Winterhawks Week in Review – 10/23 – 10/30/11…

Not a lot of time today to do game recaps of the four games, for those you can go here.  Here are the scores for the past week:

10/25/11 – Portland 7 – Calgary 1 – ScotiaBank Saddledome

10/26/11 – Medicine Hat 4 – Portland 2 – The Arena

10/28/11 – Portland 4 – Lethbridge 1 – Enmax Centre

10/29/11 – Kootenay 4 – Portland 1 – Cranbrook Rec Plex

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Week Statistics:

Goals:  Portland 14 – Opponents 10 (Season – Portland 62 – Opponents 61)

Shots:  Portland 134 – Opponents 122 (Season – Portland 635 – Opponents 487)

Power Play:  3 for 21 – 14.3% (Season – 23 for 89 25.8% – 3^rd in WHL)

Penalty Kill:  17 for 19 – 89.5% (Season – 55 for 66 83.3% – 3^rd in WHL)

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Kemper’s Three Stars of the Week:

1. William Wrenn – Posted 1-3-4 in the four games and a +6 for the week.

2. Taylor Peters – Posted 1-2-3 in the four games and a +3 for the week.

3. Chase De Leo – Posted 1-2-3 in the four games and a +2 for the week.

Honorable Mentions:

Ty Rattie – 1-2-3 in 4 games

Brad Ross – 2-1-3 in 4 games

Brendan Leipsic – 2-1-3 in 4 games

Jason Trott – 2-1-3 in 4 games

Mac Carruth – 2-2-0-0, 2.01 GAA, .938 save %

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Milestones Reached:

Brad Ross – 75^th career WHL Goal (10/25/11)

Charles Wells – 250^th Career WHL Game Played (10/28/11)

Mac Carruth – 5,000^th Minute Played and 2,500^th Career WHL Save (10/29/11)

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Roster Moves:

Dillon Wagner acquired from Swift Current for Adam Smith (10/27/11)

Ryley Bennefield reassigned to Grande Prairie of AJHL (10/28/11)

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What to watch for in the upcoming week:

The long and winding road trip concludes this week with three games in BC, starting on Wednesday night in Kamloops.  The Blazers currently have the highest winning percentage in the WHL at .786 (11-3-0-0).  Included in the 11 wins is the 5-4 OT win over Portland at the Memorial Coliseum earlier this month when Brendan Ranford scored 4-1-5.  Colin Smith leads the Blazers in scoring with 18 points in 14 games while Ranford has 16 points in just 11 games.  The Blazers have a balanced attack with seven players having more than 10 points on the season.  Cole Cheveldave and Cam Lanigan have split time in net for Kamloops, with Cheveldave posting better numbers at 2.18 GAA and a .921 save % in 6 appearances while going 5-0-0-0.

The Hawks will then travel to Kelowna for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.  The Rockets have been inconsistent to start the season, sitting at an uncharacteristic 5-9-1-0 through 15 games.  They are led by Shane McColgan with 17 points in 14 games while d-men Myles Bell and Damon Severson each have 14 points from the blue line.  The Rockets will have Brett Bulmer back in the line-up after nine games in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, where he picked up three assists.  Adam Brown is the number one starter in Kelowna, but he has had a bit of a tough start with a 3.77 GAA and a .885 save % through 13 appearances.

Winterhawks Week in Review – October 17 – 23, 2011…

10/18/11 – Portland 7 – Saskatoon 6 (SO) – Memorial Coliseum:  It was a throwback game on Tuesday night at the MC as offense ruled on this night as the teams combined for 12 goals through 65 minutes before Portland put the hammer down by going three-for-three in the shootout to gain the extra point.

Portland would jump out to a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Brad Ross (short-handed) and Brendan Leipsic in the first 15:29 of the contest.  From there, Saskatoon would score five of the next six goals, led by Josh Nicholls who finished the night with 4 goals and 2 assists to play a factor in all of the Blades markers on the night.

The Hawks had gone 0 for 3 on the power play through 40 minutes but got the man advantage going, scoring two third period power play goals by Brad Ross and Troy Rutkowski before Joe Morrow scored the goal of the early season, going end-to-end and finish before crashing into the net himself to tie it at 6-6.

