Chilliwack off to surprising start

Steve Ewen, The Province

September 23  2007

The Chilliwack Bruins didn't rest Saturday on the big, comfy laurel they picked themselves up Friday.

The Bruins dominated the Portland Winter Hawks en route to a 2-0 decision last night at the Prospera Centre, hot on the heels of surprising the ballyhooed Kamloops Blazers 2-1 to open the WHL regular season Friday.

Now, it is only two games, and the second was against the Winter Hawks, a team bound for the bottom of the standings once again.

Keep in mind, though, that the Bruins' longest winning streak last season was all of three games. Keep in mind that a season ago that this was the kind of team that could do things like beat the celebrated Everett Silvertips one night in February and then two evenings later lose to a middling Kelowna Rockets crew.

And the Bruins do have a chance to equal that franchise-best win streak in Year 2's opening weekend, as they take on the Tri-City Americans today (5 p.m.) at Prospera Centre.

"I think the second half last year we were getting it going more consistently," admitted Chilliwack general manager Darrell May. "But, yeah, we want to be better night-in, night-out this year. And I think we should be."

Chilliwack outshot Portland 32-16, and only the stellar play of Winter Hawk netminder Jordan White kept it from being a five or six-goal difference.

Portland received a 38-save effort from Kurtis Mucha, an 18-year-old who was their starter last season, in their 6-2 loss Friday night to the Vancouver Giants. They have a third goalie on the roster, 18-year-old Minnesota-born rookie Mark Guggenberger, who is supposed to be solid, so they appear ripe for a trade.

White, 19, who split last season between Prince George's two junior teams, the WHL Cougars and the BCHL's Spruce Kings, was at his best in the second period, when Chilliwack outshot Portland 23-5. In particular, he got his right pad on a Ken Petkau blast, came out to take away the angle on a streaking Brayden Metz and snapped up a loose puck away from Michael Proudley.

The one shot that beat him in the stanza, a Cody Smuk deflection of a Mark Santorelli rocket, gave Chilliwack that 2-0 lead and seemed to assure a home team victory.

Chilliwack's power play looked dangerous all evening, even with its 1-for-8 standing. Santorelli and Oscar Moller, the Bruins' leading scorers last season, just might be long-lost Sedin brothers and slick rookie centre Jadon Potter and Nick Holden are a formiable combination on the points.

And the Bruins seem to have several players, led by Smuk, willing to park themselves in front and take abuse while all the rest is going on.