Remember when the Portland Winterhawks were winless? Remember when, 10 games into this season, they had one win — and that in overtime?
Chances are the rest of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League misses that Portland team. The Winterhawks have won eight consecutive games and climbed within three points of the division lead.
The streak started following the WHL trade deadline and the return of Nic Petan, who was ill for several games after returning from the World Junior Championships.
The Winterhawks have outscored their last eight opponents 43-22 and have scored six or more goals in four of the eight games. But it was defense that started a 12-win, 2-loss January for the Hawks, as Adin Hill recorded consecutive shutouts in the first two games of 2015.
Around the rink
This week: At Seattle, 7:35 p.m. Friday (ROOT Sports TV); at Everett, 4:05 p.m. Sunday; host Tri-City, 7 p.m. Feb. 13 (Memorial Coliseum).
Last week: Beat Kamloops 6-2; beat Everett 6-3.
Where they stand: At 31-19-0-3, the Winterhawks are second in the U.S. Division. Their 56 points are three behind first-place Everett, which has played two fewer games than Portland. The Winterhawks are nine points in front of third-place Seattle, which has three games in hand on Portland.
TV reminder: Today’s game in Kent against Seattle will air live on ROOT Sports. This is the first of three Portland games among eight Friday WHL live games on ROOT. The others are March 6 and March 13.
Henry solid: Defenseman Adam Henry has fit seemlessly into the Winterhawks lineup. Henry was acquired on Jan. 6 to add some mobility and experience to the blueline. He supplied 34 assists for Seattle last season and had 18 assists for Saskatoon this season. Henry was thrilled to land with Portland for the conclusion of his WHL career.
“It’s fun playing with some of these (NHL) signed players and drafted players,” Henry said. “Being a puck-moving defenseman, it’s fun to have those forwards in front of you. For me it’s important to get the puck in their hands as fast as possible and as clean as possible.”
Schoenborn injured: Winterhawks forward Alex Schoenborn is sidelined with a lower-body injury and is status is “week-to-week.” Head coach Jamie Kompon did not elaborate.
De Leo leads power play: With 14 power-play goals, Chase De Leo leads the WHL in that statistic. De Leo had two power-play goals last weekend, when the Hawks were 3 for 6 with the man advantage.
Kompon said the key to success on the power play is puck possession.
“The biggest thing is puck recovery, so that you’re not just one play and done,” Kompon said.
He noted that each time the power-play recovers possession after a missed shot, it adds strain to the penalty kill.
Seth Jones shorty: It is unusual for a defenseman to find himself on a short-handed breakaway, but former Winterhawk Seth Jones scored his fourth goal of the season that way. On Tuesday against Toronto, the 20-year-old Nashville defenseman stole the puck at his team’s blueline, creating a breakaway for himself that he converted. Jones has played in all 50 Nashville games this season, has 12 assists and is playing at a plus-10 after finishing at minus 23 as a rookie.
(Click here to see a highlights of the goal.)