Both teams had great chances in OT, but it would go to the shootout where Derrick Pouliot, Ty Rattie and Sven Bartschi would offset a single marker by Nicholls for the win.

Mac Carruth got the victory, stopping 33 of 39 shots while rookie Adam Todd handled 47 of 43 in his first career WHL start.

Power Plays – Portland 2 for 5/Saskatoon 1 for 3

10/21/11 – Edmonton 8 – Portland 4 – Rexall Place:  The Edmonton Oil Kings broke open the game with a three goal outburst in a 1:25 stretch just over halfway through the first period and they didn’t look back, preventing the Hawks from getting off to their nine game road trip on a good note.

Dylan Wruck got the scoring started and he led the Oil Kings on the night with 1 goal and 3 assists in the win.  Michael St. Croix, Ashton Sautner, Kristians Pelss, Martin Gernat, T.J. Foster, Stephane Legault and Ryan Dech all contributed goals as the Oil Kings spread the scoring out over eight different players.

Portland got power play goals from Troy Rutkowski and Ty Rattie and even strength goals from Brendan Leipsic and Jason Trott in defeat.

Laurent Brossoit stopped 20 of 24 shots to get the win, while Portland split the goaltending duties with Mac Carruth stopping 15 of 20 in 40 minutes and Brendan Burke stopping 5 of 8 shots in 20 minutes.

Power Plays – Portland 2 for 5/Edmonton 1 for 4

10/22/11 – Red Deer 2 – Portland 1 (SO) – Enmax Centrium:  In stark contrast to the game just one day earlier, the Hawks and Rebels played a defensive style contest in this one as the two teams could just muster two goals combined in 65 minutes.

Portland scored first with Brendan Leipsic fired home a power play goal from the slot early in the second period and that lead would hold up until rookie d-man Stephen Hak would jump into an open lane and file a wrister in the opening minute of the third period.

Both goaltenders played well with rookie import Patrik Bartosak stopping 32 of 33 in regulation and five of six in the shootout for the win while fellow rookie Brendan Burke stopped 19 of 20 in regulation and four of six in the shootout.

Power Plays – Portland 1 for 3/Red Deer 0 for 3

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Week Statistics:

Goals – Portland 11 – Opponents 16 (Season – Portland 48 – Opponents 51)

Shots – Portland 101 – Opponents 88 (Season – Portland 501 – Opponents 365)

Power Play – 5 for 13 – 38.5% (Season – 20 for 68 – 29.4%)

Penalty Kill – 8 for 10 – 80.0% (Season – 38 for 47 – 80.9%)

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Kemper’s Three Stars of the Week:

1. Brendan Leipsic – Leipsic provided a huge spark after returning from his five game suspension, and has goals in three straight games (a career best).  Posted 3-1-4 in the three games.

2. Joe Morrow – Posted 1-4-5 in the three games and scored the highlight reel goal of the early season to tie the game against the Blades.

3.  Brad Ross – The Hawks most consistent performer all season, posted 2-3-5 in the three games.

Honorable Mentions:

Ty Rattie – 2-1-3 in 3 games

Troy Rutkowksi  – 2-1-3 in 3 games

Sven Bartschi – 0-3-3 in 1 game

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Milestones Reached:

Mac Carruth – 50^th career WHL victory (10/18/11)

Sven Bartschi – 100^th career WHL point (10/21/11)

Ty Rattie – 150^th career WHL game played (10/22/11)

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Roster Moves:

None

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What to watch for in the upcoming week:

The long road trip continues with four games this week, starting on Tuesday night in Calgary against former Head Coach Mike Williamson.   The Hitmen had won three straight before losing yesterday to the Kootenay Ice.  They sit at 4-5-0-1 after 10 games and feature a ton of players that used to play in the Western Conference  including Brooks Macek, Jimmy Bubnick, Brady Brassart, Kenton Miller, Spencer Humphries, Brock Sutherland and Chris Driedger.

