WHL Power Rankings – Week 8: Winterhawks Not Getting it Done at Home

Just when we think the Winterhawks have fixed the defensive weaknesses and turned the corner on the season, they give up five goals against the Rebels on home ice. For a team that is trying to fill seats with fans that are used to winning, losing to a team you should beat isn’t going to do the trick. Luckily they bounced back and won an overtime thriller against the Blazers on Saturday.

I think this team is on the brink, but just needs someone to step up and get them over that hump. These Winterhawks have a chance next week to prove they belong. Next week they get a home and home against the Silvertips. It will be interesting to see if they can compete with one of the top teams in the league. If they win both those games, I will have them in the top ten next week.

Checkout where the Winterhawks fell in Week 8’s WHL Power Rankings:

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RANK,TEAM,REC,TREND,PREV,COMMENTS

1,,17-1-1,—,1,”Kelowna Rockets~~They continue to hold the top spot with another undefeated weekend. Three games = Three wins last week. Doesn’t surprise anyone, as they are the clear-cut favorite to win the WHL title. They have more games against inferior opponents next week leading me to believe they will remain on top of these rankings. ”
2,,16-3-1,—,2,”Brandon Wheat Kings~~They continued their hot scoring number with six goals on Friday night. Some people might question if this team can hang when the puck isn’t finding the net. They proved everyone they could by winning on Saturday night only scoring two goals. This team just knows how to win and happens to score a lot of goals in the process. ”
3,,14-3-1,[icon name=icon-arrow-up] +1,4,”Medicine Hat Tigers~~The Tigers were clearly angry I moved them out of the top three last weeks as they won all three games they played in this week. None of these wins were overwhelmingly dominant. They play Brandon on Saturday, in what could be an epic playoff preview. ”
4,,12-2-3,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -1,3,”Everett Silvertips~~Everett managed to score 15 goals in three games last week. Bad news though, they didn’t win all three of those games. Still with only two regulation losses this year, the Silvertips are one of the top teams in the WHL. ”
5,,12-8,[icon name=icon-arrow-up] +7,12,”Tri-City Americans~~Tri-City had a great week without ever leaving home. The three game home stand ended up being a three game win-stand. This was following up a poor two game road trip in Victoria, so like true Americans, these guys bounced back with a vengeance. ”
6,,11-9,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -1,5,”Prince George Cougars~~It was a mediocre week for the Cougars as they go 1-1. They are 3-1 on this current home stand with three more games at home in a row. The next two are against the Rockets though, so it could be interesting to see if these Cougars belong in the top 10. ”
7,,11-8-3,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -1,6,”Swift Current Broncos~~I would consider the Broncos week a fluke week, thus not dropping them as far as many might think. They went 1-2 including a loss to the worst team in the league. I take this with a grain of salt though as these games were all on the road. They get the next three games on the comfort of their home ice. ”
8,,10-9-2,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -1,7,”Victoria Royals~~The Royals had an average week going 1-2. Granted, one of those was to the Rockets who never seem to lose. Victoria is only three points out of second place in the west, so they need a good weekend next weekend, as the week after they face the Rockets twice.”
9,,10-8-2,[icon name=icon-arrow-up] +5,14,”Calgary Hitmen~~I would say the Hitmen had a great week last week. Out of the four games they played, all on the road, they claimed seven points. The only point they let go was in an overtime loss to the Wheat Kings, which is never something to be ashamed of. They get a few games at home now to keep them climbing these rankings. ”
10,,9-9-3,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -2,8,”Kamloops Blazers~~A below average weekend for the Blazers as they only get one point in two games. That lone point came on the road, here, in Portland. This mini four game road trip they were on ended up with zero wins. Home ice has never felt so good for the Blazers. ”
11,,10-8-2,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -2,9,”Edmonton Oil Kings~~The Oil Kings looked like they were in store for a nightmare week and a nightmare road trip. They had lost all six games in a row on the road before capping it off with a 4-0 shutout over the Hurricanes. They look to right the ship with a home game this weekend against one of the worst teams in the league. ”
12,,8-5-3,[icon name=icon-arrow-up] +1,13,”Spokane Chiefs~~With only two games last week, the Chiefs did exactly what we all thought they would do. They lost to the Rockets and then beat the Silvertips. You can’t expect anyone to beat the Rockets right now who are in a class of their own, but the Chiefs beat the Silvertips showing they belong in the category of top tier WHL teams. ”
13,,9-8-3,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -2,11,”Red Deer Rebels~~It wouldn’t be classified as the best week the Rebels but they managed to stay above .500. They went 1-3 for the week with all four games coming away from home. They return to Red Deer to face two of the worst teams in the league next week, so expect them to move up next Tuesday. ”
14,,8-9-1,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -4,10,”Regina Pats~~Regina is in a weird part of their schedule right now where they play two games in 12 days. That isn’t exactly a way to keep a team gellin’. I also believe that if you aren’t moving forward you are moving back, and going 0-1 last week, this team slides four spots due to lack of games. ”
15,,8-7-3,[icon name=icon-arrow-up] +3,18,”Seattle Thunderbirds~~The Thunderbirds were headed for a great week until it got tainted on Saturday losing to the inferior Blades. If you want to compete for a title in the WHL, you have to beat those types of teams. Until they can beat those teams, I don’t see them moving higher than they are now. ”
16,,7-10-2,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -1,15,”Moose Jaw Warriors~~With only two games last week, they managed to lose both of them. While both games were against the Tigers, this team still can’t be considered a top team if they can’t manage to win home games against worth opponents. ”
17,,8-11-2,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -1,16,”Portland Winterhawks~~Portland managed to escape the week with a 1-1 record thanks to an OT winner. I don’t think Portland should lose to teams like the Rebels at home and until they start doing that, they will remain in the bottom half of these rankings. ”
18,,8-11,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -1,17,”Prince Albert Raiders~~Not much to say about the week that the Raiders had. They had two home games and managed to lose both handily. I am not impressed with this team as of late. If you can’t beat Seattle at home, you deserve to be in the bottom half of these rankings. ”
19,,7-11,—,19,”Vancouver Giants~~Two weeks ago, I said that the Giants could really prove if they belong or not with four games against the top three teams in the league. They proved they do not belong dropping all of those games including a 5-0 thumping on Saturday night. The Giants are playing like anything but giants at the moment losing seven of the last eight.”
20,,5-10-4,—,20,”Lethbridge Hurricanes~~No surprises here, two games last week resulted in two losses. Granted they were both against top tier teams, but these Hurricanes are not going to compete for any titles this season. They can only hope to play spoiler every once in a while. ”
22,,3-11,[icon name=icon-arrow-down] -4,18,”Kootenay Ice~~It was a forgettable week, in a forgettable season, for the Ice. Losing all four games including giving up nine goals in one of them. I don’t even think this six game home stand they have coming up will salvage this season. Expect the Ice to remain near the bottom of the standings all year. ”

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