The Portland Winterhawks’ remarkable run at history came up just short.
The Winterhawks lost their first contest since Jan. 10 in Seattle on Saturday, ending a franchise record 21-game winning streak that was one win away from tying the Western Hockey League record. Had the Winterhawks won Saturday, they would have equaled the mark set by the 1967 Estevan Bruins while simultaneously capturing their second straight U.S. Division title.
“It’s disappointing obviously, there was a lot on the line,” Winterhawks goaltender Corbin Boes told the Oregonian. “It would have been cool to be part of history. It’s a little bit more than just another loss, I guess, with a streak like that on the line and we come up short.”
Portland scored early in Saturday’s game, but it was their only goal in a 4-1 loss at Seattle. The disappointment clearly visible on their faces, Corbin Boes and Chase De Leo will now look to apply this lesson to the playoffs.
Their run was so impressive, there was talk around the junior circuit whether the Winterhawks would lose again this season.
The streak came together, in a sense, due to a perfect storm of circumstances, between star defenceman Mathew Dumba being loaned back to junior by Minnesota, to Brendan Leipsic returning from suspension, to Nic Petan returning from the world juniors and Boes filling the goaltending void after a trade from Lethbridge. Still, it all happened so quickly; head coach and general manager Mike Johnston told Yahoo!’s Kelly Friesen it was a “blur.”
That’s a fitting description, in some ways, as to how quickly the Winterhawks rebuilt their program after a change in ownership in 2008. Although some may question the merit of their accomplishments over the past six years after the league handed down severe punishments for violating the player recruitment and benefit policies last season, the transformation is just as remarkable as the streak.
Hockey is a hot ticket in Portland once again, so much so that there’s preliminary discussions underway regarding an outdoor game at Portland’s Provincial Park.
The WHL has twice ventured outdoors for regular season games, the first being played in Spokane between the Chiefs and Kootenay Ice on Jan. 15, 2011, the second in Calgary with the host Hitmen versus the Regina Pats on Feb. 21, 2011. Earlier this season, the Ontario Hockey League held two outdoor games between the Windsor Spitfires and Saginaw Spirit and the London Knights versus the Plymouth Whalers.
WHL MATCHING OHL BENEFITS?
As mentioned in this space last week, Yahoo! is reporting the OHL will make some changes to the player benefit package.
Although rules differ between the three leagues under the Canadian Hockey League’s umbrella, the OHL’s new rules would certainly make the WHL and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League re-evaluate their position. Such is the case, WHL commissioner Ron Robison told the Star Phoenix’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman.
“We continue to review further enhancements to the player benefit package,” Robison said. “But we have no further update at this stage.
“We are continuing to review these matters, which we do in conjuncture with the OHL and the Quebec league. We’re all heading toward a consistent approach for the players.”
This story will remain a hot topic in the coming months.
PETES UNVEIL NEW UNIFORMS
Gone are the maroon and white, in comes the maroon, cream and black. The Peterborough Petes, one of junior hockey’s most iconic and successful franchises, ushered in a new phase on Tuesday with the unveiling of new uniforms they will begin wearing next season.
“We wanted to embrace our past and step into a successful future,” Petes vice-president of board of directors, Dave Pogue told the Peterborough Examiner. “It’s a fresh look that also incorporates the proud history of this franchise.”
After building it up as major news, some were let down to see Tuesday’s announcement was simply a jersey change.
Meanwhile, voters on the Peterborough Examiner website tallied 63 percent in favour of keeping the traditional maroon and white, while 26 per cent welcomed the new uniform.
THOMSON JOINS BLADES FOR WEEKEND TRIAL
The wildcard to the Kamloops-Saskatoon deadline deal arrived on the weekend. Jordan Thomson, who walked out on the Blazers in November citing personal reasons, joined the Blades for a three-in-three weekend before planning on rejoining the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Dauphin Kings this week.
Thomson isn’t ready to make a commitment to the Blades for next season. The 17-year-old defenceman, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is close with his family and didn’t want to be so far removed from the family home in Manitoba.
“It’s just being 17 and living 18 hours from home, it’s pretty far,” Thomson told the Star Phoenix. “The distance from family was tough. Seeing them once a month, my family is closer than that. Things had to change for me.”
Thomson had one assist and finished a minus-5 in three games with the Blades over the weekend. He had seven assists in 20 games and a minus-2 with Kamloops earlier this season prior to heading back to Manitoba. Needless to say, the welcome mat will remain out should he decide to join the Blades next season.
– Charlottetown Islanders defenceman is playing with a heavy heart, as his parents remain in Kiev, Ukraine, amidst violent protests.
– What’s better than scoring a natural hat trick? Scoring two, of course. Halifax Mooseheads super rookie Nikolaj Ehlers achieved the feat on back-to-back nights, doing so against Acadie-Bathurst on Friday and Moncton on Saturday. Ehlers has 13 goals in his last six games.
– Gare Joyce discussed the risers and fallers of this year’s NHL draft class with various NHL scouts.
– After a tumultuous career as a Giant in Vancouver, Marek Tvrdon had nothing but nice things to say about his former team when rolling into town with the Kelowna Rockets: