Whenever the Spokane Chiefs (20-13-4-1) and Portland Winterhawks (28-6-1-3) get together, the game never disappoints.
Tuesday at the Moda Center was the latest example as Portland defeated Spokane 5-3. This time, Jaydon Dureau and Seth Jarvis put on a show, combining for seven points (3G, 4A).
However, for the sixth straight game, the Winterhawks allowed the game’s first goal.
Cordel Larson led a two-on-one rush into the Portland zone. He cut to the middle before shooting glove side on Dante Giannuzzi. The 2001-born forward also scored last Friday when the same two teams met in Spokane.
The Chiefs lead did not last one minute before the Winterhawks responded.
Mason Mannek put a shot on Lukáš Pařík, who was playing his first game since returning from representing the Czech Republic at the World Juniors. The rebound went to his right where Johnny Ludvig was waiting to fire in his 12th goal of the 2019-2020 season.
Winterhawks vice president, general manager, and head coach Mike Johnston is not concerned with the latest trend. “It doesn’t bother us. At this point of the season, you have been through a lot of stuff, you score first and they score first, it doesn’t matter. We have been good though when the other team scores first by replying and getting a goal back. I don’t remember the last time we were down by a couple. I don’t really look at who scores first — I just look at how we are playing coming out of the gate. Our first periods have been really good so far this year.”
With 2:03 left in the opening frame, Portland had its second power play.
The home side only needed four seconds to get the 2-1 lead. Jake Gricius won the faceoff back to Seth Jarvis. The 17-year-old put the puck towards the net where Pařík tried to push it to the corner. However, he was not able to get the puck by Reece Newkirk. The New York Islanders draft pick had half of the net to tuck in the loose puck.
With his 17th goal of the year, Newkirk extended his points streak to 14 straight games.
“A big thing is my linemates. A lot of people say that, but lately, they’ve really helped me out a lot,” Newkirk explained about his streak. “Without them, I wouldn’t even be on this streak. I think this year my game has changed a little bit. Last year, I played with Cody (Glass) and (Joachim) Blichfeld for a while. Obviously, Cody gave me some amazing passes, but I think this year I look to feed guys. It has been working lately.”
Johnston also pointed out how Newkirk plays without the puck. “I like Reece best when he plays well defensively, on the right side of the puck. His offensive game will always take care of itself, but for me, Reece Newkirk plays his best — going to be a pro — by playing a two-way game.”
Portland took a 2-1 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes.
Both teams replicated their performance in the second period.
Jaydon Dureau finished off a strong play by Jarvis, getting behind his defender. Pařík went for a diving poke check, knocking the puck off the Winnipeg, Manitoba, native’s stick; however, it went right to Dureau who had a wide-open net for his seventh goal of the season.
The duo of Jarvis and Dureau connected again about ten minutes later.
Dureau got free enough to send a backhand pass to the front of the net. The puck took an unfortunate bounce off of Jack Finley as Jarvis was crashing the net. Going short side, Jarvis picked up his last fourth goal in four periods.
The Winterhawks were looking to break the game open, but Spokane went in on a three-on-one rush led by Leif Mattson. The overage forward fed Toporowski who could have elected to shoot but instead spun a pass to Eli Zummack to complete a perfectly executed odd-man break. The goal was Zummack’s 13th of the season and pushed his points streak to 15 straight.
In the third period, Spokane pushed, looking to even the score and got within one with 6:35 to play.
Finley’s puck luck evened out when Adam Beckman’s heavy wrist shot caromed towards his feet. The 17-year-old leveraged the relatively new rule where a player is allowed to kick/direct the puck in with his skate as long as he is outside of the crease. The play went under video review but was quickly determined to be a legal goal.
With the Chiefs pressing and the faceoff in the Portland zone with 2:36 remaining, head coach Manny Viveiros called his timeout. After the 30 second break, Pařík remained on the bench for the extra attacker.
Bear Hughes came close to finding the equalizer, but a Matthew Quigley blocked shot after a seam pass got through Portland’s defensive box preserved the Winterhawks advantage.
A second reset and faceoff occurred after the puck went out of play. With three players tied up behind Giannuzzi’s net, Johnny Ludvig dug the puck out of the tangled skates. Jarvis picked up the puck from the captain and raced to center. Instead of shooting for his 20th goal of the year, he unselfishly passed to Dureau for the empty-net goal.
The goal was Dureau’s second of the game. The 18-year-old has elevated his offensive game with four goals in his last four games. The assist gave Jarvis his first four-point night in the WHL.
Newkirk talked about the duo. “They work very well together — didn’t have their normal centerman (Jack O’Brien), but Gabe (Klassen) stepped in there well with them. Those two just play so well together.”
Johnston was quick to point out how their 2002-born forwards fit in so well on that line. “When you look at Dureau and Jarvis, they play mostly with 16-year-olds — Klassen tonight and O’Brien for most of the time while the guys have been away. We have got good 16-year-olds that can fill in on any line. We have used them on any line, just not playing them together.”
“I think our team has a lot of chemistry together,” Dureau said. “We all work so well with each other. It isn’t about any one of us individually but about how well we work as a group.”
The 5-3 win ended a series of nine straight games against the U.S. Division for the Winterhawks who went 8-0-0-1. Starting goaltender Joel Hofer and top-nine forward Simon Knak were away during that time, making these results even more impressive.
Newkirk said of their run against division opponents, “We look at the standings, don’t always focus on it, but it’s in the back of our mind. This year we want to finish first and get the biggest advantage we can heading into playoffs.”
Dureau feels their success comes down to “being mentally prepared and ready to play against our rivals. Especially when we were in Spokane, we had that edge to want to beat them that much more.”
The duo of Giannuzzi and Isaiah DiLaura combined for a 2.18 goals-against average and 0.917 save percentage while Hofer was representing Canada at the World Juniors, shutting down any doubts about how the team would fare during the stretch.
Dureau praised Giannuzzi on Tuesday night. “Our defense was outstanding minus some team mental errors, but when we did, Dante stood on his head, making some big saves for us.”
Portland now turns its attention to a new opponent this weekend. The Victoria Royals are up next and are currently third in the B.C. Division, one point behind Kelowna with two games in hand.
The Winterhawks have allowed the fewest number of goals this season (87), but the Royals are not far behind (92). Familiar face Shane Farkas is having a strong overage season, posting 15 wins, 2.30 goals-against average, and a 0.926 save percentage. The Penticton, British Columbia, native previously played 84 games with Portland over the stretch of three seasons.
Before Portland drops the puck next, though, the WHL Trade Deadline will have passed. Any trades must be completed by 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday. Mike Johnston and his front office staff have some tough decisions ahead should they look to improve their team from the outside.
Notes:
– Dante Giannuzzi stopped 25-of-28 shots in his fourth straight win. Lukáš Pařík saved 33-of-37 Portland shots.
– Spokane was 0-for-3 on the power play while Portland converted on one of its two opportunities.
– Adam Beckman did not score for the first time in ten games — a franchise-record streak.
