Jr. hockey notebook: Defenseman Heinrich gets offensive

Scoring is usually an afterthought for a defense-first defenseman. But Blake Heinrich enjoyed celebrating three goals in two games at the end of the Portland Winterhawks six-game Central Division swing.

“I was feeling pretty good about it,” Heinrich said.

Last Friday at Red Deer, Heinrich scored twice and added an assist in an overtime loss. It was his first multi-goal game in the Western Hockey League. In 142 WHL games including playoffs, the Minnesota native has scored 16 goals.

“I’ve been trying to work on my offensive game,” Heinrich said.

Not that there was anything complicated about his approach on his goals.

“Shoot the puck through the back of the net,” he said.

Actually, in Red Deer it was about shooting often. Heinrich, who turned 21 last month, said he took more shots in that game than he has in any game during his two seasons with the Winterhawks.

“I think I was just finding more open ice,” he explained.

Winterhawks

This week: Host Tri-City, 7 p.m. Friday (VMC); at Seattle, 7:05 p.m. Saturday (TV on CW 32); at Everett, 7:05 p.m. Tuesday; at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m. March 11.

Last week: Lost 4-3 in overtime at Red Deer; won 4-3 in overtime at Kootenay.

Where they stand: At 32-27-4-0 (68 points), the Winterhawks are in third place in the U.S. Division. They trail division-leading Everett by 10 points and second-place Seattle by nine points, and are one point ahead of fourth-place Spokane.

Playoff push: Eight of Portland’s nine remaining games are against U.S. Division teams, including four against Seattle. The Thunderbirds have won five in a row and nine of 10 and are right on the heels of first-place Everett. The Hawks would need to get hot and some help to catch the Silvertips and T-Birds. But they can strengthen their playoff bid by beating Tri-City today. The Americans are outside the playoffs, five points behind Portland and four behind Spokane.

Injuries update: The status of forwards Skyler McKenzie and Evan Weinger remained day-to-day this week according to Kompon. Both were injured in last Wednesday’s game at Edmonton. McKenzie is more likely than Weinger to play this weekend.

Bittner update: Kompon said the Winterhawks will have a better idea after Monday about the chance of Paul Bittner returning to the team this season. Bittner, who had hip surgery in December, has been skating. He has a follow-up with a doctor on Monday that will clarify his progress according to Kompon.

Central swing recap: Portland went 3-2-1 on its swing through the Central Division, an outcome that Kompon said was acceptable given that most opponents are fighting for playoff spots. The coach said he was pleased with the character and effort his team displayed in games at Red Deer and Kootenay. The Hawks rallied in both to force overtime to gain three of a possible four points.

Hawks sign forward: On Thursday, Portland announced that forward Bradley Ginnell, the team’s fifth-round pick in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft, signed with the team. The Calgary native is eligible to join Portland full time next season. In his 15-year-old season, Ginnell leads the CRAA Blue team in the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League with 40 goals and 40 assists for 80 points in 35 games.

Vancouver Rangers

This week: At Seattle, 7:05 p.m. Friday (Olympicview Arena); host Seattle 7:30 p.m. Saturday; host playoff opener, 7:30 p.m. on March 11.

Last week: Lost three home games to division-leading Idaho by scores of 5-2, 4-2 and 5-2.

Where they stand: At 29-17-4 (62 points), the Rangers are fourth in the Northwest Division of the Western States Hockey League, three points behind third-place Southern Oregon which has three games remaining.

Playoff race: The Rangers will finish either third or fourth in the division, and will host a best-of-3 series against Whitefish, Seattle or Butte next weekend at Mountain View Ice Arena. Idaho and Missoula have earned first-round byes and will host next weekend’s winners in the division semifinal playoff round.

Skaters missing: The Rangers will be short-handed again as they conclude the regular season with a home-and-home against Seattle. Suspensions to several top scorers continue through this weekend, and injuries mean a short bench for coach Dave Daniello.

The suspended players will all be eligible to play when the playoffs begin on March 11.

Daniello had only 14 skaters available last weekend, when the Rangers scored only twice in each of three losses to division-leading Idaho.

Busy goalies: Vancouver goalies made 145 saves on 159 shots over the three games against Idaho, including 58 saves from Jamie Nanchen in Sunday’s 5-2 loss. “Our goaltenders played really, really well,” Daniello said.

D-man returns: Defenseman Jake Rushlow should be available against Seattle after missing five weeks with a back injury.

Third or fourth: The Southern Oregon Spartans swept Butte last weekend to move three points ahead of Vancouver in the standings, so Vancouver needs a sweep of the two games against Seattle for a shot to finish third. The Spartans host second-place Missoula for three games this weekend.