Portland is looking to get back to its winning ways of hockey. Following two tough US Division wins and a heartbreaker battle with the Calgary Hitmen, the Winterhawks welcomed in the Red Deer Rebels, who are hanging in tough in the Central Division. A logjam has them in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, looking at Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, who are looking to host the Memorial Cup in a couple of years.
The tight defensive Hawks suddenly were ready to bring their brand of game to the Friday night Portland crowd. Just under four minutes in, Red Deer was on the board and held that lead for seven minutes before Carsyn Dick scored an unassisted goal leaving the teams deadlocked at one at the end of the first. Red Deer was the only one to answer and did so early in the second on an unassisted goal by Steven Steranka. Again, the teams battled through the second with no further scoring. In the third period, Kyle Chykowski hit lucky number 13 on the year just before the five-minute mark, and the two teams couldn’t break the deadlock through the rest of the period or the five-minute overtime. The match was finally settled in the shootout, with Ondrej Stebetak making two solid saves on Steranka and Matthew Gard, and Kyle Chykowski could not beat Rhett Stoesser. Still, Tyson Jugnauth and Diego Buttazzoni did and allowed the Hawks a 3-2 win. Portland handily outshot Red Deer 43-27, and both teams were blanked on the five powerplay opportunities afforded each team. Stoesser was awarded the second star for his performance in the Red Deer net.
Portland headed up the I-5 across the border to Langley, BC, to face the Vancouver Giants. The Gants and Hawks are within a point of each other in the standings, with the Giants having a game in hand. Still, both are looking to move out of the cutoff for playoff spots, with Portland 7th and Vancouver 8th in the Conference. The previous evening, they had seen a Hawks win and a brutal 6-2 loss by the Giants against the Kamloops Blazers, which would undoubtedly be sitting on their minds with the clash.
The Giants, who had been hit heavily the previous night versus Kamloops, looked to regain footing at home. Kyle Chykowski was the first to get on the board for the Hawks while on the powerplay but could only hold the lead for under three minutes. Vancouver scored twice in 26 seconds when they had only five shots on goal. Vancouver strengthened the lead in the second just 25 seconds in. The Hawks weren’t about to call it quits. Tyson Yaremko scored three minutes later on the powerplay, which reworked the game.
Three minutes later, Vancouver scored on the powerplay and added another on the powerplay eight minutes later, and the Giants now led 5-2. In under three minutes, the Comeback Kids in the Hawks, Diege Buttazzoni, Josh Zakreski, and Kyle McDonough, erased the lead and tied the game as the second period ended.
The third period saw a combined 19 shots but no goals, so the teams had to head to the extra period to see if a winner could be determined. Amazingly, almost 4 minutes in, the Hawks gained the comeback win with a Ryder Thompson marker, giving the Hawks a 6-5 come-from-behind win in overtime.
The Hawks now have won 4 of their past 5 games and sit seventh in the Conference, 1 point back of the Kamloops Blazers, and have 22 points after 20 games. Now is the time for people to start seeing what team Portland will have this year. Will they be flashy? No. Will they get deep in the playoffs this year? Probably not. Will they provide grit? Absolutely. With a young team, there is no doubt they will be a tough team each night, seemingly splitting netminding duties with both Marek Schlenker and Ondrej Stebetak.
The Hawks now open a four-game homestand with Lethbridge, Wenatchee, and a pair against Kelowna to end the home dates before heading to Spokane to finish the month and start December.
In more community news, Mind RX and the Hawks are teaming up, with Mind RX donating $5 for every home and away assist to the Sunshine Division. Mind RX is the Hawks’ Mental Illness partner and will provide the much-needed dollars for the Sunshine Division. There has been a big connection between the Sunshine Division and the Hawks, so this is going to help families in a big way.
