The Portland Winterhawks won the first game of their six-game road trip to the east with a 6-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings, breaking a 3-3 deadlock in the third period. Alex Weiermair scored the game-winning goal and two other goals.
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Game preview
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Game thread with game updates and postgame reaction.
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The off day forum
Scoring summary
| 1st 8:04 POR Alex Weiermair (Kyle Chyzowski, Jordan Duguay) 1-0 |
| 1st 13:06 BDN Nolan Flamand (Carter Klippenstein, Matteo Michels) 1-1 |
| 1st 16:26 BDN Dylan Ronald (Merrek Arpin, Matteo Michels) 1-2 |
| 2nd 11:23 POR Ryder Thompson (Kyle McDonough, Ryan Miller) 2-2 |
| 2nd 18:37 POR Reed Brown (Carsyn Dyck, David Hoy) 3-2 |
| 2nd 19:17 BDN Jaxon Jacobson (Luke Shipley, Nicholas Johnson) 3-3 |
| 3rd 2:22 POR Alex Weiermair (Kyle Chyzowski, Jordan Duguay) 4-3 |
| 3rd 5:46 POR Jordan Duguay (Carter Sotheran) 5-3 |
| 3rd 15:37 POR (SH) Ryan Miller (Tyson Jugnauth) 6-3 |
| Portland leads by 2+ | 14:14 |
| Portland leads by 1 | 9:06 |
| Tied | 21:43 |
| Portland trails by 1 | 14:57 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 0:00 |
Narratives
Pregame: Given the uncertainty of such a lengthy bus travel and the fact that Brandon was at home, he was the favorite. After a 1-3 week, Portland is attempting to bounce back.
First period: A thrilling thirty-shot session. Portland had the lead early on, but Brandon’s two goals in the final seven minutes gave them the advantage.
Second period: Another thrilling period with fewer shots. The Wheat Kings leveled the score in the final minute, but Portland took the lead this time with two goals in a row.
Third period: All Portland scored three goals in a row to seal the victory, winning the shots 17–8.
How it was won: 1) Jordan Duguay, Alex Weiermair, and Kyle Chyzowski, Portland’s top line, scored three goals together.
2) Carson Bjarnason, who is perhaps the finest goalie in the league, scored six goals for the Winterhawks. More to fault was the defense in front of him; Portland got a lot of quality shots in addition to 43.
3) Brandon’s top scorers, Marcus Nguyen and Dominic Petr (per game), as well as Jordan Gavin, who was primarily signed for his offensive prowess, failed to score any goals.
Simply refer to the entire third period as the key stretch or time.
Unexpected: Probably a 6 against a side that is often adept at stopping goals. And they accomplished it without using the power play.
It should come as no surprise that the Winterhawks are having yet another strong third quarter. After two quarters, they have converted 14 leads and 6 ties into 22 victories.
There are no controversies.
Yes, the best squad prevailed.
Suspensions or injuries: Most likely not.
The players
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Weiermair | POR | 2 goals | 15 points in 13 games since he arrived. Had 9 shots on goal. |
| Kyle Chyzowski | POR | 2 assists | Gavin McKenna of Medicine Hat matched Chyzowski s 2 assists with 3 of his own, moving himself into sole possession at the top of the league s scoring race. |
| Jordan Duguay | POR | 1 goal, 2 assists | |
| Ryan Miller | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | |
| Matteo Michels | BDN | 2 assists | |
| Nolan Flamand | BDN | 1 goal | |
| Tyson Jugnauth | POR | 1 assist | 3-game point streak. |
| Ryder Thompson | POR | 1 goal | |
| Ondrej t bet k | POR | 29 saves-32 shots | |
| Luke Shipley | BDN | 1 assist |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Nguyen | BDN | Not a good game against his old team; his 5-game point streak was snapped, and he was -4. | |
| Jordan Gavin | BDN | Only 1 shot on goal and was -2 in his Wheat Kings debut. | |
| Dominik Petr | BDN | 3-game point streak snapped. | |
| Carson Bjarnason | BDN | 37 saves-43 shots |
Postgame
| Winterhawks | Wheat Kings | |
|---|---|---|
| Record |
22-14-2-1 (.603) |
19-12-3-2 (.597) |
| Goals/game |
4.0 |
3.7 |
| Goals allowed/game |
4.0 |
3.3 |
| Team shooting % |
.117 |
.110 |
| Team save % |
.887 |
.900 |
| Power play | 27.2% | 22.0% |
| Penalty kill |
78.7% |
81.6% |
| Power plays for/game | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| Power plays against/game |
3.8 |
3.5 |
| Outshooting opponents |
15-22-2 |
21-12-3 |
| After 1 period | 11-16-12 |
19-11-6 |
| After 2 periods | 14-19-6 | 20-11-5 |
| Score, last 10 games |
47-38 (+9) |
38-38 (0) |
| Score, last 20 games |
93-80 (+13) |
77-71 (+6) |
The Portland Winterhawks
This turned out to be the most difficult game of the road trip, if you will. They have set themselves up for a very successful road trip by winning it.
Brandon Wheat Kings
They remain five points behind Saskatoon in the division lead, but they are still two points clear of Prince Albert and three ahead of Swift Current in second place. Since the victor will receive the second seed in the Eastern Conference over perhaps three superior teams in the Central Division, the East title will have some significance in the first round of the playoffs.
Next games
Regina on Saturday, January 11, at 4 p.m. PST (6 p.m. CST)
Prince Albert, Tuesday, January 14, at 5 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Saskatoon, Wednesday, January 15, at 5:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Moose Jaw, Friday, January 17, 5 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Swift Current on Saturday, January 18, at 5:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Looking ahead: Tri-City vs. Friday, January 24, 7 p.m. PST
Next season is Brandon’s next game.
