Filed under: Winterhawks
Just a reminder that our broadcast from Spokane tomorrow will be tape delayed due to Washington State football, but you can hear the entire broadcast once the Cougars’ game is over. Unfortunately, it will mean no live streaming either.
Ian Curtis was back at practice today after leaving Tuesday’s game with a shoulder injury. Curtis will likely be available for this weekend’s back-to-back with Spokane.
Speaking of the Chiefs, the Winterhawks catch a break in the schedule this weekend. While Portland will get on the bus Friday to travel to Spokane and spend the night, the Chiefs play in Kelowna Friday night, then get to enjoy a six-hour bus trip back immediately following the game. The Hawks and Chiefs then play in Spokane Saturday, drive to Portland right after the game, and play again at 5 p.m. at the Coliseum.
You think the Chiefs might be a little tired by that point?
Over on the main site, we announced today that Taylor Peters has been assigned to the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. Taylor was caught up in a bit of a numbers game here and had only seen action in three games, but he will should see more ice time in Pentiction. Peters will be joining an outstanding team, as the Vees are 15-2-0-1, and have outscored their opponents 88-40. Amazingly, that’s not even good enough for first place in their own division, as Vernon (which includes former Hawks Sawyer Mick and Jonathan Milhouse) is 16-1-0-0.
Peters will likely be consulting with Ryan Johansen before going, as Johansen played for the Vees last year.
On the injury front, Ian Curtis’ shoulder injury from last night doesn’t appear to be serious. He sat out practice today, but could return to ice tomorrow.
Lastly, our game in Spokane Saturday will be tape delayed because of Washington State football. We expect the broadcast to begin around 9:30 p.m. Because of the tape delay, live streaming on 970′s website will not be available.
I caught up with Oliver Gabriel a little earlier today and asked how he’s doing a few weeks after suffering a lacerated spleen in Spokane:
What happened on the play where you got injured?
“I got the puck in the corner in our own end and started carrying it up the boards. I didn’t have complete control of it until we got to the players’ bench and I passed it up to, I think it was Reddin, and someone kind of blindsided me. It was a clean hit but I didn’t see it coming, and the players’ bench doesn’t have glass, so I got bent over and it got me right in the ribs and lacerated my spleen.”
Initially they thought it was an injury to your ribs, right?
“The doctor at the game thought it was separated ribs or broken ribs, so we couldn’t do much for it. I went back to the hotel and that night I started to have shoulder pains and that’s a sign for spleen injuries, so I was taken to the hospital and it turned out it was a ruptured spleen.”
Did you have to have surgery?
“Once I got back to the hospital the bleeding stopped, and about a week later I had a follow-up CAT scan and there was a leaking blood vessel, and they had to go in with a catheter through my femoral artery to patch it up.”
So how long were you in Spokane?
“I was in the hospital for four days after it happened. My mom has cousins who live there so my mom flew in to Spokane and we stayed at their house for another week until I got the procedure. Then I went home for the weekend (to Edmonton) and then met the team in Calgary.”
What’s next for you?
“Right now I’m just waiting for clearance to start working out again and skating, which should be any time this week. The problem is contact; I should be able to start working out and start conditioning in a week or so and then hopefully build myself back into game shape, but the contact is what the doctors are worried about right now.”
How are you feeling right now?
“I feel great right now. I don’t really feel it anymore, it’s not bad at all. I can do a lot of things I couldn’t do right when it happened, but I just have to wait.”
Have you ever had a serious injury before?
“This is the worst injury I’ve ever had, it was the first time I’d ever spent a night in the hospital. It’s been hard, going through all these towns a few hours from where I live (during the Central Division road trip) and not being able to play in front of friends and family. But that’s the way it goes, it’s bad luck and I just want to get back in the lineup as soon as possible.”
As the Winterhawks wrap up their six-game Central Division journey tonight against Kootenay, you almost have to wonder: is tonight a trap game? After all, everyone is looking forward to getting home, they’re assured of being no worse than 3-3 on this trip, and Kootenay has struggled so far this season.
On paper it looks like it could be, but don’t count on it.
Based on the first 15 games of the season, the evidence suggests this isn’t a team prone to mental lapses or poor preparation. Consider how this team has played in games after a loss:
Loss: Sept. 25 @ Tri-Cities; Next game: 6-1 win over Seattle
Loss: Oct. 9 @ Tri-Cities; Next game: 8-3 win over Prince Albert
Loss: Oct. 11 @ Everett; Next game: 5-2 win at Edmonton following two days on the bus
Loss: Oct. 16 @ Red Deer; Next game: Took the first-place Calgary Hitmen down to the wire before dropping a heartbreaker
Loss: Oct. 18 @ Calgary; Next game: Overcame three-goal deficit to beat Medicine Hat
Obviously, they’re not coming into tonight’s game following a loss, having beaten Lethbridge Wednesday night, but bouncing back from losses is the sign of a well-prepared team, and so far the Winterhawks have done quite well for themselves after each defeat.
