Winterhawks Weekly: No Longer a Teen

The Portland Winterhawks are now closing in on the single-season record for most wins (22 by the Estevan Bruins in 1967) and the league record for most wins in a row (24 by the Victoria Cougars in the 1980-81 season, a streak that included the playoffs), as well as the Canadian Hockey League record for most wins in a row (Kitchener won 25 in a row in 1984).

Tuesday, they took care of the Prince George Cougars at home by a 5-1 score.  From there, they beat Kamloops 4-2 behind a strong second period and Prince Albert 6-3 on Saturday thanks to another strong effort in the second period.  However, win number 20 was the most difficult, as Everett wasn't about to give in on Sunday.  A scoreless game for most of the time, Everett got on the board early in the third period on an Ivan Nikolishin goal.  However, Portland would tie things up later in the period on an Oliver Bjorkstrand goal.  Regulation and overtime were not enough, and a shootout was needed, where Bjorkstrand would score the only goal in the shootout while Corbin Boes played well again in giving the Winterhawks a 2-1 win over the Silvertips.  Austin Lotz continues to show flashes of brilliance against the Winterhawks, as he was equal to the task despite a losing effort.

The Winterhawks will look to tie the single season record this weekend, as they hit the road to take on Spokane on Friday and Seattle on Saturday.