Without much margin for error so far this season, the Portland Winterhawks will need improved production from their power play if they are to move off the bottom of the standings in the Western Hockey League’s U.S. Division.
Portland is 6 for 40 on the power play this season, a 15-percent success rates that ranks 20th in the WHL. Most telling, the Hawks are 3 for 7 on the power play in their two wins and 3 for 33 in their six losses. In Saturday’s loss at Tri-City, Portland scored on only one of its seven power-play chances while the Americans scored twice on only four power plays.
“We are comfortable with where our five-on-five play is right now,” Winterhawks coach and general manager Jamie Kompon said. “It’s our specialty teams that we need to work on.”
Part of that, Kompon said, is staying out of the penalty box.
“We’ve had long talks about our discipline” and also addressed coverage mistakes on the penalty kill, Kompon said.
Winterhawks
This week: At Everett, 7:35 p.m. Friday; at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m. Saturday; host Brandon, 5 p.m. Sunday (VMC); host Tri-City, 7 p.m. Wednesday (VMC), at Everett, 7:35 p.m. Oct. 30.
Last week: Beat Everett 5-1, lost 4-2 at Tri-City.
Where they stand: At 2-6, the Winterhawks are last in the five-team U.S. Division and have the ninth best record in the 10-team Western Conference.
Busy week: After playing only eight games in the first month of the season, the Winterhawks play five times over the next 10 days. Kompon said this run of games should give his team a chance to get into a good rhythm.
Hawks’ firsts: Defenseman Jack Dougherty scored his first WHL goal in the Oct. 16 win over Everett. The Nashville draft pick is in his first WHL season after spending last year at the University of Wisconsin. … Rookies Ryan Hughes and Brett Clayton each posted his first point on a Paul Bittner goal on Oct. 16.
Around the rink: Rookie center Igor Larionov II remains “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury that has prevented the 17-year-old from practicing. … On Saturday, Portland traded defenseman Nick Heid to Medicine Hat for a fourth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. Kompon said the trade will give Heid — who played 17 games last season before shoulder surgery — a chance to advance his career.
Note to readers: Because the Western Hockey League standings are no longer available from news services used by The Columbian, those standings will not always be included in the daily Sports section scoreboard.
Vancouver Rangers
This week: Idle. Next games are Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 1 at Mountain View Ice Arena against first-place Missoula.
Last week: Beat the Seattle Totems 9-2 and 10-8.
Where they stand: With 8 wins and 1 overtime loss, the Rangers are third on points (17) in the Northwest Division of the Western States Hockey League behind unbeaten Missoula and Idaho.
Sweep of Seattle: It took a third-period shutout on Oct. 17 for the Rangers to complete a two-game sweep of the visiting Junior Totems. After beating Seattle 9-2 on Friday, Vancouver prevailed 10-8 on Saturday by outscoring the visitors 2-0 in the third period on goals by Joel Lehtonen and Travis Bobb, who had a hat trick. After getting 45 shots on goal and scoring eight times in the first two periods, Seattle had only eight shots on goal in the final 20 minutes.
Locals update
• Vancouver native Trevor Cheek scored a goal in each of his first two games with the Fort Wayne Komets of the East Coast Hockey League. The 22-year-old Colorado Avalanche prospect is in his first season in the ECHL after playing his first two professional seasons in the American Hockey League.
• Austin Coldwell played in both games last weekend for the Quad City Mallards of the East Coast Hockey League. Joining him on the roster is forward Miles Koules, who concluded his junior hockey career last season with the Winterhawks.
• Riley Alferd has played in two games so far this season, his first playing college hockey for Nebraska-Omaha which is 4-0 to start its season.
