Chris Mast

Everett rolls over Portland to capture U.S. Division lead

In retrospect it seemed to be building to this. In the first few months of the 2017-18 season, the Portland Winterhawks were riding high and even out together a league-high 12-game win streak at one point. Since that win streak ended though, the wheels have fallen off a bit and the Hawks have lost eight of ten. Meanwhile, their neighbors up north have been on a tear. Riding perhaps the best junior goalie in North America, they have won 14 of their last 17 now. With the changing misfortunes of the two teams, the 2017 part of the 2017-18 season ended with the Everett Silvertips beating the Portland Winterhawks 8-3 and overtaking them for the U.S. Division lead. Portland had been on top of the division since pretty much the start of the year.

Jaydon Dureau made his WHL debut for Portland(Photo by Christopher Mast/Icon Sportswire)

Sunday evening, the Silvertips, who have won most of those 14 games on the back of goaltending and defense, had Portland’s goal light on for most of the night. They piled up five goals in the second period and went on to beat Portland 8-3. Bryce Kindopp scored twice and Montana Onyebuchi, Reece Vitelli, Akash Bains, Luke Ormsby, Riley Sutter and Martin Fasko-Rudas all added two points apiece.

Dustin Wolf, starting his third game in three nights, turned away 26 of 29 in the win.

Just a minute and nine seconds into the game, Portland scored. Brendan De Jong was able to start the flow of play the other way with a nice poke-check at his own blue line and Ryan Hughes drove into the zone. He found Cody Glass driving the right wing and Glass’s shot was redirected past Wolf.

Everett got that one back from a player having one of the best runs in his WHL career. Montana Onyebuchi kept the puck in and hammered one on Shane Farkas’s right pad. Bryce Kindopp was there for the rebound and notched his third goal in his last five games.

Everett scored again with just over three minutes left in the first. Luke Ormsby put on the after burners and blew past Conor MacEachern for a loose puck. He then went to put a move on Farkas but lost the puck and it trickled through Farkas’s pads.

Portland got that one right back as McKenzie pulled the puck out of a corner scrum and wired a shot that Wolf was unprepared for. The goal was McKenzie’s second of the game and third in the first periods of the last two games.

Martin Fasko-Rudas scored his first WHL goal(Photo by Christopher Mast/Icon Sportswire)

The Silvertips then out together one of their best periods of hockey this year with five unanswered goals.

Kindopp matched McKenzie’s goal total for the game to start the barrage. Jake Christiansen threw the puck right to where Kindopp was and the 19-year-old reached out and redirected it past Farkas before the goalie could get over to his left.

The ‘Tips added another as a point shot from Onyebuchi was deflected past Farkas by Martin Fasko-Rudas. The marker was the imports first in the WHL.

Then the run for the ‘Tips kept going as Akash Bains added a goal to end Farkas’ night and Patrick Bajkov and Riley Sutter scored near identical goals to make it 7-2. Cole Kehler came in to relieve Farkas after the starter this night stopped 19 of 24.

Both Bajkov and Sutter then scored on one-timers with no defender anywhere near them. Both times Portland tried to rush out of the zone without clear possession of the puck and both times they got burned. Both teams were taking risks on these plays as both Bajkov and Sutter were in behind the play and Everett would have given up an odd-man rush of the Hawks had won possession. Instead, Portland could not and the result was two goals Kehler had no chance to stop.

Jake Gricius gave Portland a semblance of life with a goal to start the third, but Everett closed out the scoring with one from Brandson Hein to close the game out with an 8-3 Everett final score.

Cole Kehler stopped 12 of 15 in relief of Farkas. The Winterhawks did not have a power play all night and gave up three themselves. Everett did not score on any of the three.

Everett now has a one point lead on Portland for the division lead, but they do have three games in hand on the Silvertips. Portland is next in action at home on December 27th, while Everett plays Vancouver in Langley. Portland will very likely continue to be without Henri Jokiharju, Joachim Blichfeld and Kieffer Bellows for that game and the following five games. All five games are intra-division ones.

Game Notes:

-Everett now leads the season series 4-2.

-McKenzie led the Hawks with four shots.

-Matthew Quigley has had a rough time without his usual d-partner. He was minus-four and has not had a plus rating since November 22nd.

-Jaydon Dureau did not look put of place in his WHL debut. He had one shot and it was a good look on the rush off a feed from McKenzie.