After a tough week that included four straight losses, the Portland Winterhawks entered a demanding three-game, three-night stretch—two at home with a quick trip to Everett sandwiched in between. The opponents sat at opposite ends of the standings: two games against the struggling Wenatchee Wild and a heavyweight matchup against the U.S. Division–leading Everett Silvertips.
Game 1: Portland 6, Wenatchee 3
Portland opened the stretch at home with Blake Clarke between the pipes. Despite a strong start, the Hawks fell behind early when Wenatchee scored on their first shot of the game from point-blank range. Portland responded late in the first, as Sam Spehar deflected a shot out front to tie it.
Spehar struck again less than four minutes into the second with a tap-in at the crease. Portland then welcomed back Aaron Zulnich—reassigned last season to the Vernon Vipers—who announced his return with his first career WHL goal on a cross-ice feed to an open net. Moments later, Alex Weiermair scored on the power play straight off a faceoff. The goal came on a misplayed Wenatchee clear that ended up in their own net, giving Portland a three-goal cushion.
Wenatchee clawed back with rebounds on two similar plays, cutting the lead to one. Early in the third, Jordan Duguay buried a pass from behind the net to give Portland breathing room, and Jake Gustafson added another on the power play at the midway mark. Wenatchee never managed to pull their goaltender, and Portland closed out a 6–3 win. Shots favored Portland 39–29; the Hawks went 2-for-5 on the power play while Wenatchee finished 0-for-4.
Game 2: Portland 7, Everett 6 (SO)
The next night, the Hawks traveled to Everett to face a Silvertips team with just two regulation losses on the season. Portland came out flying. Just over a minute in, Alex Weiermair scored through traffic, and three minutes later, Spehar capitalized on a turnover to make it 2–0. Everett answered with a late first-period goal and tied the game early in the second.
On the power play, Nathan Free put Portland back on top, and Gustafson restored the two-goal lead with a wraparound. But Everett stormed back with three straight goals—one late in the second and two early in the third, including a power-play marker—to take a 5–4 lead.
Spehar tied it with a feed from Jordan Duguay, and Free surprised Blake LeGall off a clean faceoff win from Weiermair to reclaim the advantage. Everett forced overtime with a power-play goal in the final minute of regulation.
Overtime solved nothing, sending the game to a shootout. Nathan Free scored on Portland’s first attempt with a slick fake and finish, and with Everett failing to convert in all three rounds, Portland secured a wild 7–6 win. Everett fired 50 shots at Ondrej Stebatek, while Portland generated 35. Power plays were sharp on both sides: Portland went 1-for-2, Everett 3-for-4.
Game 3: Portland 5, Wenatchee 3
Less than 24 hours later, Portland returned home, this time with Chase Cruz in net. The Hawks struck early again—Nathan Free finishing an Alex Weiermair chance—and added a power-play goal from Gustafson six minutes later. The second period went scoreless, but the third opened up quickly. Duguay and Kyle McDonough scored six minutes apart to give Portland what looked like an insurmountable 4-0 lead.
But Wenatchee refused to go quietly, rattling off three goals in five minutes—including two on the power play—to cut the deficit to one. With 90 seconds left, Weiermair sealed the win with an empty-netter. Portland outshot Wenatchee 42–36 and finished 1-for-6 on the power play; Wenatchee went 2-for-5. The win pushed the Hawks past Spokane into second place in the U.S. Division and fourth in the Western Conference.
Around the League: Trades & Turmoil
Next weekend, Portland hits the road to face the Kamloops Blazers and the Memorial Cup–host Kelowna Rockets. Kelowna has been aggressively bolstering its roster, sending multiple picks and players to Lethbridge in a blockbuster move for Shane Smith and Vojtech Car. They also traded Kanjyu Gojsic to Edmonton for 2026 and 2029 draft picks—possibly to reload for another acquisition.
Off the ice, the WHL issued significant suspensions to Lethbridge GM Peter Anholt (Nov. 14–25) and Swift Current head coach Dean DeSilva (five games) for conduct violations stemming from incidents after games and practices. Both organizations were fined $10,000. DeSilva has since been fired, with Regan Darby stepping in as interim head coach and Barclay Parneta as interim GM. The discipline followed anonymous reports submitted via the WHL Respect Line.
OHL & QMJHL Update
In the OHL, the Sarnia Sting relieved head coach Alan Letang as the team struggles at 6-11-3-1. The Brantford Bulldogs remain unbeaten in regulation (16-0-4-1), holding a commanding 12-point lead over Barrie. The Sudbury Wolves remain at the bottom but sit just a point away from climbing out of last place.
A disturbing incident in the Brampton–Oshawa game saw Brampton’s Luca Dragusica respond to a check by wildly swinging his stick and striking Oshawa’s Brady Blaseg in the head, causing a severe cut. Dragusica received a match penalty and is indefinitely suspended pending league review, with a lengthy ban likely.
In the QMJHL, the standings have tightened significantly. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada’s once-comfortable lead has shrunk after several recent losses, and three teams now sit within five points. The Charlottetown Islanders have also been reeled in, with five teams now within six points of their lead.
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