Winterhawks Weekly: Rivalry Weekend

In the days before the Portland Winterhawks go on holiday break, they had a couple of games with the Seattle Thunderbirds.  Friday was the team's first game shorthanded, as a few of their regular players are participating in international tournaments, including their two leading scorers in Nic Petan and Oliver Bjorkstrand, as well as captain Taylor Leier, Layne Viveiros, and Derrick Pouliot.  On the road against Seattle, Branden Troock got the scoring started for the Thunderbirds, but a Chase De Leo goal would tie things after one period.  Another De Leo goal made it 2-1 after two periods, but in the third period, it was all Thunderbirds, as Justin Hickman would tie it before Troock scored the game winner with his second of the night to give the Thunderbirds a 3-2 win.  Brendan Burke was solid for most of the game, though he would like to have the third period back.

The momentum of the win carried over for Seattle the following day as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Portland on goals from Adam Henry and Scott Eansor.  A Keoni Texeira goal brought down teddy bears and would leave the Winterhawks within one after two periods.  In the third period, the script was flipped from the previous evening, as it was the Winterhawks dominating the third period at home, as Paul Bittner scored twice to give the Winterhawks a 3-2 lead.  A Keegan Iverson tally made it 4-2, but Henry would keep the Thunderbirds close until the final minutes of the third period, when Bittner netted his third goal of the period, giving Burke and company a 5-3 win at home.

The Winterhawks have a home game Tuesday against Everett before the break, and there is no doubt that the Silvertips would love to get back on the winning track, as they lost all four games they played last week.  For the Winterhawks to expand their division lead, guys like Bittner and Iverson will need to step up, and certainly, Bittner has shown that he can do so when given a chance, as his hat trick Saturday happened almost a year to the day that he scored a hat trick while the likes of Ty Rattie and Seth Jones were participating in the World Juniors.