The Portland Winterhawks swept the Victoria Royals with a 4-1 victory Wednesday night. With the win, Portland secures a 4-0 series victory, and will play in the next round of the WHL Playoffs. The Winterhawks outscored the Royals 19-10 over the course of their four games. James Stefan was a standout performer, scoring five goals and three assists against the Royals.
Game 4 at the, