Friday night in Portland, the Winterhawks (17-10-0-2) continued their recent offensive outburst as they defeated the Prince George Cougars (11-15-1-2) 5-2 behind five different goal scorers. The Winterhawks scoring has come to life over the last three games, scoring 23 goals.
Portland came out strong in the first period capitalizing on two power play goals. Joachim Blichfeld scored his team leading 26th of the season after a give-and-go passing play with Ryan Hughes. Seth Jarvis scored his fifth of the season two minutes later on a faceoff win by Jake Gricius.
“We were just trying to get it back to the defenseman for a shot,” Jarvis said. “I guess it hit Gricius’ and their guy’s stick at the same time and the puck popped to the slot. I was there and able to capitalize; was just trying to get as far away from the people as possible so I could score.”
Jake Gricius said, “Anytime we can go on the power play and capitalize is huge for us, get a confidence boost going.”
In the second period Robbie Fromm-Delorme used his speed to get behind the Prince George defense for a partial breakaway. After the scramble play at the net, the 16-year-old rookie backhanded a shot over Taylor Gauthier giving Portland a 3-0 lead.
After a strong shift in the offensive zone, Josh Maser scored for the Cougars on the power play. HIs ninth goal of the season gave Prince George new life.
Portland committed two penalties back-to-back giving the Cougars 1:47 of 5-on-3 power play time to cut into the Winterhawks’ 3-1 advantage. However, it was Portland who capitalized.
Gricius won a puck battle against three Cougars and backhanded the puck high into the neutral zone for Cody Glass to skate onto. Jarvis said, “Gricius made a great play getting it up to Glass. Cody then turned on the afterburners and then a good shot finally potting it in.”
Glass’ initial attempt was saved by Gauthier, but the Vegas first round pick stayed with the play giving Portland their fifth shorthanded goal of the season.
Winterhawks’ head coach Mike Johnston said, “The shorthanded goal by Cody was the key turning point in the game. It is always hard as a power play unit if the killers on the other team can score.”
Instead of closing the gap on the Winterhawks, the Cougars found themselves down 4-1 and were unable to convert on the remaining power-play time.
The depth scoring for Portland continued as John Ludvig scored his second of the season. His slap shot from the point made it through a group of bodies in front of Isaiah DiLaura, who entered the game to start the third period.
Vladislav Mikhalchuk brought Prince George within three on his ninth goal of the season, but was too little too late for the Cougars. The final horn sounded with Portland outshooting Prince George 35-25.
The same two teams play again on Saturday night across the street in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Jarvis hopes to see the team use their “speed and energy again” while Gricius felt, “Tonight [Friday] was big to set the tone against them. It is important for us to set the tone early in a two-game series so they know what to expect in the second one.”
Portland has five games remaining before the holiday break. The game Saturday against Prince George, two with Victoria, and then two with U.S. Division rival Tri-City. Johnston said, “I think going into the Christmas break, especially losing Cody next week, we need momentum. We are starting to get it. We have played quite well the last three games especially; need another good one tomorrow to round off the weekend.”
Notes:
– Brendan De Jong limped to the bench near the end of the second period and did not return to the game in the third period. Johnston said, “He was hurt a little bit this week in practice and re-aggravated it on that shift. We will see how he is for tomorrow [Saturday]”
– Ilijah Colina played his first game in Portland since being traded at the deadline last season in the Dennis Cholowski deal. Friday was not the first time to face his old team though, as he faced them twice in Prince George last season.
– Cody Glass will play his last game for the Winterhawks in 2018 on Saturday. He departs for the World Juniors in Vancouver/Victoria on Monday. The final day of the World Junior tournament is Saturday, January 5th. This means the first game Glass would be eligible to return is the following Tuesday’s game in Brandon. Logistics will determine when Cody rejoins the team. Teams also typically give the players a couple of extra days off following the tournament.
– Teams are required to have 13 forwards. The Winterhawks will add Tyson Kozak to the roster on Sunday or Monday. He will wear number 18 after wearing number 37 in pre-season. Number 37 is currently occupied by Haydn Delorme. Johnston confirmed he will be on the roster for the games against Victoria but “may or may not play.”
– I spoke with Johnston regarding the logistics of Kozak, “He will be with us here through our Western trip, will go home for Christmas, but will rejoin us in the second half. He will go with us on the trip [Portland will spend about two weeks on the road playing the East Division], and we will drop him off in Brandon at some point.”
– Kurtis Smythe, a signed 2002 born defenseman acquired from Saskatoon in May, spent three days last week skating with the team. He will not be added to the roster, but was just getting skating time with the team.
