Tuesday, November 16, 2010

One Streak Ends, Another Begins

The game: Portland Winterhawks 4, Brandon Wheat Kings 2. They had their winning streak temporarily snapped on Friday night in Saskatoon, but the Hawks are back.

On the other hand: Sven Bartschi had his point scoring streak snapped with the Brandon Wheat Kings game. But he still leads all rookies in goals, assists and points, and until tonight, his 16-game point streak was the longest by a Portland Winterhawks player since the 1997-1998 season. Which, by the way, was the year we won the Memorial Cup. Coincidence? I think not.

But you really want to meet Portland's secret weapon?: Meet Ty Rattie. Unlike the Moose Jaw Warrior's color commentator, who hadn't really heard of Ty and Sven, you can simply go to whl.ca or nhl.com and get the download on him. He was also on a streak that was snapped a few nights ago, but then he promptly proceeded to come back with four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in a 6-3 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Why am I telling you all this?: Well, one the Portland Winterhawks just completed their annual East Swing road trip with 5 wins and only one loss. They are still #1 in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League. Oh, and because Sven and Ty are sitting pretty on top of the preliminary rankings for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Among all WHL players, Sven is ranked second and Ty is third. Joining them are teammates Joe Morrow (5th) and Tyler Wotherspoon (9th).

Continuing the tradition: The Portland Winterhawks currently have 9 draftees from the 2010 Entry Draft on our active roster, and three who were invited to training camps over the summer (one of whom was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets). I think it's safe to say that we will hear "[insert team here] is proud to select from the WHL's Portland Winterhawks" more than once in the 2011 draft.

And finally, you can read all about it here: www.oregonlive.com/hawks.

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