Game 7 of the first round series between the Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks goes tonight at 7pm in Veterans Memorial Coliseum. With both teams’ seasons on the line, let’s preview the game by taking a look inside the numbers.
30.1 – As in the number of seconds Portland was away from sealing this series last Saturday and setting up a second round matchup with Everett starting at the Angel of the Winds Arena on Friday.
Instead, after Portland nearly notched an empty netter, Nolan Reid’s shot deflected off of Alex Overhardt and past Portland goalie Cole Kehler and after Spokane took care of business at home, we find ourselves in a winner-move-on Game 7 tonight at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
5– Number of times the Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks have gone the distance in a playoff series. In the 2010 first round series between the two, they went to overtime before then 16-year-old Ty Rattie started his playoff legacy. He would end up having the most playoff goals of any WHL player in history.
Spokane took their 2003 first round series in Game 7, by a 4-2 score.
The year Portland won their most recent Memorial Cup in Spokane, they went to seven games with the Chiefs in the 1998 Western Conference Final. They took Game 7 by a 3-2 score.
1996 first round-Spokane won the series in seven games before going all the way to the WHL Final.
1986 Division Semi-Finals-Portland won the best-of-nine series five games to four.
8- Number of wins in 23 tries at Veterans Memorial Coliseum this year for Portland. There are many theories out there as to why Portland is so much worse at the VMC than they are at the Moda Center or on the road, but the fact is they have struggled mightily at the glass palace. They already went against recent history by losing on the road in Game 6, so we will see if they can shake off the poor record there and take this one. The two losses there have been in overtime though and Portland had many chances to win both.
1 – Number of goals scored by Kieffer Bellows. That is also the number of shots he had in Game 6 of this series. The Bellows-Glass-McKenzie line has been bottled up for large stretches of this series, something that does not happen very often. When Spokane has had the last change at home, they have been able to ensure that Tyson Helgesen and Ty Smith are out there each time Glass and Co. are. Those two, along with Spokane’s forwards have done a marvelous job of getting in tight on the three star Winterhawks players and not allowing them to work the puck around with speed. Helgesen and Smith are two of the best skaters on the blue line for Spokane and they have been able to stick right with them, something most of the other d-men would not be able to do.
Bellows specifically has had some incredible looks at home, when Portland gets the match up they want, but has been stoned by Spokane goalie Dawson Weatherill countless times and has hit the post or missed the net on others. He is more than due to have a big game.
One is also the amount of goals scored by Spokane’s Kailer Yamamoto, a first round NHL draft pick in his own right. His lone marker was the OT winner in Game 5.
5- Number of minor penalties committed by Bellows this series. While big in stature, playing on or over the line is something Bellows seems to only resort to when he is frustrated offensively. The more Spokane can get him to take penalties behind the play – like he did on Ethan McIndoe in Game 6 – the more they can get him off his game and keep him off the score sheet.
14.3 – Portland’s power play percentage through the first six games. Hey, they are no longer last in the WHL playoffs, that is something right? The Hawks have just three power play goals. Two were by defenseman Dennis Cholowski and one was by second power play unit guy Mason Mannek. The Hawks need to start getting a power play goal or two from the likes of Glass (16 in the regular season), McKenzie (14) and Bellows (nine) to be successful.
2- Goals scored by Spokane’s 16-year-old rookie Luke Toporowski. The 16-year-old from Bettendorf, Iowa who was compared to Sidney Crosby by NHL Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, has had a star-making type of series. He had the OT winner in Game 1 on the road and scored a huge goal in Game 6 that kept the Winterhawks at bay. If there is a rookie who is going to follow in Rattie’s footsteps and net the Game 7 winner, he is an easy bet.
25 – As in the jersey number of Portland power forward Lukus MacKenzie, who has been missing since taking a hit against Everett late in the season. While he was an under-the-radar move by Portland at the trade deadline, when he was brought in from Red Deer, MacKenzie has fit right in with Portland given something they really needed – a big body up front. His fourth line with Reece Newkirk and converted d-man Conor MacEachern was really clicking towards the end of the year and allowed Portland to cycle four lines. They were especially strong at controlling possession and with MacKenzie, laying the body on Spokane. Connor Barley, who did not play a single regular season game in the WHL this year, has not looked out of place, but that line has not been the same since they lost MacKenzie. It is unknown whether he would return even if Portland advanced.
12 – first periods where Spokane has out shot Portland. They have out shot them overall in the first 80-68…only twice in the six games has Portland had more shots in the first. The team that scores first is 4-2 in the series. Conversely Portland has never been out shot in the third period in the series. Twice they have out shot Spokane by 10 or more in the final frame.
In the past, when Portland has had talented teams like this one, a fast start has been key to giving them confidence and imposing their will on an opponent.
Zach Fischer has also been important in the early going for Spokane, throwing his frame around and making Portland uncomfortable. Ethan McIndoe and him have really gotten stronger as the series has gone on and have done an excellent job of making Portland’s star players look over their shoulder a little more than they are used to.
15 – Number of points by Portland defense. Cholowski and Henri Jokiharju have led the way but Keoni Texeira has also chipped in by activating when given the opportunity.
2.93– Goals Against Average by Spokane goalie Dawson Weatherill. He has stopped 71 of his last 77 shots faced. Spokane surprised a lot of people by starting Bailey Brkin to open the series and then going back to him after his confidence looked shaken. They finally settled on Weatherill and the big netminder has slowly gained confidence in the series. His play in Game 5 was one of the only reasons Spokane even had a chance at tying the game late. He takes up a lot of space in net and has done a good job of staying settled and not getting out of position – something he has a tendency to do when his confidence is not there. If Portland can get a quick couple goals on him and continue making him uncomfortable in net by going hard at the crease, they could crack him.
It will certainly not be easy as the goalie has a lot of talent and was listed at different points over the past two years on NHL Central Scouting’s rankings.
20– penalties taken in the last 2:48 of Game 6. How much all that feisty play in the last three minutes of Game 6 will carry over into Game remains to be seen but if it does we could end up with a whole lot of power play time for each team or 4-on-4 hockey. Either way this will disrupt the flow of the game, which is not a thing Spokane or Portland wants. Who it favors more is anyone’s guess.
36.7, 47.9 and 52.2 – Face off percentages by Portland’s top three centers Cody Glass, Alex Overhardt and Jake Gricius. Spokane has gotten better at the draw as the series has gone on, at Portland’s expense. Late in games the Chiefs top draw-men have won a bunch of important face offs, leading to great chances in the Portland zone.
65.5 – Face off win percentage by Jaret Anderson-Dolan.
11-to-5 – Number of power plays Spokane has had vs the number Portland has been granted in Game 5 and Game 6 combined.
The refereeing will always be questioned, but the fact of the matter is that Spokane seems more comfortable with a physical, grinding series than Portland, at least so far. Portland has not been able to engage without stepping over the line on more than a couple occasions. The Hawks have the ability to play a shutdown style of game, with committed back-checking (see both shutout wins over Everett late in the season) but they have not been able to do this consistently this series. We shall see if they can do it tonight in Game 7. It’s likely what is needed to move on.