On Wednesday, the Hawks travel to Medicine Hat to take on the high-flying Tigers and another former Winterhawk behind the bench in Shaun Clouston.  The Tigers are 9-4-0-0 after 13 games and feature sniper Emerson Etem who has returned from the Anaheim Ducks with a vengeance, scoring 16 goals in just 12 games.  He an Hunter Shinkaruk have combined for 26 of the Tigers 49 goals (53.1%)

On Friday, the Hawks will take on the struggling Lethbridge Hurricanes who have, at this writing, dropped 11 straight games to fall to 2-11-0-1 on the season after winning two of their first three games.  They have made a ton of deals in the past few weeks, but so far it hasn’t produced any victories.  They are led by overage forward Cam Braes, who has 14 points in 14 games.  Former Hawk d-man Daniel Johnston has missed the last few games with an upper body injury.

On Saturday, it is the WHL Final rematch with the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook.  The Ice have put up a 9-3-0-2 record through 14 games and they are being led by 20 year old netminder Nathan Lieuwen, who has put up 1.44 GAA and .948 save % through 11 games.  Max Reinhart returned from the Calgary Flames and has 16 points in 12 games to lead the Ice offensively.

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Stat of the week:

Josh Nicholls scored four goals in the Blades 7-6 shootout loss to Portland on 10/18/11.  The last player to score four goals against Portland and lose was Brian Sakic of the Tri-City Americans.  Sakic scored four times and added one assist in a 9-6 Hawks win in Tri-City on January 19, 1992.

Winterhawks Week in Review – October 9 – 16, 2011

10/14/11 – Kamloops 5 – Portland 4 (OT) – Memorial Coliseum:  A wide-open, back and forth game between these two teams as they combined for nine goals and 78 shots and in the end, Brendan Ranford would score his fourth goal of the game just 21 seconds into overtime to provide the winning margin.

Portland would lead 3-2 after the first period as Sven Bartschi, Nic Petan and Ty Rattie would convert for Portland sandwiched around goals by Ranford and Chase Schaber for Kamloops.  Bartschi’s and Schaber’s markers would come via the power play.

In the second period, the lone goal would from Ranford late in the period on a four-on-four situation with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle.  Brad Ross would have a penalty shot stopped by Cam Lanigan with five minutes remaining that would have Portland up by two goals at the time.

Ranford would give the Blazers their first lead of the game just 14 seconds into the third period on the power play and that lead would hold until Ross scored a power play goal of his own with just 2:33 remaining.  Taylor Peters would earn another penalty shot while short-handed with 1:32 remaining but Lanigan was again up for the task, setting up Ranford’s goal in OT.

Portland out-shot the Blazers 41-37 with Lanigan stopping 37 of 41 for the win and Mac Carruth handling 32 of 37 in the overtime loss.

Power Plays – Portland 2 for 6/Kamloops 2 for 5

10/15/11 – Portland 6 – Brandon 1 – Memorial Coliseum:  The return of Brendan Leipsic from his five game suspension paid immediate dividends as he threw a big hit on his first shift and then was a key part in the Hawks first goal just 2:02 into the game when Brad Ross converted a rebound of a Leipsic shot.  Ty Rattie would add a late first period goal to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead after one.

Early in the second period, Josh Hanson made a nice pass to spring Sven Bartschi into the offensive zone where he split the defense and scored on a nice shot to make it 3-0 Hawks.  Brandon would get a power play goal from Michael Ferland just under two minutes later, but that would be it for the offense for Brandon on the night.  Four minutes later, Mac Carruth would make a huge save on Alessio Bertaggia on a 3-on-0 rush and the Hawks would go the other way and Chase De Leo would fire a wrister home for his first career WHL goal.  Joe Morrow would add a power play goal just 45 seconds after that and it was lights out for Brandon.

Bartschi would add his second of the night and fourth point on a power play goal in the third period and the Hawks would skate away with their largest margin of victory in the young 2011-12 season.

Portland would out-shoot Brandon 38-24 with Mac Carruth stopping 23 of 24 for his 49^th career WHL victory and Brandon would split goaltending duties with Liam Liston (23 of 28) and Corbin Boes (9 of 10) each seeing action.

