Hawks vs. Birds…Game Notes…

Hawks Notes: Portland @ Seattle – February 28, 2009

Previous Game – Portland 0 @ Spokane 8: The Spokane Chiefs scored three first period goals and they never looked back, defeating the Portland Winter Hawks by a score of 8-0 in front of 9,907 at the Spokane Arena. Blake Gal scored twice for the Chiefs to lead the way as they got single markers from Brady Calla, David Conrad, Tyler Johnson, Levko Koper, Mitch Wahl and Mike Reddington.    Both Gal and Johnson finished with three point games. Dustin Tokarski made 32 saves to post the shutout for Spokane. Ian Curtis started in net for Portland, playing the first two periods making 26 saves on 32 shots.  Kurtis Mucha played the final period making 11 saves on 13 shots. On special teams, Portland went 0 for 4 on the power play while Spokane finished 2 for 6.

Team Notes: Portland is (16-42-2-2); (10-19-2-1) at home (2-4-0-0 in Rose Garden); (6-23-0-1) on the road. The Hawks last home win was on February 24, a 2-1 shootout win over Chilliwack. The last road win was on February 10, a 5-1 win over Prince George.

Portland vs. Seattle: This is the 10^th of 12 meetings between the two teams. Seattle leads the season series 7-2-0-0. Portland is 3 for 35 (8.6%) on the power play while Seattle is 9 for 36 (25.0%). Seattle has outshot Portland 305-259 in the series.

Game Schedule:

10/11/08 – Seattle 4 @ Portland 0 11/22/08 – Portland 2 @ Seattle 6

11/29/09 – Seattle 5 @ Portland 3 12/6/08 – Seattle 3 @ Portland 1

12/27/08 – Portland 5 @ Seattle 1 12/31/08 – Seattle 2 @ Portland 4

1/24/09 – Portland 1 @ Seattle 3 2/14/09 – Portland 1 @ Seattle 7

2/21/09 – Seattle 4 @ Portland 3 2/28/09 @ Seattle

3/13/09 @ Seattle 3/14/09 @ Portland

All-Time vs. Seattle:

Total: 410 GP – 214 (W) – 166 (L) – 23 (T) – 6 (OTL) – 1 (SOL)

At Home: 205 GP – 127-67-8-3-0 – On Road: 205 GP – 87-99-15-3-1

Portland All-Time:

Total: 2366 GP – 1143 (W) – 1056 (L) – 127 (T) – 30 (OTL) – 10 (SOL)

At Home: 1184 GP – 720-390-61-9-4 – On Road: 1182 GP – 423-666-66-21-6

Regular Season Leaders:

Goals: Luke Walker (21)

Assists: Chris Francis (35)

Points: Chris Francis (51)

Penalty Minutes: Tayler Jordan (134)

Plus/Minus: Daniel Johnston/Sawyer Mick (+1)

GAA: Kurtis Mucha (3.80)

Save Percentage: Ian Curtis (89.7%)

Power Play: 41 for 293 (14.0%) overall

Penalty Kill: 232 of 316 (73.4%) overall

Current Streaks: No current streaks.

Injuries & Roster Updates: Jason Grecica, F, Knee (Indefinite); Brock Cornish, D, Shoulder (Indefinite); Killian Hutt, F, Shoulder (2 weeks). The Hawks have lost 167 man games to injury in 2008-09. Portland has added 1993 born Ty Rattie (1^st Round, #2 Overall in the 2008 Bantam Draft) to the roster. Rattie played for the UFA Bisons in the AMHL this season, scoring 29-25-54 in 34 games with 12 PIM.

Milestones: Chris Francis needs three games played to reach 200 in his WHL career. Travis Ehrhardt needs 7 assists to reach 100 in his WHL career. Chris Francis needs 9 points to reach 100 in his WHL career.

Winter Hawks Season Highs and Lows:

Most Goals Scored: 7 (11/9/08 vs. Kamloops, 7-5 win)

Fewest Goals Scored: 0 (Ten Times)
Most Goals Allowed: 8 (Twice)

Fewest Goals Allowed: 0 (1/2/09 vs. Everett, 4-0 win)
Most Power Play Chances: 10 (Twice)

Most Power Play Chances Against: 11 (12/28/08 vs. Tri City, 4-3 loss)
Most Power Play Goals Scored: 3 (1/11/09 vs. Everett, 5-4 SO loss)
Most Power Play Goals Allowed: 4 (Twice)
Most Shots Taken: 40 (9/20/08 vs. Spokane, 3-0 loss)
Fewest Shots Taken: 17 (9/21/08 vs. Kelowna, 2-1 win)
Most Shots Allowed: 53 (Twice)
Fewest Shots Allowed: 19 (Twice)
Last Shutout: 1/2/09 vs. Everett (Mucha, 38 Saves – 4-0 win)
Last Time Shutout: 1/31/09 vs. Everett (Heemskerk, 31 saves – 5-0 win)

