The holidays are upon us; there will be much hockey between now and Christmas break. Even so, the Hawks will not be at the middle of the season mark until the start of the New Year. November would also be the time the team would start a three-game game in as many nights as possible.
Starting with the Lethbridge Hurricanes with Toy Drive night, the Hawks started things off with Jordan Duguay scoring at 2:18 of the first. Lethbridge scored three minutes later, but Portland’s Kyle Chyzowski tapped one home to double the Hawks lead at the end of the period. Just 32 seconds into the second frame, the Hawks were on the board with a powerplay goal from Diego Buttazoni. Twenty-nine seconds later, Buttazoni notched his second of the game. On the powerplay, Tyson Jugnauth and Tyson Yaremko finished scoring for the Hawks. Koen Cleaver, who started in the net for Lethbridge, was replaced by Brady Smith following the Jugnauth goal. Two goals in the third by the Canes were not enough, and the 6-3 win. Portland outshot Lethbridge 40-23 and went 2/3 on the powerplay, with Lethbridge held off the sheet.
The Hawks also held a parent weekend, featuring parents of players in attendance and games against Lethbridge and Wenatchee. For many, it was their first time at a parent weekend.
The next night, Wenatchee Wild was in town. The Hawks brought the hometown faithful to their feet with three straight goals. First, Josh Zakreski opened the scoring just under seven minutes in, followed by a Carsyn Dyck marker late in the first. In that period, the Hawks rattled off 21 shots in 20 minutes. Josh Zakreski got his second of the night in the second, but just three minutes later, it was the start of a nightmare for the Hawks. Wenatchee rattled off four goals, three in the second period and one just over 30 seconds into the third, giving the Wild their first lead. We’ve talked about comeback kids here, and this was no exception. Four Hawks, Reed Brown, Jordan Duguay, and Ryder Thompson, while shorthanded, and a pair by Kyle McDonough, including an empty net goal, doubled the Wild 8-4. It was the same with the shots: Portland went 40-20 and 1-5 on the powerplay compared to Wenatchee’s 1-3.
The parents went home happy as Thanksgiving in the US started. The Hawks would play four games in five nights, including two doubleheaders.
Before the Kelowna game, Portland sent defenceman Cohen Massey to an unannounced Junior affiliate team and recalled Aaron Zulinick to the roster as an affiliate player. Under this rule, Aaron is only allowed ten games with the Hawks.
The Hawks and Rockets took to the battlefield literally. Sixty-two minutes were called in the game, of which the only bright spot was a pair of goals in the second period by Josh Zakreski, who is making his case for being drafted or signed to an NHL club. Though Kelowna didn’t score on the powerplay, they did score four times and took a 4-2 win. Once again, the Hawks were strong offensively, with 44 shots to 22 for Kelowna, with 19 of those trying to get on the board to no avail. Portland was 1-5 on the powerplay and Kelowna 0-3.
The winning streak snapped at four; the Winterhawks looked to restart the streak again with an afternoon matinee versus Kelowna. The Rockets started things off with Kalder Varga getting his first of two on the night close to the seven-minute mark. Kyle Chykowski evened it towards the end of the first, and Kyle McDonough would give the Hawks their first lead early in the second. After Varga got his second for the Rockets, Andrew Cristall, just 55 seconds later, put the Rockets on top again. The “Comeback Kids” did it again as Josh Zakreski took two, including a powerplay tab, and, along with Hudson Darby’s goal just thirty seconds after Zakreski’s powerplay, put the Hawks up to stay. Kelowna scored early in the third, but Zakreski’s empty net goal gave him a hattrick and the Hawks a tough 6-4 win.
There was no time to celebrate as the Hawks headed to Spokane to face the Chiefs.
The Hawks had issues staying out of the box the two nights they played. Issues with the ice in the first game didn’t help matters.
They dropped the two games to the Chiefs 5-1 and 7-4. The first loss saw only Ryder Thompson, on the powerplay, hit the twine as Spokane outshot the Hawks 48-26. Both teams scored once each on the powerplay, with Portland having five chances and Spokane 6.
Portland’s second attempt looked promising when Tyson Yaremko and Kyle Chyzowski scored before the midway mark of the period. Spokane got two goals within a minute of each other, including a powerplay goal, and followed that up with another powerplay goal 8 minutes into the second to take the lead. Chykowski scored on the powerplay to even it up. Three and a half minutes later, Spokane scored again, and then the dagger at the Hawks’s heart was awarded a penalty shot by Shea Van Olm, who scored to put the Chiefs further ahead. Chykowski would notch his third of the game, a hattrick, but the Chiefs scored twice, including an empty net goal to take the game 7-4. Spokane was 40-27 in shots, and both teams had five powerplays. Hawks scored once and Spokane twice.
After 26 games, the Hawks are 13-11-2-0, which is good for sixth place in the Western Conference. They are two points up on Vancouver, with the Giants having two games in hand. Next up for the Hawks are two home games against the Giants over the weekend and a midweek game in Everett against the league-leading Silvertips, with three games after that before the Christmas break.
Be the first to comment