Two games this week netted two points on opposite ends of the BC Division.
First up were the BC Division-leading Vancouver Giants, who sported 21 points after 15 games and a strong netminder in Burke Hood, who often was the difference in Giants victories in the past. The Portland Winterhawks, though, took just 26 seconds to get one past Hood as Jordin St. Louis snatched a rebound off Hood and put it into the empty side of the net. Five minutes later, while on the power play, Jordan Duguay put the home side up by two after stripping the Giants of the disc at center ice. Following a backhand pass by Kyle McDonough, Duguay took the puck to the short side and put it in.
Just past the midway point of the first, the Giants stripped the puck from behind the net, and a quick pass to the front allowed Joe Iginla a direct shot, which he made no mistake on, to close the gap.
The remainder of the period and the entire second remained scoreless. In the third, the Hawks saw Duguay send a cross-ice pass from the corner to Steve Grumley, who one-timed a wrist shot from the faceoff dot past Hood. The Giants had a two-minute stretch and another 45 seconds toward the end of the period, but were unable to score, leaving the Hawks with a 3-1 win. The Hawks blasted 41 shots to Vancouver’s 23, including a blitzing 17 in the third. Portland went 1-for-4 on the power play and kept Vancouver off the man-advantage scoresheet at 0-for-1.
The final game of the week came against the Kelowna Rockets in a special Halloween matinee. With the season series against the Rockets coming to a close, Cruz Chase took to the pipes. Both teams were scoreless in the first, with quality shots registered at both ends of the ice. Sam Auld notched his first of the year after being on the doorstep of the net and pouncing on the loose puck.
Kelowna got that back in triplicate. Five minutes later, it was an even-strength goal. Just over five minutes after that, it was a power-play goal, and with 45 seconds left in the period, Kelowna struck with a shorthanded tally. Midway through the third period, Reed Brown got the Hawks within one, and though they pressed with Chase out of the net, it was the Rockets who scored the empty-net goal. A strong rush prevented the icing call, and a pass out in front was buried by Ryan Oothoudt for the 4-2 Rockets win. The Hawks led in shots 38-32 and went 0-for-4 on the power play versus 2-for-3 for Kelowna.
The Hawks still remain second in the US Division standings, heavily trailing Spokane for the top spot. The top-to-bottom divisions are separated by 11 points in the West and 12 points in the East, as one team, the Swift Current Broncos, has rounded the quarter-way mark of the season.
Portland plays three games this week. First, the Medicine Hat Tigers will have their only meeting this season against the Hawks, followed by back-to-back games against the red-hot Spokane Chiefs. The following week begins the always unforgiving, but family-reunion-like, Eastern Swing.
The OHL sees two teams below double digits in points, with the Barrie Colts at nine points and the Brampton Steelheads at just six after 16 games, with only two wins to their credit and a minus-43 goal differential. Rough one this year thus far. The Guelph Storm, at 24 points, have the highest point total in the fewest games played. Teams remain fairly tight as they get ready to round the quarter turn.
Val-d’Or continues its dominance at 14-1-1 for 29 points, a full eight points ahead of the entire league. The other teams in the Western Conference are scattered behind the Foreurs, who are currently on a 10-game winning streak. The Eastern Division still has the Newfoundland Regiment atop the Eastern Conference, but seven other teams are within eight points, and four of those are within two, making this race exceptionally tight.
The CHL Top 10 released this past week put Spokane at the top. Val-d’Or is listed second. The Guelph Storm, London Knights and Quebec Remparts round out the top five. From there, the Victoria Royals, Flint Firebirds, Victoriaville Tigres, Vancouver Giants and Brandon Wheat Kings complete the top 10. Undoubtedly, with games played this past week, there will be some shuffling to come.
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