WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winter Hawks Woes Continue, 9-0

Published on February 9, 2007 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


San Jose Sharks first round draft choice Devin Setoguchi (Set-uh-GOOCH-ee) had 3 goals, Chicago Blackhawks draft Jared Walker had 2 goals and 2 assists and Columbus Blue Jackets draft Jesse Dudas had 5 assists as the Prince George Cougars overwhelmed the Portland Winter Hawks 9-0 at the C-N Centre in Prince George, B.C. Friday.

It was Portland's second straight shutout loss on their B.C. swing. They trailed only 1-0 after one period, but like the game in Kelowna Wednesday, the Hawks gave up two power play goals early in the second period and the Cougars were off and running.

Prince George outshot Portland 34-16 and goaltender Kurtis Mucha was left to fend for himself for much of the game.

Portland, (15-38-1-1), has lost 2 in a row since snapping a 10-game losing streak with a 5-2 win in Seattle Saturday.

The 5-game road trip continues in Prince George for the second game of the doubleheader Saturday at 7:00 and in Kamloops Sunday at 7:00. (Audio Webcast at winterhawks.com). The Hawks return home to play the Kootenay Ice for the only time this season on Valentine's Day, Wednesday, at 7:30 in the Coliseum. (No TV). After that, it is the 26th annual Fred Meyer $10,000 Dash for Cash Saturday February 17 at 7:30 in Memorial Coliseum (TV on Comcast CNW-14, Audio Webcast at winterhawks.com, In-Arena Audio at 96.5 FM)

Prince George, (24-25-2-4), is trying to get healthy and on the same page before playoffs. The Cougars almost certainly will finish third in the B.C. Division and play either Vancouver or Kamloops in the first round of playoffs. Either of those teams will be tough, but Prince George does have some high profile talent, including a pair of San Jose Sharks' first round picks, forward Devin Setoguchi and defenseman Ty Wishart. They also boast of 2nd round Tampa Bay Lightning choice, 6'8, 241-pound Slovak defenseman Vladimir Mihalik and 2nd round Colorado pick Chris Durand among a league-high 9 NHL draft picks on their roster. The Cougars have been disrupted by injuries all season as forward Nick Drazenovic (6th Round, St. Louis) is out day to day with a charleyhorse and goaltender Real Cyr is out day to day with a knee injury. Defenseman Jesse Dudas (6th Round, Columbus) returned from a lengthy knee injury to play in the Cougars' 2-1 loss in Kamloops Tuesday, but suffered bruised ribs. He was a game time decision...and he decided to play, posting the first 5-assist game against Portland since Daymond Langkow of the Tri-City Americans back on March 18, 1995. The Cougars had won 7 of their last 9 before dropping one-goal decisions to Vancouver and Kamloops this week.

Portland, hoping for a better game than a 4-0 loss against rebuilding Kelowna on Wednesday to start its B.C. swing, scratched Colton Sceviour, still out for 2-3 weeks as he recovers from a broken foot, and Devon Marshall (healthy). Chip Petrino returned to the lineup after missing the last 6 games with a foot injury.

After about five minutes of even play, the Cougars big line of Setoguchi, Eric Hunter and Jared Walker started buzzing around in the Hawks' zone and things got scary. Several times, Portland forwards had chances to get the puck over their blue line and out and failed and the Cougars started to swarm. Mucha stopped potential NHL first round pick Dana Tyrell on the doorstep, Durand on a partial break and then Setoguchi trailing the play right behind him with a phenomenal save. On the same sequence, defenseman Kalvin Sagert's point shot was deflected off the crossbar and it caromed to Hunter, low left wing, and he scored with a quick shot at 8:34. Mucha then was called upon to stop Jordie Deagle in tight, pokecheck Wishart after he went coast to coast through the entire Portland team, and then stop Chad Hohman in tight. Then, the TV time out, and it was a perfect time. The Hawks settled down after that and played decent the rest of the period. Matt Schmermund at the best scoring chance, set up by a persistent Nick Hotson off the forecheck as he won the puck with extra effort behind the net. But, Schmermund's shot from below the hash marks in front of the net grazed the right post, going wide. Hotson had another good chance, darting into the slot, and firing a snapshot that hit caught the tip of the glove of Cougar goalie Scott Bowles, going wide of the left post. Shots were just 9-6, Cougars, as they did not get another shot on Mucha for the last 9 minutes of the period after the timeout.

But, Frazer McLaren was whistled for Portland's first penalty of the game for slashing as the first period ended. The Hawks killed all but the last 3 seconds of the power play, keeping the Cougars to the outside and not allowing any shots. Then, Setoguchi scored with a hard wrist shot from the right point that somehow eluded Mucha at 1:57 and that started the Cougar spree. Walker snapped off a power play goal from the right circle, Setoguchi scored a highlight-reel goal on a partial breakaway where he blew by everyone and lifted a backhand over Mucha from the crease as he came in on goal at warp speed. Walker made it 5-0, completing a 2-ion-1 shorthanded rush. On the same shorthanded shift, Mucha probably made one of his best saves of the season on Dana Tyrell on another 2-on-1, sliding across and robbing him of a sure goal off a feed by Hunter. Chris Francis had two decent chances for Portland in the second period, one set up by Hotson at point blank range, but Bowles made his best save of the game. Shots were 12-7, Cougars.

Portland just didn't have much left to give, it seemed, in the third period as the Cougars outshot Portland 15-3 and rolled up 4 more goals. The Hawks also lost defenseman Stefan Langwieder to an unknown injury late in the game as he went awkwardly into the boards in the Cougar zone. He was helped off the ice to the Portland dressing room with trainer Innes Mackie and did not return.

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2007


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