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It was just the first game of the WHL Finals but the message should be read loud and clear; people who are labeling the Kootenay Ice as the favorites over the Portland Winterhawks are backing the wrong team.

Even better was that it was the trio of Portland players expected to go in the first round who did most of the damage. Ty Rattie, Sven Bartschi and Joe Morrow all made strong contributions to help Portland win this game. 

Anyone who questions if this trio is not going to wind up as first round picks really needs to watch the tape of these prospects. Give us any 1 of these 3and they will help the Rangers or Islanders (we would even use a 2nd or 3rd round pick on Tyler Wotherspoon)

It took overtime but Portland took game 1 when Ty Rattie with a perfect deflection off a shot from Craig Cunningham scored a power play goal 55 seconds into the overtime for a 4-3 Portland win. It was Rattie's 7th goal of the playoffs and earned him the game's "Third Star".

Portland got 2 goals from the game's "First Star" Sven Bartschi and 1 from Nino Niederreiter as they ruined Kootenay's bid to tie the record for most consecutive wins during a playoff season. It was Kootenay's first loss since losing game 3 of their first round series with Moose Jaw.

It was a very good game as Portland jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 2:06 into the game on Bartschi's 6th goal of the playoffs. The assists on the goal went to Ty Rattie and Troy Rutkowski but Kootenay tied the game 4:25 later at 6:31 on an even strength goal.

Bartschi scored his 2nd goal of the game and 7th of the playoffs at 12:51 to give Portland a 2-1 lead. Troy Rutkowski picked up his 2nd assist of the game along with Ryan Johansen on the goal.

Kootenay tied the game at 2-2 at 17:50 and it look like the period would end tied except for the Ice forgot to stop Nino Niederreiter in their zone. Niederreiter was just too much for the Ice to handle and Nino scored his 9th of the playoffs at 19:57 to give Portland a 3-2 lead after 1.

The 2 teams played a scoreless 2nd period and going into the 3rd period it looked like the Winterhawks were going to hold off the Ice when their own rink let them down. One of the pieces of glass on the boards cracked which caused a delay that when play resumed the Ice caught the Winterhawks flatfooted and tied the game at 3-3 at 11:11 of the 3rd period.

Kootenay got the better of the play during the rest of the third period but Portland Goalie Mac Carruth was up to the task. A lot was made about the Kootenay's penalty kill but Portland's was better on this evening.

Portland had to kill a penalty on a questionable high sticking call with just 2:32 to go in the period. The kill combined with the Ice getting called for a questionable tripping call at 19:04 stopped the Ice from winning the game in regulation.

Though Portland tried to give the game away in the last few seconds, they survived to make it to the overtime where Rattie did his magic. Portland scored on their 6th power play of the night, the only team to score on the power play.

The win put an end to the Ice's 11 game playoff winning streak while giving Portland a 1-0 series lead. A lot was made about how the Ice had shut down every team that had faced in the earlier rounds top line.

Portland first line really was held to the one Nino Niederreiter goal but Kootenay could not stop Portland's 1A line as the Bartschi/Cunningham/Rattie line scored 3 of the Portland goals. As we said yesterday Craig Cunningham is going to be a key and he was setting up the game winner.

We are not going to say that this will be an easy series for either team but Portland's playoff record of 13-4 is nothing to overlook either. Game 2 will be Saturday night in Portland night and we will be there to cover it.

In Mississauga, Owen Sound coach Mark Reid facing a 0-2 start in the OHL finals caught everyone off guard by switching from Scott Stajcer to Michael Zador in goal. The move almost backfired as Owen Sound had a 5-3 lead going to the 3rd period but could not hold it as Mississauga tied the game to force overtime.

Owen Sound scored 56 seconds into overtime to earn a 6-5 win and new life cutting the Mississauga series lead to 2-1. The price it appears was Stajcer's starting job and sadly it is going to be hard for Stajcer to get back into the nets.

We are not going to knock Owen Sound for making the switch as the team has played terrible defense in this series even in this game. This time they found their offense to bail them out but we have serious doubts that Mississauga is going to give up 6 goals every game.

For Mississauga, Casey Cizikas once again making the biggest of plays for the Majors. It was Cizikas who set up Devante Smith-Pelly's 11th goal of the playoffs to force the game into overtime.

