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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Game Day Preview: Portland vs. Everett - Game #44

January 19, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Winterhawks return home after winning five of six games against East Division opponents. They start their weekend playing under the Portland sunset against the top team in the U.S. Division.

Saturday night is the annual sunset game presented by Jack in the Box. The Veterans Memorial Coliseum curtains will be lowered to allow natural light into the arena while the game is underway.

Puck Drop: 5:00 p.m.

Venue: Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Tickets: Portland vs. Everett

Listen: winterhawks.com/listen

Watch: WHL Live

PREVIOUS GAME - Winterhawks 5 vs. Blades 2: Former Blades skater Josh Paterson helped write the story of the night, scoring twice on the power play against his former team. Offense was in full force as the Winterhawks beat the Blades 5-4 to finish the East Division road trip with five wins in six games.

In the opening period, the Blades jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Kyle Crnkovic rocketing a puck to the back bar. Nearing the end of the first period, the Blades' leading goal scorer Max Gerlach intercepted a puck in neutral ice and walked through the offensive zone to score the team's second goal of the night. Before the period ended, Seth Jarvis banged in a rebound to cut the lead in half.

Both teams had prime scoring chances in the second period. Nolan Maier made a fantastic pad stop on a Winterhawks' 2-on-1 shorthanded rush. On the counter attack, Blades' leading point scorer Kirby Dach stuffed in a power play goal to make it a 3-1 game.

This is when former Saskatoon captain Josh Paterson stole the spotlight. Paterson slammed in two power play goals in a four-minute stretch to tie the game at 3-3. He was recognized as the number one star of the game for his two-goal effort against his former team.

With less than four minutes to play in the second period, Mason Mannek peppered in the go-ahead goal on a far-side wrist shot, only to have the game tied a few minutes later on Gerlach's second goal of the night.

In a tightly contested third period, each team exchanged chances, but the goaltenders were on their A-game. With 2:30 to play, Clay Hanus wrapped around the net and centered it to Mannek who tapped in the eventual game-winning goal. It was Mannek's first career multi-goal game in the WHL and he scored arguably the two biggest goals of the night.

The Winterhawks withheld the Blades attack with an empty net and birthday boy Shane Farkas turned aside 35 shots in the win.

TODAY'S MATCH-UP:

The Winterhawks host the Silvertips for the first time since November. Things are heating up in the U.S. Division with Portland and Everett separated by 11 points, but the Hawks have two games in hand. With only three head-to-head meetings left this season, these match-ups become more important.

Over the six games during the East Division road trip, the Winterhawks scored 27 goals from 11 different players. Jake Gricius is off to a healthy start in 2019, scoring four goals and seven assists. Seth Jarvis jolted himself in the top ten of WHL rookie scoring with 25 points. He has six goals in his last eight games, becoming the first Winterhawks rookie to do that since Paul Bittner in 2012.

It comes at no surprise to see Joachim Blichfeld (ten points) and Cody Glass (eight points) lead the way head-to-head against the 'Tips. Connor Dewar, Martin Fasko-Rudas and Bryce Kindopp each have four goals against the Hawks this season.

Shane Farkas has played some of his best hockey against the Silvertips, beating the rival twice and nearly stopping 92% of the shots he faces. With Farkas and Joel Hofer now on roster, the Winterhawks are dangerous in the crease for this final stretch of the season.

Everett made a plethora of moves before the deadline and will have four new players on roster compared to the last time they played the Hawks, most notably, former Seattle Thunderbird forward and 30 goal scorer Zack Andrusiak.

Last night, the Silvertips lost 2-0 to Kelowna after James Porter made 40 saves in the shutout win. Portland could be facing the 'Tips at the right time, seeing as they are only 3-2-0-0 in their last five games, while the Winterhawks have points in 11 of their last 12 games.

ARRIVE EARLY! :

The first 8,000 fans in attendance tonight will receive free Mt. Hood Meadows Lift Tickets.

The puck is set to drop at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday night against the Silvertips. Be sure to visit winterhawks.com/tickets for full details on pricing and availability.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2019


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