Training camp broke this past week with the Neely Cup featuring teams with strong Portland Winterhawks ties and actually had the names of the four players entering the Hall of Fame of the Hawks.
Games from Thursday to Saturday placed the teams in the ranking, and the finals were held on Sunday.
Team Sasser and Team Yaremchuck faced off in the consolation round, with Yaremchuk taking third with a 5-3 combined win in the two mini-games. The final was a shootout for Team Neely as they took the title 4-0 over Team Heath in their two mini-games.
The four mini-games featured many Hawks alums on the scoresheet, with Marcus Nguyen scoring a pair for Team Yaremcuk and Nick Johnson with a single for Team Sasser.
The final saw Aiden Sotas and Jack O’Brien score, and a goal and assist from Diego Buttazoni capped the final scoring.
With postseason surgeries, Kyle Chyzowski, Ryan Miller, and Luke Schelter practiced with the team but did not slot into any games. Priority Draft Pick Landon Amrheim was previously injured and did not attend camp. The one person people had hoped to see in action, the first female drafted in the WHL Morgan Stickney, didn’t play in the games or practice as the school doesn’t allow people to leave campus after arrival for the year.
Obviously, she won’t play in any of the preseason games either, which leaves her a bit of a mystery for the year. Most likely, with the rules, she won’t be able to play with the team during any of the tournaments that take place in December.
With a pair of games in the Everett preseason tournament, a single in Spokane, and then a couple of games in Kennewick, they play Spokane again and Tri-City to wrap up their preseason schedule. On September 23, they play Wenatchee Wild, formerly Winnipeg ICE, and will make their first trip to Central Washington.
The Hawks also announced a new partnership with Chik-Fil-A Portland this week. The Hawks will enter a We Win, You Win with the Chicken group in that every win will result in a reward available on the Chik-Fil-A app following a home win. In addition, there will be fan-focused activities and promotions during the season. Over the past few seasons, Chik-Fil-A has attended several games, offering fans a chance to win drinks, meals, and more. The fans would get gift cards with their prize, now available on their app. The first chance at this will be Friday, October 6, when they host the Everett Silvertips.
The TV schedule has not yet been announced, nor will games be broadcast on the app.
Last season, the Everett Silvertips used the Mixlr app to carry games and ran it as a raw feed. There is no word if that will occur with the games this weekend.
