DUBNetwork Game of the Night: Moose Jaw Warriors (12-35-4-0) @ Portland Winterhawks (38-8-3-4) 5:00 PM local time
The only game on a quiet Sunday, the Warriors make their third stop of their biennial US Division road trip. They are 0-1-1-0 thus far.
Portland will play the first of two games in a row at home Both games are being played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, not Moda Center. Portland is 21-1-2-2 at home this season. Moose Jaw is 4-16-3-0 on the road.
There is not a lot of comparison between these two teams this season. Portland leads the US Division with 83 points. Moose Jaw is last in the East Division with 28 points.
When it comes to offense, Portland has five scorers with at least 50 points, including draft-eligible Seth Jarvis leading the way with 76 points. Reece Newkirk (59), Jaydon Dureau (54), Jake Gricius (53) and defenseman Johnny Ludvig (52) are the others. The Winterhawks slightly edge the Kamloops Blazers for most goals per game in the Western Conference with 4.15. They are also one of the stingiest teams, allowing just 2.55 goals per game.
Jarvis is currently riding a five-game point streak. In that time, he has six goals and six assists for 12 points. Dureau is also on a five-game point streak, registering three goals and five assists.
Moose Jaw is led by 2021 draft prospect Ryder Korczak. In a tough season for the Warriors, he has 15 goals and 43 assists and is riding a four-game point streak (1G,5A). 20-year-old Owen Hardy has 32 points in 40 games since being brought in from the Vancouver Giants. Import Martin Lang has been playing at a near point-per-game pace for the Warriors since the trade deadline with four goals and nine assists in 15 games. Their offense is anemic, scoring just 2.39 goals per game.
Defenseman Chase Hartje came over from the Winnipeg ICE and has played well for the Warriors. He has three goals and 10 assists over 27 games in the Black and Red. Promising rookie Daemon Hunt, who is one or two weeks away from the action, had 11 assists in 23 games before he went down with an injury. The team averages 4.51 goals against per game.
Portland has an opportunity to rest Joel Hofer and start backup Dante Giannuzzi. In his six games of action, Giannuzzi has provided the Winterhawks with a solid backup for this kind of situation. Five of his six games have come since the holiday break. He is 5-0-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.
Moose Jaw has two options in net — Brock Gould and Boston Bilous. With Bilous being pulled in his last outing, you can expect to see Gould between the pipes for this tough contest. Gould has a 0-5-2-0 record since coming over from the Victoria Royals just before the trade deadline. Overall, he is 6-11-3-0 with a 3.64 goals-against average and .894 save percentage.
Portland has a top-five power play this season, successful on 23.5% of its man advantages. Moose Jaw has a success rate of 17.1%, good for 16th overall. Portland is also very good on the penalty kill, ranking second at a rate of 86.0%. Moose Jaw is last in penalty kill rate, currently successful at killing just 71.5% of its penalties.
You can catch all the action on WHL Live or tune into Warriors play-by-play man James Gallo on Country 100.7 FM or Nick Marek on the Winterhawks App.