For Cizikas it was his 10th assist and 15th point of the playoffs. Cizikas has points in 10 of the 12 games he has played in and is on a 4 game scoring streak (3-3-6)

We get a very good laugh when we saw some people's Top Islander prospect list as Cizikas typically is not ranked very high. What most people always fail to realize that a lot of Cizikas contribution never shows up on the scoresheet.

His work ethic is outstanding and his leadership skills first rate. If the Islander fans do not want Cizikas; I am sure the Ranger fans would gladly take a player who always give 150%

Friendly advice to Islander fans, Cizikas is going to be an impact player on and off the ice.

(Images- Bartschi/Portland Winterhawks, Cizikas/Aaron Bell-OHL Images)

Mind Games

For about 10 minutes it looked as if New York Ranger prospect Scott Stajcer and his Owen Sound Attack were going to give New York Islander prospect Casey Cizikas and the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors a run for their money in Game 2 of the OHL finals.

Then the 2nd period got underway and 42 seconds later that hope was gone. The Majors with 4 goals over the last 40 minutes pulled away and earned not only a 6-2 over the Attack but 3-0 series lead.

Before people pile on Scott Stajcer for giving up 5 goals on 38 shots, take a look at how the Majors won. 4 power play goals on 8 attempts was the number 1 reason why the Majors won.

Only 1 even strength goal on the game as well as an empty netter made up the other 2 goals. The Attack got 1 power play goal of their own on 5 attempts but credit the Majors as they have to be the best team at getting into your head.

The Majors are a very sound team and the best thing they do is when they have you down, they finish you off and do not give you any hope of coming back. As soon as the Majors scored like they did in the 2nd period, you could see that this game was over.

Owen Sound looked like they had shown that they could play with the Majors in game 1 and when the game is at even strength but there lies why Owen Sound just might be swept. You just can not give the Majors 8 power plays or take 19 total penalties as Owen Sound did.

Owen Sound was looking good scoring on 2 of their first 3 shots but shot number 3 came at 9:45 of the first period.  But that was all they could manage as they were stopped on their remaining 24 shots.

The one thing that nobody really talks about is how the Majors can get you to play an undisciplined game but they really do. When it comes to playing mind games the Majors are the best.

Rarely if ever do you see the Majors lose their composure but it seems that every team they have faced has. People will talk about the 11 game winning streak that the Kootenay Ice are on but the Majors are now 14-1 during the playoffs.

Owen Sound and their fans were hoping that playing at home would help give them an edge but it didn't. Game 3 is in Mississauga and this series is basically over but for the shouting.

Stajcer once again played a good game but how can he stop players who are alone in front? How about fanning on a clearing attempt only to leave your goalie all alone?

A goal that went in on a deflection, another off a rebound that a wide open Major was left with an entire net to shot at. The Majors won every puck battle that mattered and the Attack have no answer for it.

At this rate, Stajcer needs to shut out the Majors but that is not going to happen when his defense just is not there. Before this series, people were thinking that the Owen Sound defensemen could handle the Major forwards.

People (us included) were flat out wrong and now down 0-2, the Attack have to be wondering how do they fix things? Answer they can't and if this series is not over by Sunday that will be the shocker.

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Could someone in the WHL please explain to us how Portland Winterhawk Sven Bartschi is not the WHL's Rookie of the Year? Seriously Matthew Dumba was better than Bartschi?

It is kind of hard to understand why as all Bartschi did was lead all rookies in scoring 34-51-85 +23 but what really stood out was that Bartschi never went more than 2 games without registering a point. Dumba a defensemen was 15-11-26 +24 for the Red Dear Rebels.

This is not a knock on Dumba as he will be a strong pick for the 2012 NHL draft but Bartschi was super consistent this year for the Winterhawks. Hard to overlook a player who's longest scoring slump was 2 games (twice) which is why the Dumba selection was very hard to accept.

(Images: Cizikas/Aaron Bell-OHL Images, Bartschi/Portland Winterhawks)

Lets Play HAWKEY

Excuse me but can we stop all this "What a shock at the Portland Winterhawk's fast turn around" talk because it really is only a shock to those who do not follow the Portland Winterhawks.

Before we go any deeper there are a couple of things that need fixing starting as to when the rebirth of the Winterhawks began as well as who got it started.

The rebirth started in the spring of 2008 as there were some very nasty rumors going around about the state of the Winterhawk franchise. From players supposedly not getting medical treatment to the team having a bunch of bad debts all over Portland; the rumors were getting so bad that the WHL had to step in to address them.

