Winterhawks Weekly: The Great Eight

The Portland Winterhawks were on the road this past week, and when the week started, they were not in first place.  As of today, they are in first place, thanks to wins in all four games.  Tuesday was the second of a five game road trip, as they took on a Lethbridge team that has had issues both on and off the ice.  Chase De Leo, Keegan Iverson, and Brendan Leipsic all scored in the first period and after 20 minutes, it looked like another rout was on.  However, Lethbridge had other ideas, as Brady Ramsay would cut the lead to two after two periods and Axel Blomqvist would pull Lethbridge within one at the 14:35 mark.  However, the Winterhawks ended any hopes of an upset by hanging on to a 3-2 win.  Wednesday, the Winterhawks traveled to Medicine Hat to take on a Tigers team that was in a bit of a funk.  Nic Petan scored the lone goal in the first period, but things would get ignited in the second period, as both teams would put up a three spot each, with the Winterhawks getting goals from Taylor Leier, De Leo, and Iverson while the Tigers would get goals from Cole Sanford, Steve Owre, and Blake Penner.  4-3 would be the score until late in the third period, when Leipsic would seal the 5-3 win for the Winterhawks and their sixth win in a row.

Friday was a trip to Cranbrook, BC, where the Winterhawks would get their only look of the season at a Kootenay Ice team that features Sam Reinhart and newly acquired Tim Bozon, noted thorn in the Winterhawks' side from his Kamloops days.  Petan would open the scoring and De Leo would net the next two goals in the first period for the Winterhawks, but Reinhart would pull Kootenay within two after one period.  No scoring in the second period would give way to an Austin Vetterl goal to make it 3-2 early in the third period.  However, Derrick Pouliot and Josh Hanson would score for the Winterhawks, and not even a Zak Zobrosky goal could get Kootenay back in the game, as Iverson would end any hope of a comeback with his third goal of the week.  Jarrod Schamerhorn would earn the win in his only appearance this week, and Oliver Bjorkstrand assisted on four goals this game.

Saturday was the last game of the road trip and against division rival Spokane, first place was at stake in an early season match-up that also saw the Chiefs try for revenge for an earlier loss.  Leier and Leipsic would sandwich a Liam Stewart goal to make it a 2-1 advantage for Portland after one.  Bjorkstrand would put Portland up 3-1 early in the second period, but goals by Mike Aviani and Jason Fram would tie things up until the 16:11 mark, when Leier would score what became the deciding goal for the Winterhawks.  Brendan Burke was outstanding in three contests, and his confidence is growing with every game.

The Winterhawks return home for a game against Brandon on Wednesday before hitting the road for rivalry games against a revamped Seattle team on Friday and a return engagement with Spokane on Saturday.