The Portland Winterhawks lost to the Calgary Hitmen 3-1 on Wednesday night. This was Portland’s first home game of November. Since the start of the month, the Winterhawks had gone 2-1 in three straight road games. This was also the first and only meeting between Calgary and Portland this regular season.
Fans filed into Veterans Memorial Coliseum for this weekday evening matchup against Calgary. It was a slower start for Portland, giving up the first major scoring chances of the game. However, as the period went on, the Winterhawks started to gain momentum. What energized the Winterhawks was surprisingly, their penalty kill. Portland’s man-down unit did a fantastic job of controlling the puck, and making the Hitmen traverse the full length of the ice. By the end of the period, the Winterhawks had more shots than Calgary, 7 to 5 in total.
The scoring would start early in the second period. On a failed clear, Dax Williams would keep the puck in the offensive zone for Calgary. From the blue line, Williams would shovel the puck along the boards to Connor Hvidston. Hvidston would then center a pass that would be contested by Portland’s defense. Chase Valliant would come up with the loose puck, and look to pass it down low to an open Carson Wetsch. However, the puck would deflect off the skate of Tyson Jugnauth and skip towards the net. Portland goaltender Marek Schlenker had already shifted towards Wetsch, anticipating the pass to make it through cleanly. Sadly, the redirection would put the puck just inside the post, and just fast enough to cross the goal line before Schlenker could adjust. Just 1:50 into the period, the Hitmen took a 1-0 lead.
After the goal, momentum quickly changed hands to Calgary, as the Hitmen proceeded to out shoot Portland 7-2 in the first six minutes of period two. It also didn’t help Portland that they had taken three penalties, resulting in man-up advantages for Calgary. It was up to the Winterhawks penalty-kill to answer the call, and that’s exactly what they did. By the end of the game, Calgary was 0 for 6 on the power-play and even gave up some shots on goal too.
The problem for Portland’s offense was Hitmen’s goaltender, Kason Kobelka. Kobelka was 19 for 19 on shots saved through two periods of play. This included a mid air deflection on a 3-on-2 rush, a wild redirect by Diego Buttazzoni from a pass off the boards to the high slot, and a couple saves on a 5-on-3 power-play from Portland at the end of the period. This was the first ever WHL game for the 17 year old from Calgary as well. Thanks to Kobelka’s efforts, Portland would head to the locker room trailing 1-0.
In the third period, Calgary would strike again, giving them a two goal cushion. This time, it was the Hitmen quickly breaking through the neutral zone that would create their scoring chance. Brandon Gorzynski would poke the puck over to Keets Fawcett at center ice. With David Adaszynski racing up the middle, Fawcett would carry the puck over the blue line, and play patient. Looking inside, Fawcett would load up a wrist shot that would scream by the blocker of Schlenker. Fawcett would score his second goal of the year with 8:22 remaining in regulation.
The Winterhawks were stymied, and running out of time. Eventually, they would pull their goaltender and get an extra attacker on the ice. With just under two minutes remaining, the extra attacker worked. A shot from the point by Tyson Jugnauth would be blocked in front. Kyle Chyzowski would then swipe at the loose puck, forcing it on net. Kobelka would make the save, but the rebound would kick right to the stick of Diego Buttazzoni. Buttazzoni would make sure to get under the puck, and raise it over the stretched leg of Kobelka. With his seventh goal of the year, Buttazzoni had made the score 2-1.
Unfortunately, an empty net goal by Carson Wetsch with 39 seconds left would push the game out of reach. The Winterhawks would run out of time, and Calgary would win 3-1 in Portland.
The Winterhawks would look to bounce back on Friday night when they play host to the Red Deer Rebels with puck drop at 7:00 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 