Overtime Game Winning Goals: Rutkowski 10/22 @ Saskatoon

Shootout Game Winning Goals: Reddin 2/24 vs. Chilliwack

Hawks vs. Chiefs…Game Notes…

Hawks Notes: Portland @ Spokane – February 27, 2009

Previous Game – Chilliwack 1 @ Portland 2 (SO): The Portland Winter Hawks get a shoot-out winning goal from Colin Reddin while Ian Curtis stopped three of four Chilliwack Bruin attempts in the shoot-out to lead the Portland Winter Hawks to a 2-1 win at the Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday night. The Hawks forced overtime when Radim Valchar scored on the power play halfway through the second period, banging home a perfect cross-crease pass from Luke Walker.  It was the third straight game with a goal from Valchar and his team leading 11^th power play goal of the season.  Chris Francis also assisted on the goal, extending his point streak to 12 games. Chilliwack took the lead on a power play goal late in the first period when Kevin Sundher fired a wrist shot from the left face-off circle off a centering pass from Mike Krgovich. Curtis made 26 saves on 27 shots in regulation and overtime before stopping three of four in the shoot-out to get the victory for Portland.  Lucas Gore was strong in net for the Bruins, stopping 36 of 37 in regulation and overtime and two of four in the shoot-out. Walker also scored for Portland in the shoot-out, while Francis and Riley Boychuk were stopped by Gore.  Blair Manning had the lone goal for Chilliwack in the shoot-out while Curtis stopped Sundher, Alexander WIklund and Andy Smith. On special teams, Portland finished 1 for 2 on the man advantage while Chilliwack was 1 for 3.

Team Notes: Portland is (16-41-2-2); (10-19-2-1) at home (2-4-0-0 in Rose Garden); (6-22-0-1) on the road. The Hawks last home win was on February 24, a 2-1 shootout win over Chilliwack. The last road win was on February 10, a 5-1 win over Prince George.

Portland vs. Spokane: This is the 9^th and final meeting between the two teams, Spokane leads the season series 6-2-0-0. Portland is 5 for 41 (12.2%) on the power play while Spokane is 9 for 35 (25.7%). Spokane has outshot Portland 288-229 in the series.

Game Schedule:

9/20/08 – Spokane 3 @ Portland 0 10/10/08 – Spokane 6 @ Portland 2

10/15/08 – Portland 2 @ Spokane 5 11/7/08 – Portland 2 @ Spokane 1

1/3/09 – Portland 2 @ Spokane 1 1/14/09 – Portland 2 @ Spokane 4

1/16/09 – Spokane 7 @ Portland 1 2/13/09 – Spokane 4 @ Portland 1

2/27/09 @ Spokane

All-Time vs. Spokane:

Total: 230 GP – 92 (W) – 121 (L) – 12 (T) – 3 (OTL) – 2 (SOL)

At Home: 114 GP – 51-52-9-0-2 – On Road: 116 GP – 41-69-3-3-0

Portland All-Time:

Total: 2365 GP – 1143 (W) – 1055 (L) – 127 (T) – 30 (OTL) – 10 (SOL)

At Home: 1184 GP – 720-390-61-9-4 – On Road: 1181 GP – 423-665-66-21-6

Regular Season Leaders:

Goals: Luke Walker (21)

Assists: Chris Francis (35)

Points: Chris Francis (51)

Penalty Minutes: Tayler Jordan (132)

Plus/Minus: Sawyer Mick (+4)

GAA: Ian Curtis (3.56)

Save Percentage: Ian Curtis (90.3%)

Power Play: 41 for 289 (14.2%) overall

Penalty Kill: 228 of 310 (73.5%) overall

Current Streaks: Chris Francis (7-10-17 in last 12); Radim Valchar (3-1-4 in last 4).

Injuries & Roster Updates: Jason Grecica, F, Knee (Indefinite); Brock Cornish, D, Shoulder (Indefinite); Killian Hutt, F, Shoulder (2 weeks). The Hawks have lost 163 man games to injury in 2008-09. Portland has added 1993 born Ty Rattie (1^st Round, #2 Overall in the 2008 Bantam Draft) to the roster. Rattie played for the UFA Bisons in the AMHL this season, scoring 29-25-54 in 34 games with 12 PIM.

Milestones: Chris Francis needs four games played to reach 200 in his WHL career. Travis Ehrhardt needs 7 assists to reach 100 in his WHL career. Chris Francis needs 9 points to reach 100 in his WHL career.

