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nivek_wahs
04-03-2007, 03:57 AM
http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=20471&sc=9

Bo knows Portland
Local product makes quick impact with Winterhawks

COREY ATKINSON
The Moose Jaw Times Herald

After half a season, Moose Jaw’s Bo Montgomery officially knows Portland.
And the Portland Winter Hawks were suitably impressed with Montgomery’s inaugural half-season with the team, as that was all it took for him to win their team’s rookie of the year award.
“I was kind of surprised when I found out but it was just hard work, I guess,” said Montgomery.
Montgomery, a six-foot-three, 203 pound defenceman who started off the season with the Moose Jaw Midget AAA Warriors, played 31 games with the Winter Hawks, scoring two assists in the last game of the season and picking up 54 minutes in penalties. He accrued a lot of ice time there, and with Team Saskatchewan in February and March at the Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.
“I just stuck to what I did best and played physical, and made simple plays,” he said. “Just moved the puck and didn’t get beat very often.”
The Winter Hawks this season were clearly in rebuilding mode, trading overage forward Kyle Bailey to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in December for Montgomery’s rights, along with a seventh round bantam pick. The Hurricanes had originally drafted Montgomery 35th overall in the 2005 bantam draft.
Montgomery was wooed to Portland after the Mac’s Midget Tournament at New Year’s. He feels he saw some improvement in his game over the time he spent in Portland.
“I worked on my physical play,” Montgomery said. “I also had to keep my head up . . . everything happens so fast, you’ve got to move the puck quick.”
Even though Portland didn’t have a very good season, fans in Stumptown stuck by their Hawks, providing a lot of support for their struggling squad.
“The fans are pretty loyal,” Montgomery said. “No matter how we were doing, winning or losing, they always showed up for games, and overall, it was just an amazing experience.”
During the season, Portland etched a couple of wins against the always-tough Everett Silvertips. While Montgomery was away for one of those games, he was a big part of a 3-1 win in Everett. The players were thrilled each time they knocked off the Tips.
“We beat them twice and every time it was just huge for us,” he said.
In the future, Montgomery will need to display his leadership skills as the young team grows together.
“We need a lot of leadership from the young guys, like me, Tayler Jordan, (Colton) Sceviour and Tristan King,” he said. “We’re going to have a good team in a couple of years. We’ve got a lot of young guys that have some skill,” he said.
Montgomery now has the half season of experience, where he gained a ton of ice time and an equal amount of confidence.
“They gave all the young guys a lot of experience, a lot of ice time to go out there and build some confidence and see if it pays off,” he said.