After dropping the first two games of a nine-game road trip, the Portland Winterhawks finally earned a win in Canada, blowing out the Calgary Hitmen 7-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday night. The Winterhawks (7-5-2, 20 points) now sit in second place in the WHL Western Conference’s U.S. Division, four points behind division leaders Tri-City.
Against Calgary, the Winterhawks struck first with under a minute to go in the first period, as right winger Seth Swenson scored his first goal of the season to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Portland held a 2-0 lead after the second period, but then blew open the game with a slew of goals in the third period.
Six different Winterhawks scored in the game, including two goals from center Jeff Trott, who doubled his goal output for the season. Left winger Brad Ross also scored a goal at 8:48 in the third period, which puts Ross second on the team in goals with eight. Ross is also tied on the team for highest assist total with 12. Right winger Ty Rattie currently leads the team with 10 goals scored.
Over the weekend, the Winterhawks struggled to start off their road trip. Friday night, Portland lost to the Edmonton Oil Kings 8-4 after falling behind 3-0 in the first period. On Saturday evening, the Winterhawks fell in a heartbreaking loss to the Red Deer Rebels 2-1 on penalty shots.
Portland continues their long road campaign this week as they take on the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday night, the results of which were not available at press time. This upcoming weekend, the Winterhawks will travel to take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday night and then at the Kootenay Ice on Saturday.