Portland Winterhawks
This week: The only game is a 7 p.m. Saturday home contest at the Rose Garden against Seattle.
Last week: Won 5-3 at Prince Albert; won 6-3 at Swift Current. The Winterhawks finished their six-game swing through the East Division with four wins, one tie and one loss.
Where they stand: At 7-3-1, the Winterhawks share first place in the U.S. Division with Tri-City. Spokane (6-3) is a close third.
Mac is back: In his first two games back with the Portland Winterhawks, goalie Mac Carruth led the team to wins over Saskatoon and Prince Albert. The win at Saskatoon was a 4-0 shutout in his first action since last season’s playoffs.
Carruth was named Canadian Hockey League goalie of the week for his efforts.
Carruth was returned to Portland because Rockford of the AHL had extra goalies and Carruth was the one who had junior eligibility remaining.
“You could see the extra year of maturity and experience,” when he rejoined the Winterhawks, general manager and coach Mike Johnston said. “He was great.”
Lanigan traded: With the return of Carruth, the Winterhawks on Wednesday traded goalie Cam Lanigan to Medicine Hat. The move, which gets Portland an undisclosed pick in the 2013 bantam draft, brings the Winterhawks down to the league maximum of three overage players. Carruth, Troy Rutkowski and Taylor Peters are the three 20-year-olds on the Portland roster.
Lanigan, who the Winterhawks claimed on waivers over the summer, played three games for Portland this season, winning all three and posting one shutout.
Carruth is not likely to be as busy as he was last season, when he played 63 of 72 regular-season games and won a franchise-record 42 times. This season, 17-year-old Brendan Burke is expected to split duty with the veteran.
Road production: Johnston always likes scheduling the Eastern swing early in the season. He believes it is a good chance to tighten team chemistry and get to know more about his team. Among the highlights on this trip were first career WHL goals for Alex Schoenborn, Presten Kopeck and Seth Jones.
Leipsic sidelined: Forward Brendan Leipsic, who missed the last three games of the road trip with concussion symptoms, has started skating but is not expected to play on Saturday.
Vancouver Victory
This week: Host Eugene at 7:35 p.m. Friday; at Eugene, 7:35 p.m. Saturday; at Tri-City, 5 p.m. Sunday.
Last week: playing with a shortened roster, the Victory lost 13-1 at West Sound, lost 10-2 at home to West Sound, lost 7-4 at Tri-City.
Roster update: As they continue to work at building a complete roster, the Victory have added several players. Jake Randol, a 20-year-old forward from Vancouver, is among them. His mother is a skating instructor out of Mountain View Ice Arena.
Also new to the Victory are Aaron Niva, a 20-year-old forward from Goldendale; David Deadman, a 19-year-old goalie from Phoenix; and forward Avery Palchikoff. Palchikoff is a Clark College student who has played midget AAA hockey in Phoenix.
Among those who are no longer with the Victory are goalies Max Erving and Joe Lindquist, who played most of the minutes in the team’s first four games. Nick Alberts of Portland joins Deadman as the other goalie on the roster.
Cam Calloway, an 18-year-old senior at Prairie High School who has played for several local junior hockey teams, joined the Vipers last weekend.
Support encouraging: Vipers player personnel director Chuck Cheshire said he is thankful for the fans who have shown up for the first two home games and for the sponsors who have supported a team that didn’t exist two months ago. He said the club is still seeking homes for players. For billet details, e-mail Biz Larkin at billetaviper@ymail.com.
