The Portland Winterhawks recently completed their longest road trip of the season after playing seven in a row away from the Rose City.
Prior to six games against the Central Division, the road trip officially kicked off in Vancouver back on September 27th.
In the seven games, Portland went 3-3-0-1. Victories came against Vancouver, Swift Current, and Red Deer.
Lethbridge, Calgary, and Medicine Hat defeated the Winterhawks in regulation, while Edmonton won in a shootout.
For general manager and head coach Mike Johnston, the trip was an overall success despite being difficult. “We knew it was going to be a challenging trip for us. Basically, we went to Vancouver, came back, and then went out for two weeks on the road. That length of time early in the year is challenging but is also good for the team. Sometimes you have to look at what it does for your chemistry, what it does for your overall group being together. I think it is really important early in the year to be able to do that. Then to come out with a .500 record in the end considering the way we started, I thought was quite positive.”
Gaining seven points from their central swing is important in the standings, but the trip was also beneficial in other aspects. Johnston explained, “We really tried to focus on our game and improve our team game and had a lot of time together to talk about it, work with the players, and I think it was productive. It was productive in a lot of ways, and it is good to get it over with early. (The trip) is a lot more challenging for that type of travel when we did it last year in January just because of weather and other circumstances. It is positive that it is done and positive what we did off the ice too.”
With seven players who were not on the 2019 playoff roster, there are a lot of new faces to get to know within the team.
“I thought (the trip) was a really good opportunity for the guys to be together to get to know each other,” Johnston said. “We have a lot of new players, and for the coaching staff to be with the guys for that long of time, we did a lot of productive things.”
WHL First Goals
During the trip, five different players scored their first goals in the Western Hockey League. Jonas Brondberg, Nick Cicek, Tyson Kozak, Kade Nolan, and Jack O’Brien all registered their first.
“I think it is pretty exciting to score at this level, for sure,” Mike Johnston expressed. “If you are a defenseman like (Cicek and Nolan) who don’t often get goals, it is a great experience to go through.”
Johnston spoke specifically about Nolan’s experience. “With him having family and friends around, I’m sure it was really special in Swift Current.”
Four of the five players spoke with winterhawks.com about their milestones.
Cicek: “We were shorthanded and the puck just kinda came out from the net. I think it was from a shot on net. The boys were battling in front and it sort of came out to me at the top of the circle. I decided to walk in, give it a chance, take a shot, luckily it went in. It is a great feeling.”
Kozak: “I was finding open ice and my linemates were really helping me out. Knaker (Simon Knak) and Cross (Hanas) were really helping me out a lot. I just saw the d-man throw it up to Knaker and he chipped it to the middle. I just tried to get a shot on net and honestly didn’t even know it went in.”
Nolan: “That was awesome. I always like contributing to the team, so that was good. It was nice being in Sask (Saskatchewan) doing it there in front of my family too.”
O’Brien: “That was an unreal feeling. A once in a lifetime thing for me definitely. I definitely liked being with two more older guys (Jaydon Dureau and Seth Jarvis). They have a lot of good skill, we were fast on the rush, and it was fun playing with them.”
While it wasn’t a goal, recently acquired Isiah DiLaura started his first game with the Winterhawks and stopped 44 shots. He told winterhawks.com about his experience. “It was nice and a good change. I’m excited I got the first one out of the way, and it was a good start.”
Joel Hofer with an impressive week
This last week was a memorable one for the 19-year-old netminder. First, he was named WHL Goaltender of the Week after a 2-0-0-1 record in three games. During that span, he stopped 79 of the 82 shots he faced, good for a 0.963 save percentage and 0.97 goals against average. Also included was a 16-save shutout over the Red Deer Rebels.
One of his victories came against his former team, Swift Current. Hofer stopped 24 of the 26 shots the Broncos sent his direction. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native received plenty of offensive support as the Winterhawks scored eight goals.
Joel’s weekly awards continued as he was named to the CHL Team of the Week.
The chain of good news continued for Hofer as he was announced as a member of Team WHL that will play two games in the 2019 CIBC Canada Russia Series. Team WHL will play two games against the Russian National Junior Team. Both games will be played in Saskatchewan with one in Saskatoon and the other in Prince Albert.
The CIBC Canada Russia Series are two of the most highly scouted games by Team Canada. Many scouts and executives will be in attendance as Team Canada officials prepare for the World Juniors. Players can make a strong case during these two games why they should be on the Canada roster come late December.
“We are really happy with our goaltending,” Johnston said. “We knew last year when we acquired Joel it was for last year, but also for this season to make sure we had stable goaltending when we knew we were going to have a young team and a lot of new faces. He’s been really good and has been dialed in since he came to training camp. His off-ice preparation and his on-ice work has been outstanding. He is a guy who I think night in and night out can give you a chance to win games.”
Scoring from the blue line
So far this season, in nine games, the Winterhawks have scored 34 goals. 14 have come from defensemen.
Captain Johnny Ludvig has six — one more than all of last season and one shy of his career total coming into the year.
18-year-old Clay Hanus, now in his third season, has five goals after scoring eight in 68 games last year.
Jonas Brondberg, Nick Cicek, and Kade Nolan each have one tally on the campaign so far.
Johnston spoke about the contribution his blue line has provided offensively. “It is good to see because each year we try to project what we are going to get from our defense. I didn’t think this season we would get as many goals as we’ve had in previous years, but it has turned out to be the reverse in the first few games.”
With 20 goals from forwards, Johnston expressed, “We have depth scoring with forwards but don’t have any top-end scorers in our forward group, but we do with those two guys (Ludvig and Hanus).”
He continued about what is making Ludvig and Hanus successful to start the year. “Certainly it is partially the power play, but it is more their shooting mentality from the point. They are getting shots through, taking a large volume of shots, so I think each of them have experienced pretty good success so far this season.”
The lack of production from his young forward group is a concern for Mike Johnston. “We have got to work on it and it’s something we are going to focus on in practice. We are going to focus on it in video sessions. What do we have to do to score? What do we have to do to get our forwards some more shooting opportunities.”
One key contributing factor for the lack of scoring from the forward group is lack of shots.
“I don’t think our shot volume is where we would like it game in and game out,” Johnston mentioned. “We have to get a lot higher, and we have always had it that way, so that is number one for me. The second thing is what do you do with the shots when you have them? What are the quality of shots? Are we battling in those scoring areas in front of the net enough to get secondary opportunities? Are we getting touches on the point shots? There are a lot of little things we have to work on with our forwards from that perspective.”
Upcoming schedule
The Winterhawks only have two games over the next seven days, after playing five games in eight days from October 6 to 13.
Both games are at home in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and are against teams from the East Division. First, the Brandon Wheat Kings, who have won three of their first eight games, visit on Saturday. Next, Prince Albert, the defending WHL champion, is in town on Wednesday. The Raiders are currently in first place in the East Division with 16 points.
Before Saturday, the Winterhawks will hit the ice for some much needed practice time.
Johnston said, “Practice time is so important for players at this level. You have to remember that they are still developing and we really value practice. We put a lot of effort and time into what we are going to do in practice from a coaching staff perspective. We talk about the players being invested in practice so that they are getting the most out of it that they can.”
How important is practice time to Johnston? “I really value practices at this time of the year as much as games. I think it is so important what we do in our next 30 practices which are going to help us for the second half of the season. We have to chip away at things we saw on the road trip, areas of our game like scoring, that we have to improve in. We have to start with our first practice today (Wednesday).”
