To eclipse 300 goals at home would be a dream come true for the Portland Winterhawks as they hosted the Tri-City Americans. Tri-City only used Kyle Kelsey in the nets with Jan Spunar in Portland’s, and from the get-go, the Hawks were intent on breaking 300 at home. In true fashion, the Hawks broke 300 in the first period with four goals, one on the powerplay. Jack O’Brien opened things up early for the Hawks, Josh Davies on the powerplay six minutes later, and Marek Alscher, six minutes after that, saw Portland on the doorstep of 300 on the season. At 18:15 of the first period, Nate Danielson finished off a play for his 22nd of the year and goal 300 for the team.
Portland wasn’t finished as they looked to obliterate that mark. The Hawks would add four more goals. Diego Buttazoni, Ryan Miller, Nate Danielson with his second on the night, and Carter Southern, while shorthanded, put the Hawks up 9-0 at the end of two. Jan Spunar, who had started the game, was given the rest of the night off, with Justen Maric put in between the pipes to start the third. Spunar faced just seven shots in his two periods of work.
Tri-City finally got on the board on the powerplay, breaking the combined shutout just before the 13-minute mark. That seemed to infuriate the Hawks as James Stefan scored twice in just over two minutes to finish the scoring at 11-1. Portland blitzed Tri-City with a 61-19 shot advantage. Special teams saw Portland 1-5 on the powerplay with a shorthanded goal and Tri-City 1-3. The over 6000 in attendance would hope for a winning weekend, allowing the Hawks to claim the US Division title.
Portland then headed to Wenatchee with the Wild’s last home game of the season. Hot on the heels of the previous night’s drubbing, Portland took the first two goals of the game. Marcus Nguyen scored just over four minutes in, and it held through the period. Portland’s Josh Mori added another nearly seven minutes into the second but saw that lead halved just 55 seconds later with a Wenatchee tally. Early in the third period, a powerplay goal by Wenatchee tied the game for the Wild. Luca Cagnoni, four minutes later, and Nate Danielson, on the powerplay just four minutes after that, put the Hawks up again by two. Wenatchee wasn’t done as a powerplay goal with Brandon Gee on the bench for an extra attacker, which set the Wild close. However, Marcus Nuguyen snuffed out a comeback with an empty net goal just over a minute later to give the Hawks a 5-3 win. The shots favored Wenatchee 30-23. Portland was 1-4 on the powerplay, Wenatchee 2-4 on theirs.
The Hawks then traveled to Seattle for a date with the Thunderbirds at Climate Pledge Arena, home of the NHL Seattle Kraken. With the US Division title under their belt, the Hawks looked for the overall Conference title currently held by the Prince George Cougars. The Cougars held that lead by one point but allowed Portland a game in hand.
Prince George would play the Vancouver Giants, and at the same time, the Hawks would play Seattle. PG would have a home and-home game with Kamloops next week to end their season, while Portland would have the extra game next week in traveling to Tri-City and then home versus Seattle and a final game in Kent to face Seattle as they end the regular season. Saskatoon Blades still occupy the top spot overall, having a point advantage on PG and Portland.
With the win against Wenatchee, Portland captured the US Division title and will have home-ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
At the Climate Pledge Arena, Portland once again barraged goaltenders with shots. Sott Ratzlaff would 56 of those from the Hawks. Seattle started things off just past the five-minute mark and held that until the 17-minute mark when Portland’s Carter Southern tied up the game to end the period. Early in the second period, Seattle put themselves ahead. Portland would score three in a row, first near the middle of the frame with Carter Southern’s second of the night and powerplay goals from Josh Davies and Gabe Klassen.
The third period saw two successive powerplay goals by Seattle less than 2 1/2 minutes apart.
The period ended with the teams tied at 4. With a minute left in overtime, Sawyer Mynio capped off the comeback for the Thunderbirds to give them the 5-4 win. Shots once again heavily favored the Winterhawks 56-35. Portland went 2-4 on the powerplay, with Seattle a perfect 2 for 2.
Prince George won its game against Vancouver, which lifted them two points up on the Winterhawks. Portland remains in the hunt for both the Western Conference title and the Scotty Munro title, but it is three points back of the Saskatoon Blades.
The following weekend, where all three teams will be hunting for the title, will be exciting to watch. Portland hits the road for a game against Tri-City and then a home-and-home series with Seattle. Prince George has a home-and-home series with Kamloops, and Saskatoon hosts Calgary before a home-and-home series with Prince Albert. These games are pivotal to all teams in this heated race. Prince Albert has three points up on Calgary for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference. All the spots in the Western Conference have been filled, with Seattle, Kamloops, and Tri-City missing the playoffs. The remaining spots, while filled, are competitive and will go down to the wire as well.
The latest CHL Poll sees Prince George Cougars atop the poll with Portland 6th. The Saginaw Spirit, who will host this year’s Memorial Cup, are second, and the London Knights third. Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Saskatoon Blades are next, followed by Portland and Everett. The top ten are Drummondville Voltigeurs, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, and Moose Jaw Warriors. The poll for this coming week will be up mid-week, and the final poll will be up just before the playoffs start.
Indeed, Portland’s goal total is impressive at almost five goals per game. Currently, they have 316 goals. They aren’t even close to a record. In research of all teams ever to play in the WHL, Portland’s total may not even hit the top 100. Prince Albert Raiders won the Memorial Cup in 1984-85 with a 6-1 win over Shawinigan Cataractes. That year, they won the Scotty Munro overall title with a 59-11-3 record and a massive 481 goals versus 255. They aren’t even the best in goals. For that mark, one has to go back to the 1979-80 Brandon Wheat Kings. At 491 goals versus 230 and a 58-5-9 record, that astonishing amount equals 6.82 goals per game. Of course, the style of goaltenders has changed significantly over time. The butterfly style of goaltending is prevalent now, as is the protection afforded to the keepers of the net. Also, like other WHL teams, Portland plays 68 games and would have to average over seven goals per game based on the reduced schedule.
Next week, the jostling begins. It’s about to get crazy!
