Last week, I did not do a Winterhawks Weekly, since they only played one game...and Kamloops was dominating headlines for their recently deceased streak of games without a regulation loss to begin the season. This week, I can get back to some semblance of normal, which means the Winterhawks just keep on winning. A 5-2 win over Everett on Halloween and 6-2 pastings of the Victoria Royals on Friday and Saturday now means the Winterhawks have won 8 in a row, and as it has been said (and will again before the streak is over), it's been no coincidence that the Winterhawks have been winning with Mac Carruth back with the team. That confidence has spread through the team, and no player in my opinion has benefited more than backup Brendan Burke. In the early going, Burke had struggled, perhaps feeling like he had to take on too much. In his last game before Carruth came back, Burke played relatively well, and now with the team in front of him playing to their potential, Burke can focus on his game. Carruth gets the majority of the time, but Burke has played well when his time comes, and he will only get better when he is finally handed the starting goaltender role when Carruth does move on, as Carruth is an over-ager.
As for the team in front of the goaltenders, any one can put together a big game, and in the back-to-back against Victoria, Tyler Wotherspoon and Troy Rutkowski put up three points on Friday and Saturday, respectively, and Seth Jones is becoming a more complete player that could very well be a top pick in next year's draft. Nic Petan is picking up where Sven Baertschi left off, providing that second lethal weapon on offense to compliment Ty Rattie, who himself, is now finding that scoring touch once again.
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