Winter Hawks Season Highs and Lows:

Most Goals Scored: 7 (11/9/08 vs. Kamloops, 7-5 win)

Fewest Goals Scored: 0 (Nine Times)
Most Goals Allowed: 8 (1/7/09 @ Kamloops, 8-6 loss)

Fewest Goals Allowed: 0 (1/2/09 vs. Everett, 4-0 win)
Most Power Play Chances: 10 (Twice)

Most Power Play Chances Against: 11 (12/28/08 vs. Tri City, 4-3 loss)
Most Power Play Goals Scored: 3 (1/11/09 vs. Everett, 5-4 SO loss)
Most Power Play Goals Allowed: 4 (Twice)
Most Shots Taken: 40 (9/20/08 vs. Spokane, 3-0 loss)
Fewest Shots Taken: 17 (9/21/08 vs. Kelowna, 2-1 win)
Most Shots Allowed: 53 (Twice)
Fewest Shots Allowed: 19 (Twice)
Last Shutout: 1/2/09 vs. Everett (Mucha, 38 Saves – 4-0 win)
Last Time Shutout: 1/31/09 vs. Everett (Heemskerk, 31 saves – 5-0 win)

Overtime Game Winning Goals: Rutkowski 10/22 @ Saskatoon

Shootout Game Winning Goals: Reddin 2/24 vs. Chilliwack

Arrived In Spokane…

A nice sunny drive up the Gorge and into Eastern Washington this afternoon.  I don’t want to jinx the team, but so far, the travel, while quirky and strange sometimes with the schedule, has been really pretty good as far as weather goes.

This is another quirky weekend with games in Spokane tomorrow, Kent on Saturday and then back to Kennewick on Sunday.

The Hawks are coming off the 2-1 shootout win over the Chilliwack Bruins on Tuesday night.   If not for Lucas Gore, the Bruins would not have reached overtime and got the single point that keeps Chilliwack just ahead of Portland in the standings of the Western Conference.

The Bruins got hammered last night by Tri City 8-1…we’ll see how Portland does tomorrow night against Spokane.  The Hawks are 2-2 in games here at the Spokane Memorial Arena this season, both wins by a score of 2-1.  The Chiefs are down a few d-men with Jared Cowen out for the season and Stefan Ulmer and Trevor Glass both questionable for tomorrow night.

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Ty Rattie skated with the Hawks for the first time yesterday and should be ready to go tomorrow night against Spokane.

I know that it is hard to control expectations on a player with the pedigree of Rattie, but it should be stated that this 11 game stretch for Rattie is really just a chance for him to get a taste of the WHL and to help him prepare for his full rookie season in 2009-10.

I did ask him today on the bus about bus rides and he said that the trip to Spokane pretty much matches the longest trip that he had in Midget hockey.   I said ‘welcome to the dub’.

We’ll have to wait and see just how much ice time he gets and on which line(s) this weekend.

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That’s it for now…game notes tomorrow…

Chilliwack vs. Portland…Game Notes…

Hawks Notes: Chilliwack @ Portland – February 24, 2009

Previous Game – Tri City 4 @ Portland 1: For the second straight night, the Portland Winter Hawks played strong, but the Tri City Americans get two third period goals to break open a close game and defeat Portland 4-1 at the Memorial Coliseum on Sunday evening. Mitch Fadden scored a power play goal and Kruise Reddick added an empty-net goal in the final frame for Tri City. The Americans took a 1-0 lead early in the second period when Jordan Messier wristed home a shot from between the face-off circles.  Portland tied the score when Radim Valchar fired home a shot from the slot, set up by Chris Francis and Travis Bobbee.  The assist for Francis extended his point streak to a season high 11 games, garnering 16 points during that stretch. Tri City would get the game winner when Fadden forced a turnover behind the Portland net, setting up Johnny Lazo on the doorstep with five minutes remaining in the second period. Chet Pickard made 26 saves to get the win for Tri City while Kurtis Mucha stopped 36 of 39 for Portland as Tri City outshot the Hawks 40-27 in the game. On special teams, Portland went 1 for 3 on the power play while killing 5 of 6 chances against.

Team Notes: Portland is (15-41-2-2); (9-19-2-1) at home (2-4-0-0 in Rose Garden); (6-22-0-1) on the road. The Hawks last home win was on February 16, a 4-3 win over Kelowna. The last road win was on February 10, a 5-1 win over Prince George.

Portland vs. Chilliwack: This is the second of four meetings between the two teams this season. Chilliwack leads the season series 1-0-0-0. Portland outshot Chilliwack 28-19 in the first meeting. On special teams in the series, Portland is 0 for 3 while Chilliwack is 0 for 5.

Game Schedule:

11/18/08 – Portland 0 @ Chilliwack 2

2/24/09 – Chilliwack @ Portland

3/7/09 – Portland @ Chilliwack

3/15/09 – Chilliwack @ Portland

All-Time vs. Chilliwack:

Total: 10 GP – 4 (W) – 5 (L) – 0 (T) – 0 (OTL) – 1 (SOL)

At Home: 5 GP – 3-2-0-0-0 – On Road: 5 GP – 1-3-0-0-1

Portland All-Time:

Total: 2364 GP – 1142 (W) – 1055 (L) – 127 (T) – 30 (OTL) – 10 (SOL)

At Home: 1183 GP – 719-390-61-9-4 – On Road: 1181 GP – 423-665-66-21-6

Regular Season Leaders:

Goals: Luke Walker (21)

Assists: Chris Francis (34)

Points: Chris Francis (50)

Penalty Minutes: Tayler Jordan (132)

Plus/Minus: Sawyer Mick (+4)

GAA: Kurtis Mucha (3.78)

Save Percentage: Ian Curtis (90.0%)

Power Play: 40 for 287 (13.9%) overall

Penalty Kill: 226 of 307 (73.6%) overall

Current Streaks: Chris Francis (7-9-16 in last 11); Radim Valchar (2-1-3 in last 3).