Expect the Hawks to take this game as seriously as they took the previous five on this trip. Even though 3-3 would make for a perfectly reasonable finish on this trip, 4-2 would set a high benchmark for the other U.S. teams to have to reach on their Central Division swings.
And really, isn’t it nice that the Winterhawks can be considered a pacesetter?
Filed under: Winterhawks
A quick link update for you on this foggy Thursday:
The Portland Tribune has an interview with team owner Bill Gallacher right here. Steve Brandon also spoke to Mike Johnston as the team was on the road to Cranbrook BC after last night’s win in Lethbridge, and that story can be found here.
Meanwhile, the WHL has posted a video interview with Andy where he breaks down the U.S. Division through the first month of the season. Check that out here.
You can also get the Lethbridge perspective on last night’s game in both their newspaper, and a blog post from broadcaster Pat Siedlecki.
After a scorching start the Winterhawks have hit a bit of a rough patch, with four losses in their last six games. It hasn’t helped that two of their division foes have caught fire: Everett is currently on a four-game winning streak, while the Tri-City Americans are the hottest team in the league with six wins a row. The Americans’ run has them tied for first in the division with the Winterhawks with 16 points, while Everett is just four points back and Spokane’s lurking with 11.
On the plus side, it’s nice to be concerned about the Hawks possibly losing their grip on first place, isn’t it?
The reality is that over a 72-game season, losing four of six is going to happen, and even the four they’ve lost have been understandable: they lost to Tri-Cities and Calgary, two first-place teams, by a total of three goals. The Everett loss came in their fourth game in five nights, while the Silvertips were playing just their second game in two weeks. And while the Red Deer loss was uncharacteristic, even it was the second game of a back-to-back.
Either way, there are still three games left on the road trip, and the team has a great shot to finish the trek 4-2 or 3-3, a mark I’m sure most fans would have taken before the trip started. Then once they get home, the Winterhawks will have 32 home games remaining to just 24 road games.
Meanwhile, the other teams will still have to go out for their Eastern swings. Everett’s tour through the Central Division starts next week, as does Seattle’s. Tri-Cities has a road-heavy schedule coming up; beginning October 24 they play five in a row away from home, come back for a matchup against Vancouver, then head out on the first of two three-game trips through the Central (the second one comes in January), a total of eight games out of nine on the road. And like Tri-Cities, Spokane splits their trip in two: their first go-round through the Central is late November, the second part in early January.
Here’s something else to consider: at the scheduling meetings this year, one of Mike Johnston’s big points of emphasis was avoiding the three game in three nights stretches which can wear a team out. Portland has just two remaining, on consecutive weekends at the end of January. On the other hand, Seattle has eight three-in-threes left, Tri-Cities has five, Spokane has four and Everett has three.
No need to worry, the Winterhawks are still in a good spot.
Ever since I posted the entry the other day quoting a Bob Seger song, I’ve felt my street cred level drop to a disastrously low level, which is problematic since it’s never very high to start with. So I wanted to start the blog today with a much cooler song choice, but do you have any idea how hard it is to come up with a song that fits with the team taking a bus ride to Red Deer, Alberta?
I considered Muse’s new song “Uprising”, which has a chorus that goes “They will not control us/We will be victorious”, until I took a closer look at the rest of the song and realized it’s actually advocating a citizen’s revolution against those in power. So scratch that.
Maybe next week I’ll do better, but for now let’s look at last night’s 5-2 win in Edmonton. The media there is fawning all over the Winterhawks today, with breathless game recaps that suggest the Oil Kings were hopelessly overmatched last night. Check out the accounts from the Edmonton Sun and the Journal. Speaking of which, I missed this article from the Portland Tribune’s website yesterday.
Meanwhile, the hosts of “The Pipeline Show” on Edmonton Sports radio posted an entry on their blog entitled “Rise of the Winterhawks” that’s definitely worth a read. They also did a couple of in-depth interviews with Mike Johnston and Kurtis Mucha that Winterhawks fans will want to listen to.
The team stayed overnight in Edmonton last night and will be traveling to Red Deer today for the game tonight against the Rebels. From reading Andy’s blog, it sounds like Portland won’t have to deal with Rebels sniper Landon Ferraro, who has yet to play this month due to injury. They will, however, have to contend with Willie Coetzee, whose 16 points in 10 games has him tied for third in the WHL. Red Deer also boasts 16-year-old rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who’s second in scoring among WHL rookies with 12 points in 10 games.
Following tonight’s game is the big showdown with Calgary on Sunday afternoon. Portland catches a big break there as the Hitmen play at home Saturday night against a very tough Saskatoon team, after which they’ll barely have 12 hours to recover before taking on the Winterhawks. Of course, longtime Winterhawk Mike Williamson is now behind the bench for the Hitmen, and the Tribune has a story about what it will be like for him going against his former team.
“When you’re riding sixteen hours and there’s nothing much to do
And you don’t feel much like riding, you just wish the trip was through.
