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View Full Version : Fehr or Not, Brandon Denies Portland Third Straight Win



Billy Blade
01-13-2005, 12:39 AM
Source: http://www.winterhawks.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=371&Itemid=2

Fehr or Not, Brandon Denies Portland Third Straight Win

January 12, 2005 - Joel Scruggs

BRANDON, MB — Portland outshot Brandon 32-19 and outplayed the Wheat Kings on Wednesday night, yet Brandon prevailed in the 2-1 decision and denied the Winter Hawks’ their third consecutive win. It was the fourth time this season that Portland has failed to extend a win streak beyond two games, which remains their longest winning streak of the season. The WHL’s leading scorer, Brandon’s Eric Fehr, scored the short-handed game winner. Portland’s Cody McLeod continued his show on the road with a power-play goal, his eighth goal in nine games. McLeod has a 5-game point streak that includes six goals and three assists. The loss drops Portland to .500 on the current road trip (2-2) and one-game south of that mark since the holiday break (4-5-0-0).

The Winter Hawks had to be shaking their heads and feeling a bit cheated after this game as lady luck was clearly not on their side (maybe she’s Canadian). Portland fell victim to a quick whistle in the second period that negated a Portland goal. They also had a handful of shots hit posts and crossbars, and most disturbingly the team lost about 30 seconds of valuable game time due to an official game clock error. Nevertheless, there is much to pleased with. Despite relinquishing the short-handed goal, Portland’s power-play has improved on the road as the Hawks have 7 goals in their last 30 chances. Portland also completely shutout the league’s top rated power-play (24.6%). Portland played smart and simple on the penalty-kill and stoned the Wheat Kings on seven occasions.

The game’s biggest story for Portland was between the pipes. Blake Grenier returned to the Portland net on Wednesday night for the first time in two months after being sidelined with injury. Dustin Butler deserved a night off as he started 25 consecutive games while Grenier recovered from an ankle injury that he suffered on November 12th against the Vancouver Giants. Butler went (8-11-3-3) in Grenier’s absence, allowing 2 goals or less 11 times, but 5 goals or more 8 times. Grenier had a 2-5 record in eight appearances with 2.55 goals against average and a 91.3 save percentage before suffering the injury.

Brandon wasted no time in welcoming Grenier back. Brandon’s Corey Courchene received a Jeff Topilko pass and backhanded the puck past Grenier at 1:43 of the first period. The Wheat Kings carried their 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The second period’s most dramatic sequence involved a penalty followed by a fight and a short-handed goal. At 5:40 Portland’s Frazer McLaren responded to Jonathan Webb’s high-stick by dropping the gloves, Webb obliged McLaren and the fight ensued. In addition to the five-for-fighting, Webb was cited two-minutes for the original high-stick. Portland looked to capitalize on the man-advantage and tie the game, but instead they found themselves down by a pair. Brandon’s Eric Fehr, the Washington Capitols 1st round pick in 2003, got in front of Braydon Coburn’s entry shot at the point and took the puck the other way. Winter Hawk defenseman Brendan Mikkelson hustled back and hooked Fehr in an attempt to prevent a full breakaway. It did not matter. Fehr muscled a one-handed shot over Grenier’s blocker for his 36th goal of the season. Fehr’s short-handed tally gave Brandon a 2-0 lead at 5:52 of the second period.

Late in the second period, Portland finally put the puck past Wheat King goalie Mike Nichol. Dan DaSilva blasted a slap shot from the left face-off circle that squeaked through Nichols pads, however, referee Ryan Thompson prematurely blew the whistle and the goal did not count.

Portland was presented with a golden opportunity early in the third period. Brandon’s Lance Monych received a two-minute penalty for closing his hand on the puck, just 70 seconds into the third period. The Portland coaching staff then requested a stick-blade measurement on Jakub Sindel. The move paid off and the Winter Hawks went on the two-man advantage as Sindel took a seat in the sin bin for using illegal equipment at 1:10. Portland failed to generate any good scoring chances on the 5-on-3, which gave the Wheat Kings a dose of momentum.

Portland was finally rewarded with a goal with just over five minutes remaining in the third period. Brandon Dubinsky and Braydon Coburn teamed up to set-up Cody McLeod’s 17th goal of the season at 14:06. Portland’s power-play tally made it a 2-1 game. Portland pressured in the closing minutes and even had a late power-play chance when Jonathan Webb went off for a delay of game penalty at 16:09. Braydon Coburn shot a laser and just missed sending the game into overtime as he hit the post with just seconds remaining in the game.

Brandon Dubinsky, who left Tuesday’s game after the first period with a severe headache, which put an end to his career high 8-game point streak, picked up where he left off with another point, assisting on McLeod’s power-play goal. Dubinsky has eight goals and fourteen assists in his last 16 games.

Shane Halifax, who finished serving his five game league suspension on Tuesday, sat out due to numbers. Rookie defenseman Michael Sauer missed his ninth game and is out indefinitely with a hip-injury.

The Hawks are scheduled to continue their longest road trip of the season on Friday in on Moose Jaw (January 14th at 5:00 p.m.). Stay tuned as weather has already forced the Moose Jaw Warriors to reschedule a game this week. Portland rolls to Cranbrook, B.C. to face the Kootenay Ice on Saturday January 15th at 6:00 p.m. The final weekend of the road-trip includes the Kelowna Rockets on Friday January 21st at 7:00 p.m. and U.S. Division leading Seattle on Saturday January 22nd at 7:05 p.m. Portland’s next home game is January 23rd against the Vancouver Giants at 5:00 p.m. in the Rose Garden.