Injuries & Roster Updates: Jason Grecica, F, Knee (Indefinite); Brock Cornish, D, Shoulder (Indefinite); Killian Hutt, F, Shoulder (2 weeks). The Hawks have lost 159 man games to injury in 2008-09.

Milestones: Chris Francis needs five games played to reach 200 in his WHL career. Travis Ehrhardt needs 7 assists to reach 100 in his WHL career. Chris Francis needs 10 points to reach 100 in his WHL career.

Winter Hawks Season Highs and Lows:

Most Goals Scored: 7 (11/9/08 vs. Kamloops, 7-5 win)

Fewest Goals Scored: 0 (Nine Times)
Most Goals Allowed: 8 (1/7/09 @ Kamloops, 8-6 loss)

Fewest Goals Allowed: 0 (1/2/09 vs. Everett, 4-0 win)
Most Power Play Chances: 10 (Twice)

Most Power Play Chances Against: 11 (12/28/08 vs. Tri City, 4-3 loss)
Most Power Play Goals Scored: 3 (1/11/09 vs. Everett, 5-4 SO loss)
Most Power Play Goals Allowed: 4 (Twice)
Most Shots Taken: 40 (9/20/08 vs. Spokane, 3-0 loss)
Fewest Shots Taken: 17 (9/21/08 vs. Kelowna, 2-1 win)
Most Shots Allowed: 53 (Twice)
Fewest Shots Allowed: 19 (Twice)
Last Shutout: 1/2/09 vs. Everett (Mucha, 38 Saves – 4-0 win)
Last Time Shutout: 1/31/09 vs. Everett (Heemskerk, 31 saves – 5-0 win)

Overtime Game Winning Goals: Rutkowski 10/22 vs. Saskatoon

Monday Update…

Another tough weekend for the Winter Hawks as they battled hard for two games against Seattle and Tri City, only to come away with losses.

Saturday night, especially, was tough to lose after out-shooting Seattle and dominating large stretches of the game.  The Hawks battled back from one-goal deficits on three occassions, but couldn’t get over the top despite having numerous glorious scoring chances in the early stretches of the third period.

It was nice to meet the Father of Calvin and Chet Pickard, who took in both games this weekend at the MC.  He says he’s a reader of this blog, so thanks for reading!

Chris Francis continued his February point streak, getting points in all 11 games this month.  He has three more games remaining in the month and Francis’ streak goes that far, he’ll equal Marcel Hossa’s 14 game point streak in 2000-01.

Radim Valchar scored his 10th power play goal of the season last night, giving him exactly 25% of the Hawks power play goals this season (the team has scored 40 with the man advantage).  Last year, the Hawks finished with 40 power play goals scored (in 72 games), with Travis Bobbee leading the way with six power play goals.

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Hawks 1st Round (#2 overall) Bantam Draft selection Ty Rattie’s midget season is over after last night’s playoff loss to the Red Deer Optimist Rebels.  Rattie is now free to join the Hawks for the remainder of the season and he is expected to report to Portland this week.

Chances are that Rattie would most likely make his debut on Friday night in Spokane.

Rattie finished the regular season with the UFA Bisons as the 4th leading scorer of the AMHL, posting 29-25-54 in 34 games with just 12 PIM’s.  Rattie had 11 power play goals, 3 short-handed, and 5 game winners.  In his last year of Bantam hockey in 2007-08, he had spectacular numbers – 75-56-131 in just 33 games.

Rattie appeared in three preseason games for Portland this year, scoring 3-1-4 in those three appearances.

He will wear #8 for the Hawks.

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Tomorrow night, the Hawks host the Chilliwack Bruins.  In a year that has been full of scheduling quirks, this is another one as this will be the first visit to Portland for the Bruins this season.  In fact, the Hawks will face Chilliwack three times in the final 12 games.

The two teams have virtually identical records, with Chilliwack holding a two-point advantage over the Hawks, although they have played three more games than Portland.

The Bruins are the lowest scoring team in the league (133 goals in 63 games – 2.11/game), but they won the only match-up between the two teams, shutting out Portland 2-0.

It has been a trying year in the ‘Wack – losing Oscar Moller and Mark Santorelli, the whole Evan Pighin ordeal, the injury to Jadon Potter and the firing of GM Darrell May.