Say, here I am, on the road again. There I am, up on the stage.
Here I go, playing star again.”
-Bob Seger, “Turn The Page”
Sadly, I wasn’t familiar with this song until Metallica covered it. And while I normally try to make music references that are a little more modern than Bob Seger, it’s the most fitting song for the Winterhawks’ trek to Edmonton (but believe me, I tried real hard to get “Have You Seen Me Lately?” by the Counting Crows to fit*). Next time I promise I’ll make a Shout Out Louds reference.
Anyway, the Winterhawks are now into a snowy day two in their journey to central Alberta. It likely won’t rival the legendary trip a few years ago when the team bus broke down in -30 degree weather somewhere in the Canadian prairies, but it still can’t be a lot of fun.
The six-games-in-nine-nights Central Division run starts tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oil Kings, who are off to a solid start at 5-3-0-2, which is good enough for second in the division. However, they’ve scored only 30 goals in 10 games, the lowest total in the Eastern Conference. They’re winning thanks to outstanding goaltending from Torrie Jung, who’s second in the WHL with a save percentage of 92.8%, and seventh with a goals against average of 2.46.
Mike Johnston has been quoted as saying he wants his team to get 10 shots in the first 10 minutes of every game. Even though they’ll be coming off a torturous bus trip, the Winterhawks will need to push the pace early tomorrow and get those 10 early shots on net to force Edmonton into a shootout. If they can get some early goals, it will be tough for the Oil Kings to find the offense to keep up. Whereas Portland has 11 players with seven or more points this season, Edmonton has just four. The Oil Kings can’t match Portland’s depth, and will be looking to get an early lead and milk the clock from there. Portland has to come out and dictate the tempo, not just for the sake of tomorrow’s game but to set the tone for the remainder of the trip.
Elsewhere, look for the Winterhawks in print over the next few days. The Tribune has a story on defenseman Joe Morrow (who’s already surpassed last season’s point total) scheduled to run tomorrow, while in the coming days the Columbian will have a preview of the road trip and a recap of the season’s first 10 games.There’s another big feature coming soon in the Portland media, but it’s still in progress and I don’t know when it will run. But it should be a nice in-depth piece fans will really appreciate. I’ll keep you posted as we get closer.
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*Say what you will about the Counting Crows, but “Have You Seen Me Lately?” is a fantastic song. So’s “Angels of the Silences”. But what do people remember that album for? “A Long December”, an absolutely brutal song. That’s like someone remembering an episode of Cheers because it centered around Lilith.
Hopefully you saw The Oregonian’s big feature on Brett Ponich’s fundraising efforts for his friend Tanner Hubbs, who was paralyzed in an accident earlier this summer. You can bid on auction items or just make a donation at both Friday’s game vs. Tri-Cities and Saturday’s game vs. Prince Albert. It’s a great cause, so make sure you come out and support Ponich and the Hubbs family.
Also, the Portland Tribune ran a nice feature on Daniel Johnston’s comeback from neck surgery last year. He’s off to a great start with six points in six games and a +9 rating.
Tomorrow you’ll be able to catch Mike Johnston live on 95.5 The Game at 6:35 a.m. with the morning crew. Make sure you set the alarm and listen in for that one.
Finally, the Oregon Sports Final feature on Berglund and Niederreiter should run Sunday night. It had been slated for last week, but was bumped and should air this Sunday.
Switching gears a bit, let’s take a look at the schedule for a second. The Hawks have a three-games-in-three-nights run this weekend, which is actually four-in-five if you count yesterday in Everett, then follow up with the grueling six-game trek through Alberta (and Kootenay) through October 23.
By the time Portland gets back from that trip, they’ll have played 12 road games to just four home games, which sets them up nicely for the rest of the season:
Month Home Games Road Games
November 7 5
December 7 4
January 7 6
February 6 6
March 4 2
In all but one month the Hawks have more home games than road, and in February the number is even.If they can come back from the Central swing and still hold their grip on first place, it will be a great setup for the rest of the season. Seattle and Everett have their Central swings right after the Hawks, while Spokane goes in November (Tri-Cities has two three-game trips later this season). If the Hawks can come out of the trip with their grip on first place intact, it puts a lot of pressure on the other U.S. team to keep up when they go out on their big trips.
The Hawks will also catch one break on their big trip. When they go into Calgary on Sunday, October 18, Portland will be heading into the 2 p.m. matinee after a relatively short bus ride from Red Deer. But the Hitmen play at home the night before against Saskatoon, meaning they’ll barely have 12 hours before hitting the ice against Portland. That could be huge break for the Winterhawks, who will definitely be looking to jump on them early.
Meanwhile, look at Everett’s schedule for a second. They played yesterday after a 10-day layoff, and are off until Sunday’s game against the Winterhawks. By the end of this weekend, Portland will have played 10 games, and the Silvertips just five. You think having to make up those games won’t take a toll later in the season?
Even though it’s a long season, the next few weeks could be a big determining factor in how the division will play out.
