Special teams were part of the story when the Portland Winterhawks struggled for wins early in the season. And significant improvement at killing penalties is a significant reason the Hawks have won five of their last six games.
Portland has killed 27 of 28 penalties over its past six games, improving its percentage to 85.5 percent, fourth best in the WHL.
The strong play of goalie Adin Hill is certainly a significant factor. The reigning Western Hockey League goalie of the week and the WHL goalie of the month for October is playing at a high level.
“When you have a backstop who’s so calm and composed in the net, it helps everyone’s confidence,” assistant coach Kyle Gustafson said, noting that Hill’s ability to shut down second and third chances is critical when short-handed.
Players becoming more comfortable with the Winterhawks structure has improved the penalty kill, too, according to Gustafson. He notes that Paul Bittner has become a strong penalty killer with his ability to take away a lot of space, and that 18-year-old Colton Veloso (who played in 14 games the previous two seasons for Portland) has become an important contributor on the penalty kill.
The fact that Dominic Turgeon is one of the better face-off winners is also important to killing penalties, Gustafson noted.
Winterhawks
This week: Host Kelowna, 7 p.m. Friday (Moda) and 7 p.m. Saturday (Moda); at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday; host Swift Current, 7 p.m. Nov. 13 (VMC).
Last week: beat Everett 2-1, lost to Everett 2-1.
Where they stand: At 7-7-0-0 (14 points), the Winterhawks are in third place in the U.S. Division behind Seattle and Spokane, and have the sixth most points in the Western Conference.
Hill’s honors: Winterhawks goalie Adin Hill was named the WHL goalkeeper of the month for October. He had a 7-4 record with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage. Hill also was named WHL goalie of the week for the second week in a row. Hill stopped 115 of 120 shots in three games last week, including a 50-save effort in a 5-2 win over Tri-City.
Lineup notes: Rhiards Bukarts is expected to make his Winterhawks debut this weekend. The 20-year-old forward was acquired last week in a trade with Brandon. … Recovered from preseason injuries, rookie forwards Igor Larionov II and Austin Gray have been full participants in practice and could soon make their WHL debut.
Finals rematch: The Friday-Saturday home games against Kelowna are the only visit to Portland by the Rockets. The teams have met in the Western Conference Finals the past two seasons, with Portland winning in 2014 and Kelowna winning last season on its way to the WHL championship.
Vancouver Rangers
This week: At San Diego Sabers (Iceoplex, Escondido, Calif.), 8 p.m. Friday, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, noon on Sunday.
Last week: Lost to Missoula 10-1, lost to Missoula 4-2, beat Missoula 6-4.
Where they stand: At 9-2-1 (19 points), the Rangers are third in the Northwest Division of the Western States Hockey League. Missoula (14-1, 28 points) and Idaho (11-0, 22 points) are ahead of Vancouver.
Missoula recap: The Rangers won the last of three games last weekend when the division-leading Maulers visited Mountain View Ice Arena, handing Missoula its first loss. Rangers coach Dave Daniello said his team learned that its compete level must be consistently high. In Friday’s 10-1 loss to the Maulers, Daniello said defensive errors in the opening minutes and a lack of composure took his team out of the game. In Saturday’s 4-2 loss, Daniello credited Missoula goalie Noah Parker’s 46 saves for making the difference. On Sunday, the Rangers outshot the Maulers 52-26 with Jesse Vuorinen scoring a hat trick.
On the road: The Rangers bus left Vancouver at 6 a.m. on Thursday for the trip to San Diego. This is only the second road trip of the season for Vancouver, which swept two games at South Lake Tahoe.
Scouting San Diego: The Sabers are 2-10-1, last in the eight-team Western Division.
New defenseman: Jacob Rushlow, a 19-year-old Michigan native, made his Rangers debut last Saturday.
