Winterhawks Game Day Preview: Portland at Calgary – Game #21
Portland (16-4-0-0) at Calgary (6-13-3-1) – 7:00 pm MST / 6:00 p.m PST – Calgary, AB
Listen: http://winterhawks.com/listen
PREVIOUS GAME: Winterhawks 5 at Kootenay 2: The Portland Winterhawks took down the Kootenay Ice 5-2 to kick off their Canadian road trip.
The Winterhawks (16-4-0-0) opened up the scoring with a goal from Skyler Mckenzie in the first period to give the Hawks a one goal advantage. Portland extended it’s lead to two in the second period on a goal from Lane Gilliss, his second of the season. The Ice (10-13-1-0) responded two minutes later at the 4:48 mark with a goal from Cameron Hausinger. Late into the second, Brendan De Jong potted his first goal of the season on a power play goal to make it 3-1 at the end of two periods.
Portland added two more in the third period, Kieffer Bellows and Skyler McKenzie both scored to extend the Hawks lead to 5-1. The Ice would add one late making it a 5-2 final for Portland.
Cole Kehler made 37 saves in the win. Portland improved to 16-4-0-0 on the season.
TODAY’S OPPONENT: The Hawks are in Calgary tonight for their lone matchup this season against the Hitmen. The Winterhawks dominated Calgary last season in Portland, coming away with a 9-2 win. Most Hawks fans will remember this contest as the game Cody Glass scored a hat-trick in the first period.
Looking at this year’s version of the Hitmen, they have struggled out of the gate. Calgary is just 6-13-3-1 on the year and sit 5th in the Central Division. They’ve won just two of their last 10 games and are 3-6-0-0 at home this season. Entering tonight, they’ve lost six games in a row.
Upfront for the Hitmen, over-age forward and Winnipeg Jets draft pick Matteo Gennaro, leads the team in scoring with 24 points in 21 games. Vancouver Canucks prospect Jakob Stukel is 2nd on the team in goals with 10 and has four in his last six games.
On the backend, it’s a pair of defensive leading the way. Jake Bean, the 13th overall pick by Carolina in the 2016 NHL Draft, has 20 points in 19 games. The Calgary-born D-man is averaging nearly a point-per-game over his last three seasons with the Hitmen. Calgary has also seen steady production out of Belarusian-import Vladislav Yeryomenko, whose tied with Bean for the team lead in points among defensemen.
In net, over-age goaltender Nick Schneider has seen the bulk of the starts this year. He owns a 6-10-3-1 record on the season, with a 3.37 GAA and .892 SV%. Schneider spent the majority of his first three seasons in the WHL with Medicine Hat.
WINTERHAWKS TO KEEP AN EYE ON: Skyler McKenzie is playing some of the best hockey of his career. The 5’9” forward is on a five-game goal streak, a seven-game point streak, and has 13 points during that span. McKenzie’s 18 goals on the year put him in a tie for 6th in the WHL.
Mckenzie’s linemate Cody Glass has been just as good. The Vegas Golden Knights draft pick is also on a seven-game point streak and has four goals and 15 points during that span. Glass has multi-point games in six of his last seven contests.
Cole Kehler just keeps winning. The over-age goaltender picked up his 50th career WHL win on Tuesday against Kootenay. It was also his 7th straight win. Kehler has not allowed more than two goals in a game since October 29th against Everett. But there is the potential it’s Shane Farkas seeing the net tonight. If so, it will be Farkas’ first start since October 21st in Kelowna.
STAT OF THE DAY: Henri Jokiharju has the second most points in the WHL among defenseman in the month of November. (11 pts in seven games)
Here’s how the two teams played head-to-head last season:
Winterhawks: 1-0-0-0 Hitmen: 0-1-0-0
Last Year’s Season Series:
Calgary 2 @ Portland 9 (Nov 12 2016) Final
The Hawks are on the road for their next five games as part of their season long Central Division swing. You can catch all the action at Winterhawks.com/listen or on the Winterhawks App. Portland returns home on Sunday, December 3rd against the Saskatoon Blades at the Moda Center. Get your tickets HERE!
