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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Game Day Hub: February 29

February 29, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Portland Winterhawks vs. Seattle Thunderbirds Happy Leap Year! The Winterhawks look for redemption at the ShoWare Center as they continue their three-in-three weekend in Seattle on Saturday night. First place Portland is looking to keep the momentum rolling against the division.

Puck Drop: 6:05 p.m. PT

Venue: accesso ShoWare Center (Kent, WA)

Listen Live: Winterhawks Radio Network and on the Winterhawks App.

Watch Live: WHL Live and on Portland's CW.

Sitting at the top of the Western Conference standings with 89 points, the Hawks are hopeful to track down their first U.S. Division Pennant since the 2013-14 season. A 3-1 win on Friday night against Tri-City helped erase back-to-back regulation losses. Seattle handed Portland one of those two losses last weekend, but they have dropped two straight since that game, including surrendering nine goals on Friday in Spokane.

The Winterhawks will be without alternate captain Reece Newkirk for the foreseeable future as he is listed week-to-week on the WHL's Weekly Report. His absence will force the forward lines to jumble up as he was playing alongside the WHL's second leading scorer Seth Jarvis and fellow Saskatchewan native Jaydon Dureau. Jarvis owns 86 points and he still has a chance to surpass 100 points on the season. Only 32 Winterhawks all-time have reached the century mark in a single season, most recently, Joachim Blichfeld did so last season.

(In the news: Adam Kimelman highlighted Jarvis' success on his recent NHL.com article.)

Portland needs to get back on track with special teams play. In their last 11 games since the point streak ended, Portland has been strong with a 31 percent power play (11/35), but their penalty kill is a pedestrian 73 percent (27/37) and has given up eight power play goals in its last five games.

Milestone Watch: Winterhawks Head Coach, General Manager and Vice President Mike Johnston is now five wins away from 400 in his Portland career.

Magic Number: The Hawks are inching closer to clinching home ice in the 2020 WHL Playoffs. As one of three U.S. Division teams to already clinch a spot in the postseason, the Hawks magic number is set at seven points to guarantee a top two finish in the division and home ice advantage for the opening round of playoffs.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from February 29, 2020


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