Should be an interesting match-up tomorrow night…

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And lastly…to Brian…yes, until the Hawks are officially eliminated from playoff contention, I will hold out hope that they will make the run necessary to make the playoffs.

There is nothing that you, or anyone else, could write or say that will change that…

TC @ POR…Game Notes…

Hawks Notes: Tri City @ Portland – February 22, 2009

Previous Game – Seattle 4 @ Portland 3: Jonathan Parker scored his second goal of the game on the power play with just over one minute remaining to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-3 win over Portland on Saturday night. Parker gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the first period before Portland tied it on a goal by Chris Francis, set up by Luke Walker. Greg Scott scored two goals in the second period, both assisted by Parker and Prab Rai. Portland got a second period goal by Riley Boychuk to make it 3-2 Seattle after two periods. Radim Valchar, set up by Boychuk, tied the score for the third time on a wrap-around goal early in the third period. Kurtis Mucha made 25 saves on 29 shots while Calvin Pickard stopped 29 of 32 shots for Seattle. On special teams, Portland went 0 for 2 on the power play while Seattle went 1 for 5.

Team Notes: Portland is (15-40-2-2); (9-18-2-1) at home (2-4-0-0 in Rose Garden); (6-22-0-1) on the road. The Hawks last home win was on February 16, a 4-3 win over Kelowna. The last road win was on February 10, a 5-1 win over Prince George.

Portland vs. Tri City: This is the eighth of nine meetings between the two teams, with the Americans leading the series at 4-3-0-0, outscoring Portland 22-19. Portland is 6 for 36 (16.7%) on the power play in the series while Tri City is 10 for 48 (20.8%). Tri City has out-shot Portland 244-191 in the series.

Game Schedule:

10/31/08 – Portland 4 @ Tri City 1 11/15/08 – Tri City 3 @ Portland 4

12/28/08 – Tri City 4 @ Portland 3 1/10/09 – Portland 3 @ Tri City 6

1/28/09 – Portland 2 @ Tri City 5 1/30/09 – Tri City 2 @ Portland 0

2/6/09 – Tri City 1 @ Portland 3 2/22/09 – Tri City @ Portland

3/1/09 – Portland @ Tri City

All-Time vs. Tri City: Total: 201 GP – 91 (W) – 92 (L) – 9 (T) – 7 (OTL) – 2 (SOL)

At Home: 100 GP – 57-35-4-3-1 – On Road: 101 GP – 34-57-5-4-1

Portland All-Time: Total: 2363 GP – 1142 (W) – 1054 (L) – 127 (T) – 30 (OTL) – 10 (SOL)

At Home: 1182 GP – 719-389-61-9-4 – On Road: 1181 GP – 423-665-66-21-6

Regular Season Leaders:

Goals: Luke Walker (21)

Assists: Chris Francis (33)

Points: Chris Francis (49)

Penalty Minutes: Tayler Jordan (132)

Plus/Minus: Sawyer Mick (+4)

GAA: Ian Curtis/Kurtis Mucha (3.80)

Save Percentage: Ian Curtis (90.0%)

Power Play: 39 for 284 (13.7%) overall

Penalty Kill: 221 of 301 (73.4%) overall

Current Streaks: Chris Francis (7-8-15 in last 10); Joel Ridgeway (0-3-3 in last 3); Riley Boychuk (1-2-3 in last 2); Radim Valchar (1-1-2 in last 2).

Injuries & Roster Updates: Jason Grecica, F, Knee (Indefinite); Brock Cornish, D, Shoulder (Indefinite); Killian Hutt, F, Shoulder (2 weeks). The Hawks have lost 156 man games to injury in 2008-09.

Milestones: Chris Francis needs six games played to reach 200 in his WHL career. Travis Ehrhardt needs 7 assists to reach 100 in his WHL career. Chris Francis needs 11 points to reach 100 in his WHL career.

Winter Hawks Season Highs and Lows:

Most Goals Scored: 7 (11/9/08 vs. Kamloops, 7-5 win)

Fewest Goals Scored: 0 (Nine Times)

Most Goals Allowed: 8 (1/7/09 @ Kamloops, 8-6 loss)

Fewest Goals Allowed: 0 (1/2/09 vs. Everett, 4-0 win)

Most Power Play Chances: 10 (Twice)

Most Power Play Chances Against: 11 (12/28/08 vs. Tri City, 4-3 loss)

Most Power Play Goals Scored: 3 (1/11/09 vs. Everett, 5-4 SO loss)

Most Power Play Goals Allowed: 4 (Twice)

Most Shots Taken: 40 (9/20/08 vs. Spokane, 3-0 loss)

Fewest Shots Taken: 17 (9/21/08 vs. Kelowna, 2-1 win)

Most Shots Allowed: 53 (Twice)

Fewest Shots Allowed: 19 (Twice)

Last Shutout: 1/2/09 vs. Everett (Mucha, 38 Saves – 4-0 win)

