On back-to-back nights the Tri-City Americans (17-12-1-1) and Portland Winterhawks (19-11-2-2) needed more than 60 minutes to settle the score. For the second night in a row, the Americans came away with the extra point, and four points on the weekend. Kyle Olson scored his second of the evening while shorthanded, giving Tri-City the 4-3 victory.
Saturday night in Tri-City, the Americans scored with the extra attacker late in the game to force overtime. On Sunday in Portland, the Winterhawks capitalized on the 6-on-5 to send the game to 3-on-3.
After a scramble play in front of Beck Warm’s net, the puck ended up on the stick of Winterhawks overage defenseman Jared Freadrich. The Camrose, Alberta native sent a slap shot through traffic evening the score at three with 34 seconds to play.
Ryan Hughes, who finished the night with a goal and an assist, spoke about the goal, “It was a cluster in the middle there. The guy was down on the ground and everyone started pitchforking for the puck, and it got out to [Joachim] Blichfeld somehow, back to Ludvig, and then Jared. It was a pretty good feeling, but too bad we couldn’t close the game out.”
The Winterhawks were in a position to have to pull the goalie after Riley Sawchuk’s second goal of the contest.
Beck Warm made a save on Lane Gilliss at one end, and Sawchuk finished at the other giving the Americans the 3-2 lead.
Portland head coach Mike Johnston after the game said, “That was a big moment. Big save on Gilliss. Then they turned around and came down to score. It was that type of game; I thought they had the slight edge in play, much like we did last night.”
Each team scored twice in the second frame; neither were able to score in the first 20 minutes.
For Portland, Blichfeld found the back of the net for the 31st time this season, which leads the WHL at the Holiday break. The winger from Frederikshavn, Denmark found a pocket of space in the slot to send a wrist shot by Warm.
The second Winterhawks goal was started by Joachim when he batted the puck out of the air to defenseman Clay Hanus. Hanus found Hughes who said he was “screaming at Clay coming down the middle to get him the puck. I took a quick shot which hit the post and trickled in.”
Hughes’ goal was scored only 53 seconds after Sawchuk’s first goal. A dominate offensvie zone shift for the Americans forced the Winterhawks to ice the puck. With a tired group of defenders on the ice Johnston called his timeout. However, the Tri-City coaching staff were working up a play of their own for the ensuing faceoff. Sawchuk won the faceoff and the other four Americans’ players touched the puck before Riley deposited the rebound into the open net.
Kyle Olson had scored just less than three minutes earlier to tie the game on a well-placed slap shot over the glove hand of Shane Farkas. The Winterhawks turned the puck over behind their own net creating the chance for Olson.
In overtime the Americans tested Farkas early, but the 19-year-old goalie made three key saves, two of which were follow-up chances. Saturday night’s hero, Aaron Hyman, tripped Ryan Hughes with 2:20 to play.
Johnston described the power play in overtime, “I thought we had some really good looks on the power play and were trying to get Blichfeld the shot, which wasn’t there. Hughes took a few really good opportunities from the side there. 4-on-3 is not nearly as effective of a power play. You don’t often get it or a chance to practice it. When we have practiced it before its been with Cody [Glass] running it, so not having Cody takes a little bit off that unit.”
Not only did the Americans prevent Blichfeld from getting a shot, they went up ice shorthanded. Olson received an area pass from Sawchuk before going around Blichfeld cutting to the net. The Calgary, Albert native beat Farkas with a one-handed shot just as the Winterhawks backcheckers arrived. With Olson scoring his second, Sawchuk finished with his first ever four point night in the WHL.
The goal gave the Americans four points in the standings this weekend and closed the gap in the U.S. Division. At the Holiday break, the Americans are now just six points behind Spokane and Portland who are tied with 42. Tri-City has three games in hand on both teams.
The teams are now off until Friday, December 28th when they meet again in the Moda Center following the break.
Johnston spoke about the importance of the break for his team, “The break is always good, especially for young kids. We have a lot of young kids, first-year players on our team. I know they arrive on August 20th or so and it has been a long haul for them. They need a break, a mental and physical break. They need to get home, enjoy it, take some time, stay in shape, and then come back. The second half is going to go by quick.”
Notes:
– After the final horn sounded, the referees handed out five penalties, none of which will impact future games. Kyle Olson received four minutes, two for unsportsmanlike conduct and two for roughing. Reece Newkirk also picked up four minutes, two each for cross checking and roughing. A 10-minute misconduct was assessed to Brendan De Jong, which appeared to be for what he said rather than a physical infraction.
– Tyson Kozak was called up after Cody Glass went to Team Canada’s Selection Camp. Johnston was impressed with the 2002-born forward (who is wearing a caged helmet since he hasn’t turned 16 yet), “He will be with us after the break. He is a good skater and smart player. Games like that are hard to get him a lot of minutes. The two games he has played he’s had maybe 15-20 shifts and every shift you give him is going to help him since he is still 15 years old.”
– Joachim Blichfeld leads the WHL in both goals (31) and points (65) at the halfway mark of the season.
– The teams were a combined 1-for-18 on the power play over the two game series. The only power-play goal scored between the teams was Nolan Yaremko’s second tally on Saturday to tie the game, which came on a 6-on-4.
