WHL Portland Winterhawks

Portland Winterhawks This Week

January 4, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Hawks Happenings On The Ice:

Winterhawks forward Nino Niederreiter has been the talk of the World Junior Championship in Saskatchewan, Canada. After having to play their way into this year's tournament in the Division I section last year, Switzerland will be playing for the bronze medal Tuesday against Sweden thanks largely to Niederreiter.

He leads the team with nine points in six games, tying him for fifth among all players in the tournament. In the quarterfinal against Russia Saturday, Niederreiter scored both the game-tying goal with 33 seconds remaining in the third period, and the overtime winner as Switzerland pulled off a major upset to qualify for the medal round. His heroics had the Canadian crowd chanting his name late in the contest. Niederreiter is doing all of this as one of fewer than 10 17-year-olds playing in the tournament.

Niederreiter will fly back to Portland Wednesday, and will be available for interviews following Thursday's practice.

While Niederreiter has missed six Winterhawks games suiting up for his country, linemates Ryan Johansen and Brad Ross haven't missed a beat. Ross has a five-game goal streak with 11 points in that span, and now leads the Winterhawks with 48 points. Johansen also has 11 points over five games, and with 45 points on the season, he is tied for the WHL lead among rookies, while his 26 assists ranks first among all first-year players.

The WHL's trade deadline is this Sunday at 2 p.m. Any media who wish to speak with General Manager & Head Coach Mike Johnston either before or after the deadline should contact Graham Kendrick.

Four former Winterhawks players will be suiting up for their countries at the 2010 Olympics which begin next month in Vancouver: Brenden Morrow for Canada, and Marion Hossa, Marcel Hossa and Richard Zednik, who will all be playing for Slovakia.

Hawks Happenings Off The Ice:

Winterhawks players will be at the Gateway Fred Meyer signing autographs on Thursday, January 7 beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from January 4, 2010


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