Last Time Shutout: 1/31/09 vs. Everett (Heemskerk, 31 saves – 5-0 win)

Overtime Game Winning Goals: Rutkowski 10/22 vs. Saskatoon

‘Birds vs. Hawks…Game Notes…

Pink ice…Dash for Cash…7,000,000th fan…should be a fun night…

Hawks Notes: Seattle @ Portland – February 21, 2009

Previous Game – Portland 3 @ Everett 7: The Everett Silvertips scored three first period power-play goals and they hold on for a 7-3 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks on Wednesday night. Referee Andy Thiessen put the Hawks short-handed five times in the opening period, and the Silvertips capitalized, getting goals from Byron Froese, Zack Dailey and Chris de la Lande. After Shane Harper made it 4-0 late in the second period, Portland got a goal back from rookie Sawyer Mick, who chipped in a shot from the side of the goal for his second goal in as many games. Tyler Parker scored on a breakaway to round out the scoring in the second period, giving the Silvertips a 5-1 lead after two periods. Daniel Bartek and Campbell Elynuik scored early in the third period for Everett before Portland got some power-play time of their own, scoring twice in the final ten minutes. Chris Francis extended his point streak to 9 games, chipping in a power play goal set up by Riley Boychuk and Radim Valchar.  Troy Rutkowski scored the final goal with a wrist shot, set up by Max Brandl. Kurtis Mucha started in net for Portland, stopping 20 of 25 shots in nearly 37 minutes of action before giving way to Ian Curtis who handled 13 of 15 shots the rest of the way.  Thomas Heemskerk went the distance for Everett, making 15 saves on 18 shots for the win. On special teams, the Silvertips finished 3 for 9 on the power play, while Portland went 2 for 5.

Team Notes: Portland is (15-39-2-2); (9-17-2-1) at home (2-4-0-0 in Rose Garden); (6-22-0-1) on the road. The Hawks last home win was on February 16, a 4-3 win over Kelowna. The last road win was on February 10, a 5-1 win over Prince George.

Portland vs. Seattle: This is the ninth of 12 meetings between the two teams. Seattle leads the season series 6-2-0-0. Portland is 3 for 33 (9.1%) on the power play while Seattle is 8 for 31 (25.8%). Seattle has outshot Portland 276-227 in the series.

Game Schedule:

10/11/08 – Seattle 4 @ Portland 0 11/22/08 – Portland 2 @ Seattle 6

11/29/09 – Seattle 5 @ Portland 3 12/6/08 – Seattle 3 @ Portland 1

12/27/08 – Portland 5 @ Seattle 1 12/31/08 – Seattle 2 @ Portland 4

1/24/09 – Portland 1 @ Seattle 3 2/14/09 – Portland 1 @ Seattle 7

2/21/09 @ Portland 2/28/09 @ Seattle

3/13/09 @ Seattle 3/14/09 @ Portland

All-Time vs. Seattle:

Total: 409 GP – 214 (W) – 165 (L) – 23 (T) – 6 (OTL) – 1 (SOL)

At Home: 204 GP – 127-66-8-3-0 – On Road: 205 GP – 87-99-15-3-1

Portland All-Time:

Total: 2362 GP – 1142 (W) – 1053 (L) – 127 (T) – 30 (OTL) – 10 (SOL)

At Home: 1181 GP – 719-388-61-9-4 – On Road: 1181 GP – 423-665-66-21-6

Regular Season Leaders:

Goals: Luke Walker (21)

Assists: Chris Francis (33)

Points: Chris Francis (48)

Penalty Minutes: Tayler Jordan (130)

Plus/Minus: Sawyer Mick (+4)

GAA: Ian Curtis/Kurtis Mucha (3.80)

Save Percentage: Ian Curtis (90.0%)

Power Play: 39 for 282 (13.8%) overall

Penalty Kill: 217 of 296 (73.3%) overall

Current Streaks: Chris Francis (6-8-15 in last 9); Sawyer Mick (2-0-2 in last 2); Joel Ridgeway (0-2-2 in last 2).

Injuries & Roster Updates: Jason Grecica, F, Knee (Indefinite); Brock Cornish, D, Shoulder (Indefinite); Killian Hutt, F, Shoulder (2 weeks). The Hawks have lost 153 man games to injury in 2008-09.

Milestones: Chris Francis needs seven games played to reach 200 in his WHL career. Travis Ehrhardt needs 8 assists to reach 100 in his WHL career. Chris Francis needs 12 points to reach 100 in his WHL career.

