening quarter last season.

Lastly, it was also a Happy Anniversary for the Hawks coaching staff of Mike Johnston and Travis Green, as the game on Saturday marked the first anniversary of their coaching debut for Portland, a 4-1 win in Kennewick over Tri City last season.

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We’re rolling down I-84, somewhere between Boardman and Arlington as I write this.  The bus is dead quiet…as the boys rest up for the rematch tomorrow night at the MC.

The Chiefs are somewhere behind us on their way to Portland as well.   I imagine their bus is even quieter.

Game time is 5:00 on Sunday night…you won’t want to miss it.

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Tape Delay Saturday Night…

Due to the Washington State vs. Notre Dame football game, the broadcast of the Portland Winterhawks vs. Spokane Chiefs game will be delayed on Freedom AM 970 KCMD on Saturday night.

The broadcast should be started around 9:00 PM and it will include the full pre-game and game audio as well as a post-game show.   Todd Vrooman is making his way to Spokane as well to help out on the broadcast tomorrow night.

Want an omen?  We were tape delayed once last year and the Hawks won in Seattle 9-1.   This should be the only time this season that we will be tape delayed.

 

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