The final game of any road swing is always the toughest—especially when it’s the last time many players will see their families until Parents Weekend. Throughout the week, the Portland Winterhawks played in front of relatives who either live near the towns on the schedule or made the trip as a mini-vacation to catch the team in action.
This five-game trip was a quick one, with limited downtime. The Hawks played Friday and Saturday, took Sunday off, had a Monday afternoon game, rested Tuesday, played again Wednesday, had Thursday off, and wrapped up Friday before returning home—likely traveling as far as Chilliwack—arriving back in Portland on Saturday afternoon.
The two off days were mostly reserved for team bonding and light activities, with only short visits with family possible in places like Lethbridge, Calgary, or Edmonton. Red Deer, roughly 90 minutes south of Edmonton, offered the last brief chance for connections before the focus shifted fully back to hockey.
Game Recap: Hawks vs. Rebels
The finale pitted Portland against the Red Deer Rebels, a team that recently went all-in for playoff runs that didn’t go deep and is now in rebuilding mode. Still, no WHL team is an easy out, and the Rebels played with plenty of bite.
At the Red Deer Spectrum, the Winterhawks opened the scoring when Nathan Brown’s relentless forecheck forced a turnover. A pass across the crease drew the Rebels’ goalie out of position, and Brown buried the puck into an open net for a 1-0 lead. That advantage held until the closing seconds of the second period. With just nine seconds left, goaltender Stebatek made a spectacular toe save, but traffic in front blocked his view, allowing Landon McSwain to collect the rebound and score to tie it 1-1.
Both goalies stood tall in the third, trading saves in a tense stretch until the final minute. On a delayed penalty, Portland pulled Stebatek for an extra attacker. The Hawks cycled the puck in the offensive zone, and a point shot broke through to give them a 2-1 lead with under 30 seconds remaining.
Seconds later, Ryan Miller sealed the 3-1 victory with an empty-netter. A little post-goal jawing earned him a 10-minute misconduct—his second of the night—and possible league discipline, to be determined Monday.
Red Deer outshot Portland 31-28, and both teams went scoreless on the power play (Portland 0-6, Red Deer 0-7).
Around the League
While the Winterhawks were on their swing, the Spokane Chiefs were also on the road. They managed a 3-2 win over Red Deer but fell 5-0 to Calgary. The Chiefs will face the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday, a matchup that could test them much like Portland’s recent stretch.
In the WHL standings, Saskatoon and Edmonton sit atop their conferences at 9-3 (18 points). Red Deer and Wenatchee are at the other end with just 4 points each—Wenatchee through nine games, Red Deer through ten. Portland sits eighth in the Western Conference at an even .500 (5-5, 10 points), two ahead of Seattle and one behind Kamloops and Vancouver. The Hawks will face the Giants in Langley on Friday, then return home for a three-game stand against Saskatoon, Victoria, and Prince George (on Halloween night). They’ll then travel to Kamloops before returning home again for another meeting with Prince George, followed by a trip to Wenatchee.
Across the CHL
In the OHL, the Windsor Spitfires lead the league at 10-2-1-0 (21 points), followed by Brampton (8-0-1-1, 18 points) and Owen Sound (9-3-0-0, 18 points).
At the other end, Sudbury sits at 2-8-1-0 (5 points), just ahead of Erie (3-8-1-0, 12 games).
In the QMJHL, the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Charlottetown Islanders share the lead with 21 points each—Armada in 12 games (8-1-2-1), Islanders in 13 (9-1-1-2). Baie-Comeau remains winless in regulation at 0-8-2-2, five points back of Quebec.
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