Winter Hawks Season Highs and Lows:

Most Goals Scored: 7 (11/9/08 vs. Kamloops, 7-5 win)

Fewest Goals Scored: 0 (Nine Times)
Most Goals Allowed: 8 (1/7/09 @ Kamloops, 8-6 loss)

Fewest Goals Allowed: 0 (1/2/09 vs. Everett, 4-0 win)
Most Power Play Chances: 10 (Twice)

Most Power Play Chances Against: 11 (12/28/08 vs. Tri City, 4-3 loss)
Most Power Play Goals Scored: 3 (1/11/09 vs. Everett, 5-4 SO loss)
Most Power Play Goals Allowed: 4 (Twice)
Most Shots Taken: 40 (9/20/08 vs. Spokane, 3-0 loss)
Fewest Shots Taken: 17 (9/21/08 vs. Kelowna, 2-1 win)
Most Shots Allowed: 53 (Twice)
Fewest Shots Allowed: 19 (Twice)
Last Shutout: 1/2/09 vs. Everett (Mucha, 38 Saves – 4-0 win)
Last Time Shutout: 1/31/09 vs. Everett (Heemskerk, 31 saves – 5-0 win)

Overtime Game Winning Goals: Rutkowski 10/22 vs. Saskatoon

A Rare Friday Night Off…

During the 2008-09 Winter Hawk season, the team has three Friday nights off (not including the Christmas break), so it seems strange to not have a game to prepare for tonight.

So, instead, I’m heading to a poker night with my buddies…it will be a nice diversion and who knows, maybe I’ll bring home some extra cash…

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Its back to action tomorrow night with the “Dash for Cash” event and the 7 millionth fan announcement against the Seattle Thunderbirds.  Both teams are coming off 7-3 losses on Wednesday, so it should be a doozy.

Seattle can extract some revenge tonight, as they host the Spokane Chiefs, the team they lost to on Wednesday.

Portland should have a bit of revenge on their minds heading into the game after losing 7-1 at the ShoWare Center in their last meeting with the ‘Birds.

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Nice to see some great write-ups on former Hawks lately on http://www.nhl.com – Brandon Dubinsky, Glen Wesley and Brenden Morrow all have had articles in the past week or so.

Wesley had his #2 retired in Carolina and it was great to see Wes get that honor.  Who can forget the “Wesley Whistler” from the blue line or his up-ice rushes?  The little red head (big brother Blake was the big red head) was, and still is, a fan favorite here in Portland.

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That’s it for now…time to work on my poker face…

Frustration…

I think everyone surrounding the team is feeling it…including me…after another loss on the road where the Portland Winter Hawks suffered a lopsided score.  This didn’t look like the same team that knocked off the Kelowna Rockets on Monday afternoon.

I’m sitting in my hotel room in Sumner, WA, not having to ride the bus back to Portland tonight.  I was very frustrated in the first period and I’m thankful that the table in the press box at the Comcast Arena is sturdy as I pounded my hand off it a few times tonight.  The hand’s a bit sore…the table survived.

Would the game have been different if the Hawks hadn’t been short-handed five times, including three five-on-three’s, in the opening period?  Maybe…but we won’t know that.

This was the first game that Portland has had veteran official Andy Thiessen and it didn’t turn out well for Portland.   Nine power-plays against and often times Thiessen got caught in the middle of the play breaking up passes and slowing players who had to move around him.  Yes, I was frustrated with the officiating, but that isn’t what cost Portland the game.

In the end, for Portland to succeed, they need to have 20 guys going 100% every shift, every game.  That didn’t happen tonight…hopefully we’ll see a better effort on Saturday against Seattle.

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Some statistical stuff after this one…

– The 10 goals scored between the two teams are the most ever scored by the two teams combined in the history of Portland/Everett games.

– With the loss, the Hawks finish the season series in Everett 0-5-0-0, marking the first time in the history of match-up that Portland hadn’t won at least one game in Everett.  (Portland has gone two seasons without a win at home against, Everett, however…this year isn’t one of them.)

– With the three goals scored, the Hawks have now surpassed their goal output from last season – 135 vs. 132.

– The Hawks are now 4 for 10 on the power play the last two games…I’m no math wizard, but that looks like 40% to me.

– Chris Francis’ nine game point streak matches the longest since both Paul Gaustad and Josh Olson had 10 game point streaks in 2001-02.  In Hawks history, there have been at least seven point streaks that have reached at least 20 games (Jim Benning – 45 games in 80/81; Layne Roland – 31 games in 93/94; Dave Waldie – 27 games in 85/86; Colin Foley – 22 games in 92/93; Jim Dobson – 21 games in 79/80; Dave McLay – 20 games in 86/87; Ken Yaremchuk – 20 games in 82/83).  There may have been more, but these were the longest in their respective years.

