WHL STREAKS ON THE LINE ENTERING WEEKEND

Calgary, AB -- As the 2013-14 Western Hockey League regular season enters its third-last weekend of play, many WHL Clubs will be squarely focused on either locking up playoff berths or jockeying for key playoff positioning.

Yet, the focus will also be on a handful of impressive current streaks, both of the team and individual player variety.

Entering the weekend, the Portland Winterhawks have a chance to make WHL history.  Carrying a remarkable 20-game winning streak into the weekend, the Winterhawks need just two more victories to equal a 47-yead-old WHL record of 22 consecutive wins in a single season, set by the Estevan Bruins back in 1967.

The Winterhawks, defending WHL Champions who have made it to the WHL Championship series in each of the last three seasons, have not lost a game since falling 3-2 in a shootout to the Victoria Royals in Victoria on January 10^th.  In their last 20 games, the Hawks have outscored their opposition 113-42 and closed the gap on first-placed Kelowna to just seven points.

The Winterhawks will visit the Spokane Chiefs on Friday night – a team they have beaten seven times already this season.  If they should win in Spokane on Friday, the Hawks will aim to tie the WHL record versus the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday in Kent, WA.

Additionally, several WHL players carry lengthy scoring streaks into weekend action.  Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice has put together a 21-game point streak, having piled up 18 goals and 47 points since December 4, 2013.  That equals the longest streak by an individual player – Adam Lowry of the Swift Current Broncos – from last season.  Reinhart has also drawn at least one assist in 14 straight games, which equals a season high.

Nic Petan of the Winterhawks, the WHL’s second-leading scorer, is riding a 16-game point streak, as is Todd Fiddler of the Prince George Cougars.  Petan’s team mate, Oliver Bjorkstrand, carries a 14-game run into the weekend while Brady Brassart of the Calgary Hitmen (13 games) and Troy Bourke of the Cougars (12 games) are also looking to keep streaks going.