Hockey may not be the first sport fans associate with Portland, but the Winterhawks are quietly making a case for themselves as Portland’s most successful sporting franchise. While the Timbers have stumbled out of the gate and the Blazers sink into mid-table mediocrity, the Winterhawks are looking to make what is becoming an annual deep run into the playoffs.
Hockey may not be the first sport fans associate with Portland, but the Winterhawks are quietly making a case for themselves as Portland’s most successful sporting franchise. While the Timbers have stumbled out of the gate and the Blazers sink into mid-table mediocrity, the Winterhawks are looking to make what is becoming an annual deep run into the playoffs.
After finishing their regular season in third place in the western conference with 49 wins and 19 losses, the team opened up their postseason campaign with four consecutive victories over the sixth-ranked Kelowna Rockets, and have now won 5-3 and 4-1 victories over the second-ranked Kamloops Blazers.
This year’s Winterhawks postseason winning streak got a real test this week, however, when they left their roost at the Memorial Coliseum and traveled to face the Blazers in their native British Columbia. The Blazers similarly swept their first-round opponent, but the Winterhawks have finished strong this season, recently coming off the longest winning streak in the franchise’s half-century history.
The results of these games were not available as of press time, but can be found at winterhawks.com
This Winterhawks squad has distinguished itself as an offensive powerhouse, producing multiple eight-point margins of victory in the last couple months. Winterhawks occupy the first and second spot on the top-scorers list for the WHL playoffs, despite having fewer games played than most of their peers in the top ten. The question is, can that offense carry them through to another championship final?
“Team-wise, I think we’re good enough to win the [Memorial Cup],” leading scorer Ty Rattie said in a press release. “Everybody knows it in here and we’re close. So that’s what we’re going for right now and we’re well on our way.”
The Winterhawks will return to Portland Saturday to face the Blazers at the Rose Garden. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and ticket information can be found on winterhawks.com.
