(Langley, BC) On Monday afternoon the Portland Winterhawks (36-16-3-3) traveled north to complete a three-in-three against the B.C. Division leading Vancouver Giants (39-14-2-1). After picking up wins against Red Deer on Saturday, and Seattle on Sunday, the Winterhawks defeated the Giants 5-3. The victory also meant Portland swept the four-game season series with Vancouver.
On Monday afternoon, 20-year-old San Jose Sharks prospect Joachim Blichfeld continued where he left off last night. Blichfeld, an overage winger from Denmark, scored another hat trick giving him six goals in less than 24 hours.
Winterhawks head coach Mike Johnston told Caden Fanshaw of dubnetwork.ca, “I know San Jose was here tonight watching him. They were sending me a note before the game saying, ‘I hope he still has some gas in the tank after last night.’ It shows that an NHL team sends their player back to our league to still get a little bit more development. I think he has taken it to heart and wanted to have a great year. He has worked on his strength, on his leg power, and his skating. He is proving he is ready for pro hockey next year.”
Portland’s first goal came on the power play as 19-year-old Josh Paterson sent a pass across the zone. Blichfeld’s one-timer got by Giants starting goalie David Tendeck giving the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead just over 12 minutes into the game.
Blichfeld scored against less than three minutes later after Lane Gilliss held onto the puck waiting for his teammates to arrive. Gilliss spotted John Ludvig arriving in the zone. Rather than shooting himself, Ludvig dished the puck off to Blichfeld. The Winterhawks were off to a 2-0 lead.
Johnston said, “Every game we have played them has been very close, been tight, tight games. We’ve won them, but I don’t there is much of a difference between the two teams. Tonight, we knew we had to get a lead early to be successful in this game.”
The goal was number 50 for the WHL’s leading scorer. With his second point of the night, the goal also meant Blichfeld’s season point total was an even 100. The Winterhawks forward is the first player in the WHL to reach either milestone this season. After the game he told Caden Fanshaw and Winterhawks.com, “It feels great. Obviously couldn’t have done it without my teammates and my line mates. I’m really grateful to be playing with those guys.”
Seth Jarvis commented on Blichfeld’s performance, “I don’t expect anything less from him, he is an amazing player. That is awesome that he was able to get his 100th point and 50th goal. It is great for him.”
Vancouver Giants Head Coach Michael Dyck was disappointed with some of his players, “We had way too many passengers. When you play a team like this you need all 20 guys going and we didn’t have that. We had too many guys that didn’t show up for us.”
Goal 51, and point 101, for Blichfeld came less than seven minutes of game time later. Paterson found him in the slot, and Portland pushed their lead to three just one minute into the second period.
Dallas Hines scored his seventh goal of the season 7:37 into the second period after two Winterhawks players got into a scramble when one lost their stick. Jared Dmytriw’s pass to Hines landed flat on his tape who beat Farkas high.
Entering the third period Portland received another opportunity on the power play. With captain Cody Glass scratched, head coach Mike Johnston promoted 16-year-old rookie Seth Jarvis to the top unit.
Jarvis spoke about joining the top group, “I’ve played that position before, but obviously filling Cody’s spot is some big shoes.”
Jarvis rewarded his head coach’s trust in him as he scored his 15th goal of the season. With their second power-play goal, Portland scored two power-play goals in back-to-back games this weekend.
The Winterhawks rookie described the goal saying, “All I know is that Blichfeld, being the great player he is, looked me off at first. I knew to get ready, and it came right onto my stick, and I was able to put it in.”
The Giants answered just 89 seconds later. Fellow 16-year-old rookie, Justin Sourdif, cleaned up a rebound in front of Farkas for his 17th goal of the season. Tanner Brown recorded his third assist in only his fifth game with the Giants this season.
Portland’s transition game was on full display as Reece Newkirk and Jaydon Dureau entered the zone.
The passing option to Dureau was not available so Reece took the puck to the net. After his initial attempt was stopped by Tendeck, the 17-year-old, draft eligible forward’s persistence paid off. The goal was Newkirk’s 21st of the season.
Trailing by three, and with a late-game power play, Giants head coach Michael Dyck pulled Tendeck for the extra attacker. The gamble paid off as Davis Koch’s wrist shot found the twine for his team leading 23rd goal of the season.
Vancouver pulled Tendeck again, but Portland clamped down defensively to preserve the 5-3 win and sweep the season series.
Dyck said, “I think the most disappointing part of this is we put this game on a pedestal. We as coaches went to the drawing board working pretty hard to get our team prepared for this game. I think we came with the right game plan, but is disappointing.”
When asked about why his team has yet to find the win column against Portland Dyck said, “They (Portland) don’t beat themselves. They play a very methodical game. They also have you on your heels at times because you are a little nervous of their speed and transition game, but you have to play on your toes. You have to be prepared to work and play a 200-foot game. At the end of the day, they just do what they do and they do it very well.”
Mike Johnston was pleased with his players’ performance and effort saying, “I told them after [the game], for a young group we have, I was very impressed with how they played and how they fought through.”
Portland is now off until Friday when they travel to face the Tri-City Americans for the final time this season.
Vancouver also does not play again until Friday when the begin a home-and-home series with the Victoria Royals.
Notes:
– Joachim Blichfeld finished with back-to-back four point games and leads the Western Hockey League in goals with 51 and points with 102.
– Shane Farkas won all four games against the top team in the B.C. Division (Vancouver Giants) and stopped 92 of 99 shots (0.929 save percentage).
– Josh Paterson contributed two points for the second game in a row. In 17 games with the Winterhawks Paterson has seven goals and seven assists.
– Cody Glass was scratched after playing on Saturday and Sunday. The 19-year-old captain missed the previous eight games with a lower-body injury. Johnston said post game, “He played the last two games so he is fine. I didn’t want him to play three-in-three so this was the game.”
-Vancouver’s head coach Michael Dyck sees a combination of Mike Johnston and Don Hay’s style when watching Portland, “A pretty good combination. Obviously you can see Don Hay in the way they check and then Mike Johnston with how they play on offense.”
Thank you to Caden Fanshaw for obtaining the quotes from Joachim Blichfeld, Mike Johnston, and Michael Dyck.
