The Portland Winterhawks swing through the Central Division couldn’t have started better. But after satisfying wins at division-leading Lethbridge and at Medicine Hat, Portland fell flat in losses at Calgary and at Edmonton.
Coach Jamie Kompon called those losses by a combined score of 11-3 the worst back-to-back performances from his Winterhawks in his time with the franchise.
“I think we got a little too big for our britches” and thought the game in Calgary would be easy after an 8-1 pasting of Medicine Hat, Kompon said.
The coach said he was pleased with the first 12 minutes of Wednesday’s game in Edmonton. But an inability to build a lead while playing well eventually caught up to his team, Kompon said.
Kompon noted that the Winterhawks were 2-2 on their Eastern swing last season and finished 4-2. The goal is to repeat that, starting with Friday’s challenging game against a Red Deer team with the third best record in the Western Conference.
“We’re still very optimistic about what can happen the rest of the trip,” Kompon said.
Winterhawks
This week: At Red Deer, 6 p.m. Friday; at Kootenay, 6 p.m. Saturday; host Tri-City, 7 p.m. March 4 (VMC).
Last week: Beat Lethbridge 4-1; beat Medicine Hat 8-1; lost 6-2 at Calgary lost 5-1 at Edmonton.
Where they stand: At 21-27-3-0 (65 points), the Winterhawks are in fourth place in the U.S. Division. They trail Spokane by one point and second-place Seattle by four points, but both the Chiefs and the Thunderbirds have more games remaining than Portland’s nine. The Hawks are currently in the seventh Western Conference playoff spot, four points ahead of Tri-City, but the Americans have 11 games remaining.
Injuries update: Forward Evan Weinger (upper body) left Wednesday’s game and as of mid-day Thursday the severity of his injury was unconfirmed according to Kompon. … Skyler McKenzie who left Wednesday’s game is day-to-day. Conor MacEachern also left Wednesday’s game after taking a high hit, but did return later and will be a game-time decision on Friday according to Kompon.
Two players signed: The Winterhawks have signed 16-year-old defenseman Matthew Quigley and forward Ilijah Colina to WHL contracts. Quigley spent this season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes Midget AAA team in the Alberta Midget Hockey League, posting three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 34 games. Colina, in his 15-year-old season, has 10 goals and 42 assists in 34 games this season with the Valley West Hawks of the British Columbia Major Midget League. Both players will only be called up to Portland this season if injuries necessitate such a move, Kompon said.
Vancouver Rangers
This week: Host the Idaho Junior Steelheads, 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Last week: At Missoula, lost 10-6, lost 6-5 in overtime and won 5-3.
Where they stand: At 29-14-4 (62 points), the Rangers third in the Northwest Division of the Western States Hockey League, three points ahead of fourth-place Southern Oregon. Missoula (70) points is in second place and on the verge of clinching a first-round playoff bye.
Playoff race: With five games left in the regular-season, the Rangers will finish either third or fourth in the Northwest Division and will host a first-round best-of-3 playoff series March 11-13.
Coach Dave Daniello said the goal now is to hold on to third place. After hosting division-leading Idaho this weekend, the Rangers play Seattle once on the road and once at home to close the regular season. Southern Oregon has six games remaining, all at home against Butte and Missoula.
Missoula recap: Daniello said the Rangers gave up too many odd-man rushes in Friday’s loss, but did a better job of slowing down play on Saturday and were even more effective controlling the tempo in Sunday’s win.
Top scorers out: Rangers top scorers Joel Lehtonen and Jesse Vuorinen (78 points apiece) are both suspended for this weekend for leaving the bench during a fight last weekend. Daniello said he was making a line change when the fight started, which is why Lehtonen and Vuorinen jumped on the ice. But the WSHL still enforced the suspension.
Miracle League recognized: The Miracle League of Vancouver will be the special guest of the Rangers for Saturday’s game at Mountain View Ice Arena. Miracle League players will get in for free, with reduced prices for their family members.
There will be a table with Miracle League information and the opportunity to register for the 2016 season. Miracle League baseball is for youths and young adults with special needs. More information is available at www.miracleleagueofvancouverwa.org.