The actual person who got the ball rolling was WHL commissioner Ron Robison who ordered a total audit of the franchise as well as demanded that the previous owners put a person with hockey experience back in charge of hockey operations. The one thing that can not be disputed was that the Winterhawks were a horror story and something had to be done.

On the player side, it was former GM Ken Hodge and Director of Hockey Operations Matt Bardsley who got things going did by drafting the players who formed the nucleus of the 1992-1993 born players.

On the business side, it was again the WHL commissioner as Ron Robison's demanded that the previous owners sell the team or see the team taken over by the WHL. By the time Bill Gallacher purchased the team in October 2008 and hired Mike Johnson as General Manager and Coach; Johnson had a head start.

This in no ways diminishes the job that Johnson as well as assistant coach Travis Green have done. And if anything Bill Gallacher has proven to be a true hockey owner as he hired Doug Piper as team president then got out of his way.

To show how smart Gallacher has proven himself to be; he has repeatedly turned down NHL requests to purchase problem franchises. There will come a day when Gallacher will own an NHL team but guaranteed it will be on his terms not acting like a rescue mission for the NHL.


And while we are at it since we keep hearing how people know so little about the Portland Winterhawks then give us a few to offer up a bit of a history lesson about Portland Oregon Hockey. Portland Oregon has been home to some legendary teams starting with the Rosebuds who were the first US based team to play for the Stanley Cup in 1916 (against the Canadians no less)

And you Chicago Blackhawk fans who are complaining that they are the real Hawkey Town sorry but more history for you. When the former WHL folded, the players were sold to the NHL and in a separate arrangement the Rosebud players were sold to the then expansion Chicago Blackhawks in 1926.


Then there was the Portland Buckaroos who to this day are Oregon legends and the current Winterhawk franchise has been around since 1976. The Winterhawks have produced many a NHL player including some guys with the names Messier, Hossa, Dubinsky, Neely, and Deadmarsh.

Now while people are still in shock over how fast the Winterhawks have gotten better; how did you folks miss the signs in the first place? The first hint should have been at the 2010 NHL draft when Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter went 3-4 in the first round.

8 Winterhawk players (7 returned) were selected in the 2010 NHL draft, toss in William Wrenn (2009), Craig Cunningham (2010) as well as injured players Brent Ponich and Oliver Gabriel and you have a roster that has 11 players either drafted or already have an NHL contract.

That is kind of hard to overlook you know but hey that is OK if people really want to make a team that was 50-19-0-3 103 points an underdog then please do. Nothing at all against the Kootenay Ice who's 11 game winning streak is impressive on it's own.

But before you hand the Ice the WHL Championships do you mind of Portland puts up a fight? Here is basically what in our eyes are going to be the difference makers.

Offense- Kootenay has great individual players who can do a lot of damage; Portland has 2 first lines and Mike Johnson can mix and match if need be. Johnson has also shown a willingness to double shift Nino or Johansen with his 3rd liners to toss up a curve or get away from double teams.

Defense- Edge to Kootenay as they are more experienced as well as more talented on the blueline. The Ice will have a big edge in goal as even if the Ice's Nathan Lieuwen is average he does not have the question mark hanging over his head like Portland's Mac Carruth.

Lieuwen is someone who going to give his teammates confidence as they go on. Carruth at times gets bailed out by Portland's offense.

Special Teams- Power Play to Portland, Penalty Kill is close to even. Kootenay's biggest weakness is their poor power play which is 12th overall at 13.8 %. Both teams are rock solid on the penalty kill but if the Ice can not score on the Power Play, they will be in trouble.

The Difference Maker- Craig Cunningham as while the rest of the WHL was looking for name players, Mike Johnson went out and got someone who has won a Memorial Cup. Cunningham has been in these situations before and produced so if he has a good series Kootenay does not have an answer for him.

Who wins? In the end, Cunningham pays dividends as his line produces while the 2 top lines cancel each other out. Portland is also tired of people questioning them at this point of the season too.

Portland in 6

(Portland Winterhawk Logo courtesy of the Winterhawk)

And Then There Was Just One

There was a Game 7 and a Game 1 played on Tuesday evening; both wound up with identical 5-2 scores but sadly for the New York Ranger prospects they were also both losses.

First up was opening game of the OHL finals as New York Islander prospect Casey Cizikas led his Mississauga St. Michaels Majors against Scott Stajcer and his Owen Sound Attack.

Give round 1 to Cizikas and his Majors as they earned a 5-2 win over the Attack. Cizikas led the way for the Majors with the game winning goal and 2 assists to earn the game's first star.

