WHL Portland Winterhawks

Game Day Hub: Round 2, Game 1 at Kamloops

Published on April 14, 2023 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The second round opens north of the border as the Winterhawks visit the Blazers for Game 1.

Puck Drop: 7:00 P.M. PT

Venue: Sandman Centre - Kamloops, BC

Uniforms: Red

Regular-Season Results:

Portland 1 @ Kamloops 5 (Feb 1 2023)

Kamloops 2 @ Portland 3 (Nov 19 2022) OT

Kamloops 4 @ Portland 5 (Oct 15 2022) SO

Portland 3 @ Kamloops 0 (Sep 23 2022)

Listen Live: Winterhawks Radio Network and on the Winterhawks App

Watch Live: WHL Live on CHL TV

Upcoming WHL Playoff Games:

Game 2 - Saturday, April 15 - at Kamloops

Game 3 - Wednesday, April 19 - at Portland - BUY TICKETS

Game 4 - Thursday, April 20 - at Portland - BUY TICKETS

Game 5 - Saturday, April 22 - at Kamloops (if necessary)

Game 6 - Monday, April 24 - at Portland (if necessary)

Game 7 - Wednesday, April 26 - at Kamloops (if necessary)

Ready For A Fight

After six days of prep, the Winterhawks are set to battle the Kamloops Blazers in the second round of the 2023 WHL Playoffs. There's plenty of confidence to be taken from their first-round success - a five-game series win over divisional rival Everett - but perhaps the best thing to happen to Portland in that opening round was the wake-up call the team received in a 5-0 defeat in Game 4. That loss helped remind the team that there are no easy games in the playoffs, and opponents will capitalize if you take a breath at this time of year.

"It sucked, but I think it was positive that we lost that (Game 4)," said James Stefan after the series victory. "A little bit of adversity before the next series is a thing that can help us. Kamloops is a great team, so we'll have some preparation this week and we'll be ready."

Robbie Fromm-Delorme echoed his teammate's sentiments.

"There's gonna be ups and downs in a series. Last year in the second round, we got down and we couldn't battle back from it, so to have that adversity in Game 4 (and rebound in Game 5) I think was perfect for us, and it'll have us ready for the second round," he said.

As the Hawks look for another Game 1 win tonight, they'll do so knowing it's just one step on the journey, regardless of the result.

Leading The Way

Portland's success in the first round came on the back of veteran contributions. From Robbie Fromm-Delorme's overtime winner in Game 5, to James Stefan and Marcus Nguyen's team-high four goals apiece - it was the players who have been in this position before that stepped up when it mattered. Against more tough competition in Kamloops, they'll need to be at their best once more.

"The guys that we really wanted to see step up are the guys who have experience in these moments because they can talk from experience," General Manager and Head Coach Mike Johnston said after the series-winning performance. "I thought Gabe Klassen has played some of his best hockey in the last couple of games. I thought Jack O'Brien, you know he had to play against (Austin) Roest and (Jackson) Berezowski the whole time and whoever they put on their wing is a top, top, line.

"I thought Jack did a good job defensively and he's also contributing (offensively). I give our leadership group credit, but I think the guys who are going to lead moving forward are all those guys that had the experience last year in the playoffs."

Blazin'

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kamloops averaged six goals per game en route to a sweep of the Vancouver Giants in their first-round match-up. Dallas Stars prospect and reigning CHL Player of the Year Logan Stankoven and Minnesota Wild draftee Caedan Bankier paced the club in first-round scoring with nine points (4G-5A) apiece and will set the pace as Kamloops looks to make it back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Championship series.

Between the pipes, Dylan Ernst picked up two shutouts in the first round and recorded a stingy 1.16 GAA through his first four postseason outings after leading the league with 38 wins during the regular season.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from April 14, 2023


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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