Power Plays – Portland 2 for 5/Brandon 1 for 1

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Week Statistics:

Goals – Portland 10 – Opponents 6 (Season – Portland 36 – Opponents 35)

Shots – Portland 79 – Opponents 61 (Season – Portland 400 – Opponents 277)

Power Play – 4 for 11 36.4% (Season 15 for 55 – 27.3%)

Penalty Kill – 3 for 6 50.0% (Season 30 for 37 – 81.1%)

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Kemper’s Three Stars of the Week:

1. Sven Bartschi – Not just my player of the week, but the WHL’s as well…posted 3-4-7 in the two games and now has 14 points in just seven games played.

2. Ty Rattie – Rattie is just continuing to produce, posting 2-3-5 in the two games and is leading the team in scoring with 16 points in 9 games played.

3. Brad Ross – Ross scored two key goals this weekend, posting 2-2-4 in the two games and he continues to produce points and is a key contributor on the power play.  Has 14 points in 10 games this season.

Honorable Mentions:

Nic Petan – 1-2-3 in 2 games

Chase De Leo – 1-1-2 in 2 games

Joe Morrow – 1-2-3 in 2 games

Tyler Wotherspoon – 0-2-2 in 2 games

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Milestones Reached:

Chase De Leo – 1^st Career WHL Goal (10/15/11)

Sven Bartschi – 5^th Career 4 Point Game (10/15/11)

Brad Ross – 40^th Career Multi-Point Game (10/15/11)

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Roster Moves:

None

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What to watch for in the upcoming week:

The Hawks have one more home game, Tuesday night against the Saskatoon Blades, before embarking on the long 17 day, 9 game Alberta and BC odyssey.

The Blades are off to a good start in the Eastern division with a record of 7-2-0-0 after nine games.  They are led offensively by import Matej Stransky and overage Jesse Paradis, each with nine points on the season.  But, they are a balanced squad with 10 players with at least five points on the season.  They lost key d-man Stefan Elliott as well as forward Brayden Schenn to the pro ranks but they still have a nice compliment of players including physical d-man Duncan Siemens.  In net, they have import Andrey Makarov who played last year in the QMJHL.

After that, the Hawks load the bus and head to Alberta where they will meet the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday night at Rexall Place and then the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday night at the Centrium.  Remember, with the time changes, both games start an hour earlier on the West Coast, 6:00 on Friday and 6:30 on Saturday.

Edmonton is tied atop the Central Division with 14 points after 11 games (6-3-1-1) and they are led by import d-man Martin Gernat who has 5 goals and 15 points in 11 games.  They too offer balance as they have 10 players with at least five points after 11 games.  Laurent Brossoit is the number one goalie for the Oil Kings, posting 2.47 and .916 through 10 starts.

Red Deer has played only eight games through this past weekend, going 5-3-0-0 for 10 points.  John Persson leads the Rebels with eight points while overage forward leads the Rebels with five goals.  They feature top NHL draft prospect Mathew Dumba who combines offense and physical play into a complete package.  In net, reigning WHL Goaltender of the Week import Patrik Bartosak is carrying the load, posting impressive 1.98 GAA and .933 save % through 7 games.

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Stat of the Week:

The two penalty shots awarded to Portland in the game against Kamloops marked the first time in 2,530 games that there have been two penalty shots in one game awarded.

In fact, at one point (from 11/3/79 to 11/13/84) there were nearly five full seasons played where there no penalty shots awarded at all in a game involving Portland.

 

Winterhawks Week In Review – 10/3 – 10/9/11

A day late, but here is week 3 in review:

Game Summaries:

10/7/11 – Everett 4 – Portland 2 – Comcast Arena:  The Hawks started out their three-in-three weekend in Everett, falling to the Silvertips 4-2.  Everett took command in the first, taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Jesse Mychan five minutes in and a back-breaking power play goal by Ryan Harrison with just under four seconds remaining in the opening period.  Portland sandwiched goals by Derrick Pouliot and Taylor Leier around a marker by Cody Fowlie in the second period to trail 3-2 entering the third, but, the Brennan Yadlowski’s point shot found its way home through traffic to provide the final margin.

Portland outshot the ‘Tips 42-31 with Kent Simpson making 40 saves for the win while Mac Carruth stopped 27 in the loss.

