Winterhawks lost their first game of the season against Wentchee 6-5 on September 22nd and since they have not lost a game. It is actually the CHL TV game of the week too. They are ranked #1 in the entire CHL. I know it is just one showing but if that is how the #1 ranked team in the CHL plays all the time😐 That wasn’t even the Rebels best game.
The first period was a great period with numerous chances just no scoring. The Winterhawks outshot the Rebels 13-10.
19 year old Surrey, BC native and assistant captain Kyle Chyzowski scored for the Winterhawks at 2:21 of the second period to make it a 1-0 game. Assists on the goal to Langley, BC native Diego Buttazzoni and 2022 Florida Panthers third rounder Czech Marek Alscher.
While on the Power Play Kai Uchacz scored at the half way mark of the game on the nose scored to tie the game up at 1. Assists on the goal to Kalan Lind and Mats Lindgren.– As the game reached its midway point, and with Red Deer enjoying a power play advantage, their captain, Kai Uchacz, skillfully received a pass from Kalan Lind. Uchacz was in full flight as he crossed the blueline, and with a powerful shot from 40 feet, he outsmarted Spunar, finding the back of the net on the blocker side.
Kalan Lind tipped in a Mats Lindgren point shot to take the lead at 14:49 of the second period. The other assist went to Carson Latimer.– Kalan Lind tipped home a point shot by Mats Lindgren while stationed directly in front of the Winterhawks goaltender.
With about 2 minutes remaining in the game a fan threw a puck onto the ice. I am assuming it came from section E or F. The Winterhawks were in possession of the puck down in the Rebels end. The whistle was blown. Thats a low move and during the play of the game that person should be barred from all WHL arenas. I can laugh when a beer or pop get thrown on the ice. If I was a ref I would rather have a beer thrown at me than have a puck thrown on and fuck up the play.
Kelsey was solid in the third period. There was no scoring and the Winterhawks outshot the Rebels 11-6 in the third period. The Rebels were out shot by the Winterhawks 36-24.
In the realm of special teams, the Rebels showcased their dominance by successfully thwarting all six Portland power plays, even managing to fend off a couple of challenging five-on-threes. One of these two-man disadvantages lasted a considerable 1 minute and 41 seconds. On the flip side, the Rebels were able to capitalize on two out of three opportunities when they had the man advantage.
Kyle Kelsey made 35 saves on the 36 shots that he faced for the win. While Czech Jan Spunar made 22 saves on the 24 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of tonights game were 1) Kai Uchacz 2) Kalan Lind 3) Mats Lindgren. All great choices but I could imagine there was a lot of humming and hawing on if Portland’s Jan Spunar or Kyle Kelsey should of been on there.
Attendance in Red Deer was 4,007
Rebels next game is Saturday October 28th in Calgary against the Hitmen at 7pm. Then on November 3rd they head out for their BC road trip playing all 5 BC teams. Their next home game is not until November 18th against the Calgary Hitmen.
Portland’s James Stefan is the son of 1999 NHL first overall pick Patrik Stefan.
Portland Winterhawks NHL Draft Picks
| 2023 | 4 | 123 | San Jose Sharks | D | Luca Cagnoni |
| 2023 | 5 | 135 | Philadelphia Flyers | D | Carter Sotheran |
| 2022 | 3 | 93 | Florida Panthers | D | Marek Alscher |
| 2022 | 6 | 186 | Florida Panthers | LW | Josh Davies |
In other games the Medicine Hat Tigers had a comeback from behind victory against the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Tigers were down 4-0 at the end of the first and came back and won 7-4. Tyler McKenzie got a hat trick and Gavin McKenna got into a fight.🤔
