So, for the next couple of weeks, the Portland Winterhawks will be on the road to face off against the entire East Division of the Eastern Conference. They begin tomorrow against the Brandon Wheat Kings, who lead the league in scoring with 25. Unfortunately, they are also tied for the lead in most goals given up with 22 (with Regina). If Portland is to win this game, they need to slow down the offense and get some of their own offense going. Moose Jaw is the following day, and while they are middle of the road, it is also a trap game, one they cannot afford to sleep on. The Regina Pats await on the 9th, and they are a team that desperately needs a spark early in the season. If Portland is wise, they will jump on this team early and often. Saskatoon is the next stop on the 10th, and they too, will be looking for a spark. Prince Albert is on the 12th, and they have shown some surprising defensive prowess, only giving up 10 goals to this point. They finish the road trip in Swift Current on the 13th, and though they can score (18 goals is pretty good at this point in the season), they may want to tighten up the defensive alignment. As for how Portland can have a successful road trip, it begins with offense, as in they will need to keep it going. It would be great if Ty Rattie, the team's leading scorer last season, starts finding his game. Defensively, Seth Jones has yet to find his groove, but he's too good to be kept down forever, and given that he will likely be playing alongside either Derrick Pouliot or Troy Rutkowski, his full potential could come out. Cam Lanigan has outplayed Brendan Burke in the early going, and it will be interesting to see how Burke responds to the road trip challenge. His only road game was against Tri-City, where he gave up two goals as opposed to ten in his two home games.
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