At 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, Skyler McKenzie is hardly an enforcer on the ice.
But the 17-year-old in his second season with the Portland Winterhawks was the spark that ignited a 4-1 win over the Regina Pats on Wednesday.
And it started with a fight.
Late in the second period, McKenzie and 6-foot, 180-pound winger Lane Zblonsky tangled inside the Pats zone. McKenzie checked Zblonsky off the puck and the pair became tangled up on the ice.
“I made a body check on him there. He kind of grabbed onto me and he asked me to go and we just dropped our gloves and went at it,” McKenzie said.
The immediate result was adulation from his teammates and the fans at Memorial Coliseum — and a 17-minute break for McKenzie as a result of an instigator penalty.
“We killed the penalty and I thought Skyler provided a big spark for our team. Our guys were really excited when he was in the fight,” Winterhawks coach Jamie Kompon said. “He had to wait 17 minutes to get his next shift. But he was going from the get-go (on Wednesday), so it was good to see him get rewarded.”
The reward came in the form of two empty-net goals to secure the victory in a game Regina led 1-0 after two periods. McKenzie, fresh for the final five minutes after his 17-minute banishment, found the space to finish off feeds from Keegan Iverson for his sixth and seventh goals of the season. McKenzie now has six points in six games this month.
“That is the most insane game I’ve been a part of, that’s for sure,” said McKenzie, who was selected first star of the game for the third time in his young career.
Goals from team captain Dominic Turgeon and defenseman Keoni Texeira that turned the scoreboard in Portland’s favor early in the third period, but Kompon pointed to the effort from a couple of other youngsters as helping turn the tide.
On the shift before Turgeon’s tying goal, the line of 16-year-old rookie Ryan Hughes, 17-year-old rookie Brett Clayton, 18-year-old Evan Weinger created a couple of scoring chances.
“It starts with that kind of energy from two young players to come out and do that and I think everyone fed off that,” Kompon said.
Winterhawks
This week: At Spokane, 7:05 p.m. Friday; host Saskatoon, 7 p.m. Saturday (Moda); host Vancouver, 3 p.m. Monday (VMC), host Seattle, 7 p.m. Jan. 22 (Moda).
Last week: Lost 3-1 at Seattle; lost 4-3 in overtime to Kamloops; lost 3-0 to Kamloops; beat Regina 4-1.
Where they stand: At 21-19-2-0 (44 points), the Winterhawks are in fourth place in the U.S. Division, four points back of third-place Spokane. Portland is eighth in the Western Conference.
No trades at deadline: The Winterhawks stood pat as the WHL trade deadline passed on Sunday. Kompon noted that the trade deadline can be stressful for young players.
“We talked to them (this week) and said: ‘This is our team. We believe in you. That’s why we didn’t add.’ ” Kompon said. “We could have added (a player). We could have risked betting the farm. But we believe in this group here and they should believe in themselves.”
Rattie scores first NHL goal: Former Winterhawk Ty Rattie scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday. It came on a deflection in front of goal of a blast from defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. The goal came in Rattie’s sixth game of the season and the 19th NHL appearance for the 22-year-old in his third professional season. His goal was the Blues’ fourth in a 5-2 home win over New Jersey. Rattie was an emergency call up for injury-ravaged St. Louis. He has nine goals and 14 assists for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves this season. He also has two NHL assists this season.
Players visit Vancouver: Four Winterhawks are scheduled to greet fans next Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Les Schwab Tires store in Cascade Park (216 SE 118th Ave.). Players scheduled to appear are Keegan Iverson, Skyler McKenzie, Evan Weinger and goalie Michael Bullion.
Vancouver Rangers
This week: At Seattle Totems, 7:05 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at Olympicview Arena in Mountlake Terrace.
Last week: Beat visiting Whitefish (Mont.) Wolverines 5-2 and 7-3, then lost to Whitefish 8-7.
Where they stand: At 22-8-0-3 (47 points), the Rangers trail the Idaho Junior Steelheads by two points and the Missoula Maulers by five points in the Northwest Division of the Western States Hockey League.
Locals update
• Vancouver native Trevor Cheek, in his third season as a Colorado Avalanche prospect, has two goals (one a game-winner) and four assists in 24 games with the American Hockey League’s San Antonio Rampage. Cheek started the season with the Fort Wayne Komets of the East Coast Hockey League but was promoted to the AHL after producing five goals and three assists in six games with the Komets.
• Austin Coldwell has four goals and 11 assists in 28 appearances with the Quad City Mallards in his first full season with the East Coast Hockey League team. The defenseman from Vancouver has a goal and three assists in three games so far this month.
• Vancouver’s Riley Alferd has one assist in 14 games as a freshman at Nebraska-Omaha.