Do not let the score fool you this was a game that was a lot closer than the scores says it was. And despite the loss Stajcer was just outstanding in goal for the Attack despite giving up 4 goals on 27 shots.

Stajcer kept this game close and was more the victim of defensive breakdowns in the 2nd period which was the only period where the Majors were dominate. Take away a 3 goal 21 shot 2nd period and this game is practically dead even.

Cizikas was the difference maker for the Majors as the captain of the Majors earned his points on the Major's first 3 goals setting up linemate Devante Smith-Pelly for goals in the 1st and 2nd period then adding his 4th goal of the playoffs to give the Majors a 3-1 lead.

The only thing Cizikas did not score on was a penalty shot awarded in the 2nd period that Stajcer stopped. Still Cizikas reminded us why he was the Islander's best 2 way forward prospect this season.

Game 2 will be in Owen Sound on Thursday and while it is still early in the series; call it must win for Owen Sound as they need to to hold their home ice in order to have any chance in this series.

We would like to bid Ryan Bourque a fond farewell from the prospect ranks but sadly for the Ranger's 2009 3rd round pick it ended in a stinker.

Quebec finished off their collapse from a 3-1 series lead with a 5-2 loss that eliminates them from the QMJHL. The Remparts really played with first in 2 straight series blowing 3-1 series leads but this time it cost them a chance at the QMJHL championship.

For Coach Patrick Roy, he has to consider himself lucky that the Remparts are owned by Patrick Roy otherwise he would rightfully deserve a pink slip for the team's performance in the playoffs.

Bourque we hope this loss leaves a bad taste in him and it fuels his off-season workouts. Bourque was scoreless, a -3 on 4 shots as he finished his playoff run 5-11-16 +1 in 16 games.

Bourque is headed to the CT Whale next season as despite how much we like him as a player he needs to improve his body. We do believe that Bourque has an NHL future despite the concerns of his size but because of that size, Bourque is going to have to overcome a lot of doubters.

So if you are keeping score there are 2 New York Islander prospects and just 1 New York Ranger. Cizikas is joined by Portland's Nino Niederreiter who start their WHL finals against Kootenay.

For the Rangers that it is Scott Stajcer has to be a surprise to every one but at the same time it also says a lot about his heart. A goalie who comes bad from mid-season hip surgery has a lot of fire in him.

Hope the Rangers are smart enough to see that and give him a contract.

(Images-Cizikas/Aaron Bell-OHL Images, Bourque/Katherine Ep) 

Redemption

If you are keeping score then after tonight 2 New York Islander prospects and 1 New York Ranger prospect are getting to play for their league championship. Joining the party tonight was Nino Niederreiter and his Portland Winterhawks after the Winterhawks defeated the Spokane Chiefs 6-3 to eliminate them in 6 games.

For people like Andy Kemper and Kelly Robinett, the trip to the WHL finals is redemption for suffering though 3 years where the Winterhawks were living in the WHL cellar. Kemper the voice of the Winterhawks took a ton of abuse as the public face of the team but also having to replace a legend behind the mike in Scooter Vrooman.

Robinett is the VP of Operations for the team, a really genuine nice guy who watched the previous owners just totally screw up not only the team on the ice but the office staff and then alienate the fan base. We are happy for both and tonight is just the first reward for their loyalty.

Once again the hero for the Winterhawks was Sven Bartschi who followed up his Game 5 heroics with a 2nd three point performance. It was Bartschi who got the Winterhawks going as they spotted the Chiefs as they did all series long an early lead.

At least this time Portland held off the Chiefs until the 2:32 mark before yielding the first goal of the game. In the series Portland failed to score the first goal of the game in all 6 games and had to play from behind in every game.

It did not stay 1-0 very long as the Chiefs scored again just 1 minute later to make it 2-0 and for a while it looked like it would be a 7th game. That is until Bartschi went to work as he scored his 5th goal of the playoffs at 8:17 to make it 2-1 which was how the 1st period ended.

In the 2nd period, Ryan Johansen tied the game at 2-2 when he scored his 11th of the playoffs at 8:38 of the period. Just like the Chiefs did in the first period, it was the Winterhawks who scored exactly 1 minute later at 9:38 when Craig Cunningham scored his 7th of the playoffs to give Portland the 3-2 lead.

Yes that Craig Cunningham the player that the Rangers had on their Traverse City roster in 2009 who would put up his own 3 point night. Cunningham who the Boston Bruins would draft in the 2010 draft has been a big factor in Portland's playoff run.