Power Plays:  Portland 1 for 8/Everett 1 for 5

10/8/11 – Portland 5 – Prince Albert 4 – Memorial Coliseum:  For only the second time this season, the Hawks struck first when Derrick Pouliot pounded home a loose puck in the slot on the power play but the the Raiders would respond with goals 12 seconds apart from James Bettauer and Antoine Corbin to take a 2-1 lead.  Nic Petan and Jason Trott would score before the end of the first to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead after one.  Sven Bartschi would get his first of the year early in the second to make it a two-goal advantage but Corbin would respond on a four-on-four to make it 4-3 Hawks after two.  Tyler Vanscourt would tie the game on a power play early in the third but Bartschi would convert a power play of his own for the game winner with just over eight minutes remaining.

Bartschi would finish the night with 2-2-4 while Ty Rattie chipped in three assists.

Portland hit the 40 shot plateau again, out-shooting Prince Albert 44-30 in the game and it was Brendan Burke picking up his first WHL victory, stopping 26 shots.  Eric Williams took the loss with 39 saves.

Power Plays:  Portland 3 for 6/Prince Albert 1 for 3

10/9/11 – Tri-City 4 – Portland 0 – Memorial Coliseum:  In the third meeting of the season between the two teams, Portland was looking for their first win against the Americans, but it wasn’t to be as Ty Rimmer stopped all 43 shots he faced to shut-out the Hawks.   Justin Feser would get the game-winner on a nice passing play late in the first period and then Adam Hughesman would score three straight (one power play, one even strength and the other into the empty net) for the hat-trick.  Brendan Shinnimin would add two assists for the Ams.

Portland out-shot Tri-City 43-22 in the contest with Mac Carruth making 18 saves in net for Portland.

Power Plays:  Portland 0 for 6/Tri-City 1 for 7

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Week Statistics:

Goals – Portland 7 – Opponents 12 (Season – Portland 26 – Opponents 29)

Shots – Portland 129 – Opponents 83 (Season – Portland 321 – Opponents 216)

Power Play – 4 for 20 – 20.0 % (Season – 11 for 44 – 25.0%)

Penalty Kill – 12 for 15 – 80.0% (Season – 27 for 31 – 87.1%)

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Kemper’s Three Stars of the Week:

1. Sven Bartschi – Posted 2-3-5 in the three games and had some glorious chances on Sunday against the Ams.

2. Derrick Pouliot – Posted 2-1-3 in the three games with both goals on the power play.  Had a career high three game goal streak snapped on Sunday.

3.  Taylor Leier – Posted 1-1-2 in the three games and continues to impress with his all-around play and work ethic.

Honorable Mention:

Ty Rattie – 0-3-3 in three games

Nic Petan – 1-2-3 in three games

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Milestones Reached:

Taylor Leier – 1^st Career WHL Goal (10/7/11)

Brendan Burke – 1^st Career WHL Victory (10/8/11)

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Roster Moves:

Matthew Franczyk – Reassigned to MJHL (10/4/11)

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What to watch for in the upcoming week:

The Hawks have two home games this weekend against non U.S. Division teams as they host the Kamloops Blazers on Friday night and the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday night, both games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Kamloops started off 4-1-0-0 on the season before relinquishing a 4-1 lead to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Monday afternoon to fall 5-4.  They feature good offense with Brendan Ranford, Colin Smith and Chase Schaber up front and d-man Austin Madaisky.  Rookie 16 year old Matt Needham is a high-profile young player and is nearly at a point per game to start the season.  The Blazers are carrying three goaltenders still with the lone veteran in Cam Lanigan.

Brandon enters the week with a 4-1-0-1 record and will face Spokane on Wednesday and Tri-City on Friday before visiting Portland on Saturday.  They are led by 19 year old Mark Stone with 16 points in six games.  Michael Ferland (7 goals) and import rookie Alessio  Bertaggia (6 goals).  D-men Eric Roy and Ryan Pulock are both averaging a point per game.  The Wheat Kings have two 18 year old goaltenders in Corbin Boes (former Winterhawks Bantam Draft Pick) and Liam Liston with Boes having played in five of their first six games.

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Stat of the Week:

Portland has six players playing professionally that are eligible to return this year (Taylor Aronson, Riley Boychuk, Oliver Gabriel, Ryan Johansen, Nino Niederreiter and Brett Ponich), and with their departure, the Hawks have lost 970 man games of experience and 555 career points from their line-up.

