Portland Winterhawks
This week: At Kamloops, 7 p.m. Friday; host Medicine Hat, 7 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Garden; host Vancouver, 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Rose Garden; host Kootenay, 3 p.m. Nov. 23 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Last week: Beat Vancouver 9-5, beat Spokane 9-1, beat Kamloops 3-1.
Where they stand: At 16-3-1-0, the Winterhawks lead the U.S. Division. With 33 points. They are five points in front of both Spokane (which has played one more game than Portland) and Tri-City (which has played two more games than Portland). The Winterhawks have the best winning percentage (.825) in the WHL.Rematch with Kamloops: The top two teams in the WHL clash for the second time in six days on Friday when Portland travels to Kamloops. The Winterhawks beat the Blazers 3-1 on Sunday in Portland. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two goals, and Brendan Leipsic and Chase De Leo each had two assists in that win.
In the most recent BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings, Portland is second behind Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Kamloops (17-5-0-1) fell from second last week to fourth this week.Win streak at 12: The Winterhawks enter the weekend on a 12-game win streak, during which they have outscored their opponents 72-20. It is the longest Winterhawks win streak since a 15-game win streak during the 1998 Memorial Cup championship season.
Trevor Cheek in Portland on Wednesday: Camas native Trevor Cheek will play in Portland for the first time in two seasons on Wednesday when the Vancouver Giants visit for a game at the coliseum. Cheek, a 20-year-old forward, was traded to the Giants from Calgary early this season. He has seven goals and eight assists in 17 games with Vancouver entering this weekend.
Carruth honored again: Mac Carruth was named the goalie of the week for the WHL and the three CHL leagues for the week ending Nov. 11. It is the second time this season the Shorewood, Minn., native has been so honored. Since returning to the Winterhawks, Carruth has posted a perfect 9-0 record with two shutouts. He has and a league-best goals-against-average of 0.97 and league-high save percentage of .963.
Vancouver Vipers
This week: League-leading West Sound (10-1) plays at Vancouver, 7:35 p.m. Saturday at Mountain View Ice Arena.
Last week: Eugene beat the Vipers twice, 6-4 on Nov. 9 and 11-2 on Nov. 10.
Where they stand: At 2-11, Vancouver is last in the six-team Northern Pacific Hockey League.
Coaching change: Clay Plume, the hockey director at Mountain View Ice Arena, has taken on the head coaching job for the Vipers. Keith Bemis has shifted to the GM job.
Plume played for Lethbridge and Prince George in the WHL, and professionally for nine years in the East Coast Hockey League and the Central Hockey League.
Also, Haakon Weinstein has joined George Larkin as an assistant coach.
Roster update: The Vipers have 14 skaters and three goalies. Jonathan McCord, a 17-year-old forward from the Portland area, has been added to the roster.
Two from two: Cody Dettman had two goals and an assist in last Friday’s 6-4 loss in Eugene, a game that also saw Jake Randol and Evan Rosencrans score for the Vipers. On Saturday, Eugene raced to a 9-0 lead before Aaron Niva scored two goals for Vancouver.
Food for Share: Beginning with Saturday’s game, the Vipers will give fans $1 off per ticket for donating a can of food to Share. Regular ticket prices are $5, $3 for students with school ID.
Host a player: The Vipers are still looking for homes for several of their out-of-town players. For billet details, e-mail Biz Larkin at billetaviper@ymail.com.