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Time for bed…

Hawks @ ‘Tips…Game Notes…

Hawks Notes: Portland @ Everett – February 18, 2009

Previous Game – Kelowna 3 @ Portland 4: The Portland Winter Hawks got two goals from Luke Walker on the power-play and a 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets on Monday afternoon. Portland went 2 for 5 on the power-play and killed 8 of 9 chances against in the win. Colin Reddin got the Hawks on the scoreboard early in the first period, driving to the net and putting home a rebound of a Brett Ponich entry shot past Rocket goaltender Mark Guggenberger. The game would remain 1-0 until the final minute of the second period when Walker deflected home a Travis Ehrhardt entry shot on a 4-on-3 power play.  Chris Francis assisted on the play to extend his point-streak to eight games for Portland. Walker would add another goal in the opening minute of the third period, again deflecting home an Ehrhardt entry shot, to extend the Hawks lead to 3-0.  Kelowna would get a goal back from Jamie Benn to make it 3-1, but Portland’s Sawyer Mick would get the eventual game winner, filing home a wrist shot from the slot, off a feed from Joel Ridgeway to chase Guggenberger from the Rocket net. Benn would make it interesting, scoring twice more to finish his hat trick. Kurtis Mucha was solid in net for Portland, stopping 39 of 42 shots for the victory.  In the third period, Mucha faced the 6,000^th shot of his WHL career.  Guggenberger took the loss for Kelowna, stopping 15 of 19 shots while Adam Brown finished up, stopping all three shots he faced.

Team Notes: Portland is (15-38-2-2); (9-17-2-1) at home (2-4-0-0 in Rose Garden); (6-21-0-1) on the road. The Hawks last home win was on February 16, a 4-3 win over Kelowna. The last road win was on February 10, a 5-1 win over Prince George.

Portland vs. Everett: This is the eighth of ten meetings between the two teams. Portland is 1-5-0-1 in the series. Everett has outscored Portland 27-11 in the five games. Everett is 9 for 36 (25.0%) on the power play while Portland is 5 for 33 (15.2%). Everett has outshot Portland 241-207 in the series.

Game Schedule:

9/26/08 – Portland 0 @ Everett 2 1/11/09 – Everett 5 @ Portland 4 (SO)

11/19/08 – Portland 1 @ Everett 7 1/31/09 – Everett 5 @ Portland 0

11/21/08 – Portland 2 @ Everett 5 2/18/09 in Everett

11/28/08 – Portland 0 @ Everett 3 3/3/09 in Portland

1/2/09 – Everett 0 @ Portland 4 3/8/09 in Portland

All-Time vs. Everett:

Total: 61 GP – 15 (W) – 38 (L) – 4 (T) – 2 (OTL) – 2 (SOL)

At Home: 30 GP – 6-20-3-0-1 – On Road: 31 GP – 9-18-1-2-1

Portland All-Time:

Total: 2361 GP – 1142 (W) – 1052 (L) – 127 (T) – 30 (OTL) – 10 (SOL)

At Home: 1181 GP – 719-388-61-9-4 – On Road: 1180 GP – 423-664-66-21-6

Regular Season Leaders:

Goals: Luke Walker (21)

Assists: Chris Francis (33)

Points: Chris Francis (47)

Penalty Minutes: Tayler Jordan (121)

Plus/Minus: Sawyer Mick (+3)

GAA: Kurtis Mucha (3.73)

Save Percentage: Ian Curtis (90.1%)

Power Play: 37 for 277 (13.4%) overall

Penalty Kill: 211 of 287 (73.5%) overall

Current Streaks: Chris Francis (5-8-13 in last 8); Travis Ehrhardt (1-4-5 in last 4); Colin Reddin (2-0-2 in last 2).

Injuries & Roster Updates: Jason Grecica, F, Knee (Indefinite); Brock Cornish, D, Shoulder (Indefinite); Killian Hutt, F, Shoulder (2 weeks). The Hawks have lost 150 man games to injury in 2008-09.

Milestones: Tayler Jordan needs one game played to reach 100 in his WHL career. Travis Ehrhardt needs 8 assists to reach 100 in his WHL career. Chris Francis needs 13 points to reach 100 in his WHL career.

Winter Hawks Season Highs and Lows:

Most Goals Scored: 7 (11/9/08 vs. Kamloops, 7-5 win)

Fewest Goals Scored: 0 (Nine Times)
Most Goals Allowed: 8 (1/7/09 @ Kamloops, 8-6 loss)

Fewest Goals Allowed: 0 (1/2/09 vs. Everett, 4-0 win)
Most Power Play Chances: 10 (Twice)

Most Power Play Chances Against: 11 (12/28/08 vs. Tri City, 4-3 loss)
Most Power Play Goals Scored: 3 (1/11/09 vs. Everett, 5-4 SO loss)
Most Power Play Goals Allowed: 4 (Twice)
Most Shots Taken: 40 (9/20/08 vs. Spokane, 3-0 loss)
Fewest Shots Taken: 17 (9/21/08 vs. Kelowna, 2-1 win)
Most Shots Allowed: 53 (Twice)
Fewest Shots Allowed: 19 (Twice)
Last Shutout: 1/2/09 vs. Everett (Mucha, 38 Saves – 4-0 win)
Last Time Shutout: 1/31/09 vs. Everett (Heemskerk, 31 saves – 5-0 win)

Overtime Game Winning Goals: Rutkowski 10/22 vs. Saskatoon