Winterhawks Week In Review — Sept 26 – Oct 2, 2011

Here we go…week 2 in the books:

Game Summaries:

9/30/11 – Tri-City 4 – Portland 1 – Rose Garden:  The Hawks entered the game looking to exact revenge for their only loss in the opening weekend against the Americans, and despite getting Sven Bartschi back in the line-up, it was not the performance the home team had hoped for.  Portland would be tied 1-1 after the first period, but couldn’t get anything else past Ty Rimmer, who earned first star status with his performance.

Ty Rattie scored Portland’s lone goal, a power play marker in the first period.  The Americans got goals from Justin Feser, Malte Stromwall, Mitch Topping and empty netter from Zachary Yuen in the win.  Patrick Holland had two assists.  Portland out-shot the Americans 33-29 in the contest.

Power Plays:  Portland 1 for 5/Tri-City 0 for 5

10/1/11 – Portland 4 – Seattle 2 – Rose Garden:  For the first time in five games, the Hawks scored first when Brad Ross (pictured above) broke loose on a breakaway in the first period, beating Calvin Pickard to extend his point streak to four games.  Ross would then set up Rattie for a power play goal (the fifth of the season for Rattie) and the Hawks would head to the room with a 2-0 first period lead.

Chance Lund would close the score to 2-1 with a hard slap shot off the rush in the second, but the Hawks regained their two goal lead when Chase De Leo made a nice play to poke the puck away from a Seattle d-man to spring Ross and Charles Wells on a two-on-one.  Ross would feed Wells who made a nice backhand to forehand move, beating Pickard for what would be the eventual game-winner.  Marcel Noebels would make it 3-2 in the third, but Mac Carruth was solid in picking up the victory.

Derrick Pouliot would add an empty-netter and the Hawks, for the fifth straight game, out-shot their opponents, this time by a margin of 37-28.

Power Plays:  Portland 1 for 3/Seattle 0 for 3

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Week Statistics:

Goals – Portland 5 – Opponents 6 (Season – Portland 19 – Opponents 17)

Shots – Portland 70 – Opponents 57 (Season – Portland 192 – Opponents 133)

Power Play – 2 for 8  – 25.0% (Season — 7 for 24 — 29.2%)

Penalty Kill — 8 for 8 – 100.0% (Season — 15 for 16 — 93.8%)

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Kemper’s Three Stars of the Week:

#1 – Brad Ross — Ross posted 1-3-4 in the two games this weekend to run his point-streak to four games and to move to third in the WHL scoring race with 3-6-9 after five games.  He has assists in four straight games, tying a career high.

#2 – Ty Rattie — Scored two goals, both on power plays, in the two games.   He has six goals, five on the man advantage, to lead the WHL in both categories.

#3 – The Penalty Kill Unit(s) — Going a perfect 8 for 8 can’t be overlooked as a reason the Hawks went 1-1-0-0 this week.  It starts at the goal with Carruth and extends out to all that took part.

Honorable Mention:

Mac Carruth — 1-1-0-0 record, 2.52 GAA, .911 save %

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Milestones Reached:

Brad Ross – 100th career WHL assist (9/30/11)

Ty Rattie – 125th career WHL point (10/1/11)

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Roster Moves:

Sven Bartschi – returned by Calgary Flames 9/26/11

Joe Morrow – returned by Pittsburgh Penguins 10/3/11

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What to watch for in the upcoming week:

Portland has their second three games in three nights weekend coming up with a road game in Everett on Friday night and then home games in the Memorial Coliseum Saturday against the Prince Albert Raiders and Sunday against the Tri-City Americans.  (Weird statistical note – Portland faces Tri-City three times in the first three weeks of the season…they had only faced the Americans three times in September or October since 2003-04 season.)

With Morrow being returned, the line-up is pretty much set as we know that Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter will start in the NHL.  The only uncertainty is Riley Boychuk’s status and that should be cleared up soon.

For Friday’s game, the Silvertips will be well rested after having a nine day break between games due to scheduling conflicts in their building.  After that, Portland has five straight home games before the long Alberta/BC road trip to close out October and open November.  This is a chance to build momentum heading into that trip…and a crucial time to put some W’s in the win column.