The Portland Winterhawks (19-4-0-0) continued their central division road trip and made their way to central Alberta to face the Edmonton Oil Kings (5-17-2-0). Travis Child got the nod once again for the Oil Kings while Cole Kehler, after a rare night off on Friday, got his 18th start.
It would be another memorable one for Kehler, as he turned away all 22 Edmonton shots he saw and earned his second shutout of the year. The victory was the Winterhawks 10th in-a-row.
After scoreless first 20 minutes, with Portland seemingly pushing the pace of play while the Oil Kings were very effective with counter-attacking. Both sides managed to stay out the box for the most part and the Oil Kings defense seemed to contain the dangerous Portland offense well. Shots after the first were 10-4 for Portland.
Portland opened the scoring early into the second period with Cody Glass’s shot off the rush over the glove of Child. It was the Vegas Golden Knights prospect’s 15th of the season with the assists going to fellow first rounder Henri Jokiharju and goalie Kehler. Glass capitalized once again on the power play around the mid-way point of the second on a tap in goal off the scramble in front of Child. The end of the second was heated with the Oil Kings looking to find some production from their offense. Final shots through 40 were 22 -10 for Portland.
The third started similar to the first, both teams struggled to find ways to score with the Oil Kings looking more comfortable and pushing the pace a bit more-generating more shots towards Kehler but struggling to get anything by the net minder. Skyler McKenzie netted his 20th of the season on a shorthanded empty-net-goal and sealed the win for Portland. Final shots in the game were 33-22 for Portland.
Game Notes:
-Vegas Golden Knights first round pick Cody Glass picked up two goals in the win and was a dominant force on the ice tonight. For someone who hasn’t gotten the opportunity to watch his play in a while, Glass has really improved his game and looks like a top player in the WHL. He has a dangerous shot along that combined with his ability to create offense for players around him makes him a balanced offensive threat.
-David Kope has continued to earn his ice time. Tonight he played on the top line with Davis Koch and Trey Fix-Wolansky where he played a solid game despite no production. Kope is a late ’00 birth date whose game has continued to flourish since making the Oil Kings out of camp as an 8th round pick in 2015.
-Another first round NHL pick, Henri Jokiharju showcased a fairly solid two-way game. He contributed assists on both of Cody Glass’s goal and found ways to be effective on both sides of the puck. Jokiharju is a solid puck distributor and transitional game. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect looks like he has all the tools to become an NHL player.
-Ethan Cap had a much improved game, arguably one of his best performances this season. His competitive attitude really flourished tonight and he was able to contain well defensively. His transitional game has continued to improve with his neutral zone play and I was really impressed with his ability to control the play in his own zone.
