The Portland Winterhawks got tremendous goaltending and timely scoring in their 2 games this weekend in Spokane, winning by scores of 3-2 and 2-1. Mac Carruth made 46 of 48 saves Friday night, with Taylor Aronson's goal with less than a minute stealing the victory away. Saturday night, the Hawks got an equally impressive performance from Ian Curtis, making 34 of 35 stops in the 2-1 victory. It was great to see both these netminders back in action, and playing well following injuries in the early season that resulted in Keith Hamilton playing the Hawks' first 6 games of the season. The Hawks' three goaltenders have now combined for a .936 save percentage and a 2.35 Goals Against Average. It will be very difficult for the coaching staff to make a decision on the three goaltenders, as all three have been playing very well in the early season. The Hawks are only carrying three 20 year-olds on their roster currently, so they don't absolutely have to make a decision on the three goaltenders anytime soon.
Three Stars of the Weekend:
1. Mac Carruth- His 46 save performance on Friday singlehandedly stole two points against the Chiefs.
2. Sven Bartschi- Scoring two goals on Friday, following it up with two goals on Saturday, Bartschi is off to a tremendous start to his WHL career. The Winterhawks seem to have found a gold-mine in the country of Switzerland, and Bartschi just may be Nino v.2.0
3a. Ty Rattie- Rattie now leads the Hawks in scoring, assisting on all three of Bartschi's four goals on the weekend. Rattie now has 11 points in 8 games to tie him for 10th in the WHL in scoring.
3b. Ian Curtis- Curtis. in his first game back after offseason shoulder surgery, turned in a 34 save night on Saturday to help propel the Hawks to their 10th consecutive win in the Spokane Arena over the past two regular seasons and playoffs.
NHL NOTES:
Nino Niederreiter made his NHL debut in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars. Niederrieter recorded a couple shots on goal, including a dangerous chance in the first that snuck through the legs of Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen and out the far side. It'll be interesting to see the impact of John Tavares' concussion on both the early portion of the regular season, and the decision to keep Niederreiter up. Brenden Morrow scored twice in the victory for the Stars, giving him three goals in two games. Another former Winterhawk scored twice on Saturday, with Brandon Dubinsky scoring two goals in a 6-3 Ranger victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
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