Winterhawks chip Blades
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October 15, 2011, 9:19 pm
The Portland Winterhawks (5-4-1-0) rebounded from Friday night’s loss keyed by a stellar performance by Sven Bartschi with a convincing 6-1 win over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings (5-3-0-1) at Veterans Memorial Coliseum Saturday night.With several key players from last season having moved on to either the NHL or their respective minor league affiliates, the Winterhawks players are starting to gel. Sven Bartschi, who started the season at with the NHL’s Calgary Flames scored two goals and chipped in two assists leading the way with four points. It’s Sven Bartschi’s second four-point night in seven games. Bartschi who was Calgary’s first round draft pick in the NHL Draft last season has emerged as a team leader for the Hawks.
The Portland Winterhawks lit the wick early by jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead with a goal by Brad Ross. The Winterhawks captured lightning in a bottle as Ty Rattie added another goal before the end of the 1st period giving Portland a 2-0 lead and the momentum heading into the first intermission.
In the second frame the Hawks pushed the lead to 3-0 when Sven Bartschi decided to make the Memorial Coliseum his very own playground with nifty goal that got by the Brandon goaltender Liam Liston. The Wheat Kings tried to match the Hawks intensity by grabbing their first goal of the game scored by Michael Ferland making it a 3-1 game. The rest of the second period belonged to the Winterhawks as they got goals from rookie Chase De Leo and defenseman Joe Morrow getting his first goal of the year giving the Hawks a 5-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
The Winterhawks grabbed a 6-1 lead in the third period when Bartschi scored his second goal of the night on a Portland power play.
Along with Bartschi, Winterhawks goalie Mac Carruth was outstanding between the pipes
stopping 23 of 24 shots that Brandon fired his way. Portland also looked to have put their emotions in check keeping themselves out of the penalty box for extended periods of time.
The Winterhawks take to the ice Tuesday night when the Saskatoon Blades roll into the Memorial Coliseum at 7pm. After the game the Hawks head out on a nine-game road trip.
For ticket info go to www.winterhawks.com
