The Portland Winterhawks lost their second game in a row on Saturday night, falling 4-3 in Seattle. It was only the second time they’ve done so this season, and the first time since Oct. 9. Portland had won eight of 10 against the Thunderbirds this year.
The Winterhawks’ three leading scorers provided all of the team’s points in Saturday’s defeat. Brendan Leipsic scored his 30th goal of the season with an assist from Nicolas Petan in the first period, putting the Hawks ahead 1-0. Seattle responded with goals from Roberts Lipsbergs and Connor Honey, going into the first intermission ahead 2-1.
Just 1:32 into the second, Winterhawk Ty Rattie scored on assists from Petan and Leipsic to even the score. But once again, the Thunderbirds answered and then some, with goals from Branden Troock and Adam Kambeitz. Seattle led 4-2 until late in the third period, when Petan scored his 31st of the year on an assist from Leipsic. Neither Petan’s prolific line nor any other by Portland was able to find the net in the final minutes, and Seattle held on for a surprising 4-3 victory.
Much media attention has been paid to the Winterhawks this year, and not just for their excellent play on the ice. On Nov. 28, the WHL handed out penalties for 54 “player benefit violations,” including payments made by the Winterhawks organization to cover offseason training for their players and travel costs for players’ parents.
Independent investigators hired by the WHL reported that these violations involved 14 players over the past five seasons. As a result of the findings, Winterhawks coach and general manager Mike Johnston was suspended for the remainder of the season. The team also forfeited their first five picks of the 2013 WHL draft and all their first-round picks in the 2014-17 drafts, and received a $200,000 fine.
The victory by Seattle snapped a 15-game losing streak as well as the Winterhawks’ eight-game road winning streak. With their shootout loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday, Portland saw its 14-game winning streak come to an end. The team is holding onto a tenuous lead in the WHL’s Western Conference, with the Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers close at their heels going into the last two months of the regular season.