Cunningham already has 1 Memorial Cup title on his resume is the center for Sven Bartschi and Ty Rattie. Cunningham is 7-9-16 for the playoffs as he has helped Bartschi and Rattie develop.

In the 3rd period defenseman Troy Rutkowski put the Winterhawks for good at 5:22 off a feed from Joe Morrow. It was the 1st of 2 assists for Morrow who like Bartschi and Rattie is seeing his draft stock improve with each passing day.

Up 4-2, the Winterhawks went for the kill as this time there was not let up by them. At 14:07 it was Ty Rattie scoring his 6th goal of the playoffs to make it 5-2 Portland.

Bartschi and Cunningham had the assists on the goal to give both players their 3rd point of the night. It was Nino Niederreiter who put the final dagger in the Chiefs when he ended a 6 game goalless streak with his 8th goal of the playoffs at 17:41 for the final goal and a 6-3 score.

Portland wins the WHL Western Conference Championship and for the first time since the 2001 finals. They will take on the Kootenay Ice the winners of the WHL Eastern Conference starting on Friday night.

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Tuesday is going to be very interesting as Ryan Bourque and his Quebec Remparts will play in Game 7 of their series against the Gatineau Olympiques with the winner advancing to the QMJHL finals. The Remparts for the 2nd straight series has blown a 3-1 lead so let us see if Ryan Bourque can step up yet again when the Remparts need it.

In the OHL, Scott Stajcer and his Owen Sound Attack will be in Mississauga for Game 1 of the OHL finals against Casey Cizikas and the Majors. The Majors are overwhelming favorites after dominating the OHL regular season as well as the playoffs.

For us the key is going to be Stajcer as he is going to play big to give Owen Sound a chance. Yes our Ranger bias is coming out here as we have been watching Stajcer get hardly any credit for his play so we will say Owen Sound OHL champs in 6 games.

(Images-Portland Winterhawks)

Now That's A Birthday Party

Sunday being my birthday and I typically have just 1 wish every year which is a New York Ranger playoff game on my birthday.

We all know that it has been quite a while since that has happened. Yet for my 52nd birthday I got a ton of gifts each more priceless than any I had received before.

To say that all the birthday wishes on Facebook overwhelmed me would be a huge understatement. This year has been a struggle for me on many levels but you folks keep picking me up and teaching me life lessons I knew thought I would learn.

52 despite the surgery is turning into a great year thanks to all of you who help make this place possible. I do have a lot more to learn and to improve as a person but I am sure you will make sure I stay on track.

I thought getting a new gas grill would be a nice present just as going out for dinner with the wife but how many of you can say that you got a birthday present from the President of the United States?

Really to see that Osama Bin Laden got his just rewards was a great present. I will never mind sharing my birthday with his death because over the years I have gotten to know too many people who were affected by 9/11.

The suffering we are a nation went through because of that day does justify the action taken by our President on our behalf. Not going to play politics here because nobody wins that argument but credit the man for taking a dangerous risk.

Yes we can talk all about the bravery shown by the forces who took part in the raid and they deserve it. I give the President a little more because I think back to the bungled rescue attempt the Iranian hostages under President Jimmy Carter.

The failure of that mission cost President Carter dearly as he lost his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan. Had this mission failed then President Obama might as well had resigned because it would have destroyed his presidency.

But there are other heroes too that people will overlook because they play support roles like the folks who handle supplies and logistics for a military operation. The Seals will get the glory but even they will credit the team for how this mission worked.

The credit belongs to everyone for making this effort happen and we should remember those who lost their lives because of Bin Laden. If you want some heroes then every single person who lost their lives on that day are also heroes.

No it does not end the war on terrorism but for the American people it can provide some comfort that 2 Presidents kept their word and got us some justice. Hopefully we can remember coming together as a country and work together just like everyone who made this mission go off like it did.

But boy do I feel sorry for my wife as how in the heck is she going to top this for my nest birthday?

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With only 1 New York Ranger prospect seeing action as Ryan Bourque and his Quebec Remparts for the 2nd straight playoff series blew a 3-1 series lead after losing Game 6 4-0.

The game report is simple, the Remparts stunk up the place while the Gatineau Olympiques out worked and out played them. Now Quebec has to try to win a second Game 7 and this time it is going to be hard for them to do that even on home ice.

Tuesday night we will find out in game 7