Game Day Hub: March 5 vs Kamloops

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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Game Day Hub: March 5 vs Kamloops

March 4, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


It's a busy week for the Hawks as they begin their final four games in five nights stretch this Wednesday night on home ice. First up, Portland welcomes Kamloops to town for the final meeting with the Blazers this regular season.

Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. PT

Venue: Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Portland, Ore.

Uniforms: Black

Listen Live: Winterhawks Radio Network and on the Winterhawks App

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Upcoming Promotional Games:

Friday, March 7 - Women of the Rose City - BUY TICKETS

Sunday, March 9 - Hall of Fame Night - BUY TICKETS

Saturday, March 15 - Fan Appreciation Night - BUY TICKETS

FOLLOW ALONG

Last Time Out

The Portland Winterhawks visited the Victoria Royals last weekend and the Hawks caught fire as Diego Buttazzoni netted a pair of goals to chip away at the early deficit. With under two minutes to play, Ryan Miller deflected in a power play goal to bring the Hawks within one, but Victoria stood strong and secured its second win of the week. Diego Buttazzoni (2G, A) led all skaters on the ice in points and represented the sixth multi-goal game of his season as the Hawks fell to the Royals by a final score of 4-3.

Notables

Portland needs just one more point to secure a berth into the 2025 WHL Playoffs. The Hawks can clinch by any win tonight against Kamloops, an overtime or shootout loss, OR any Wenatchee loss against the Prince George Cougars.

Blazers defenseman Rhett Ravndahl returns to Portland for the first time since being traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings last season in a blockbuster deal that helped the Winterhawks acquire Nate Danielson, the 9th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Ravndahl was traded to Kamloops ahead of the WHL's Trade Deadline and he's produced six assists in 22 games with his new club.

Max Marks First WHL Goal

The Hawks' newest addition, Max Pšenička, scored his first career WHL goal last Friday on Vancouver Island. The 6-foot-4, 178-pound blueliner from Prague, Czechia has accumulated four points in 15 games. He made his Portland debut on January 24 while tallying an assist in his first WHL game. Pšenička was selected by the Kelowna Rockets in the first round, 32nd overall, of the 2024 CHL Import Draft, before Portland acquired his WHL playing rights in October and later signed his WHL Scholarship & Development Agreement on January 10. The defenseman was listed in the Central Scouting midterm rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft at No. 8 among International skaters and performed well as the professional and U-18 level in Czechia.

Save the Date - March 8th Watch Party

The Winterhawks will host their next official watch party at Cartside on Saturday, March 8 when the Winterhawks face the Seattle Thunderbirds at the ShoWare Center. The I-5 Rivalry Series game presented by ZoomCare will also be televised locally on Portland's CW.

Behind the Blazers

The Kamloops Blazers enter the week with a 21-33-4-1 record and are coming off a tough back-to-back battle last weekend with B.C. Division rival Prince George Cougars by a final score of 4-2 in both contests. The Blazers are sitting in tenth place in the Western Conference and are six points behind the Seattle Thunderbirds, who currently hold the final spot in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

Kamloops' offense is powered by Detroit Red Wings prospect Emmitt Finnie, who has notched 72 points (32G, 40A) in 47 games so far this season. Finnie scored two goals in the club's two meetings last weekend and a multi-goal effort against the Winterhawks on Wednesday, which was his first appearance after a three-week injury.

The Blazers have had strong success on the power play this season, ranking sixth in the Western League with a 25.5% efficiency. Leading the charge is Kamloops native Jordan Keller, who boasts a league-high 17 power play goals, just two ahead of Hawks' forward Diego Buttazzoni.

2024-25 Season Series

The Portland Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers battle tonight in Portland for the final meeting of the regular season. The Blazers currently lead the series 2-game-to-1 after beating Portland last Wednesday by a score of 4-2. Both teams netted two goals in the first 20 minutes before Kamloops went ahead in the second frame and added another on the empty net to seal the win. The Winterhawks won the first meeting of the season in September and dropped their second meeting in October in overtime.

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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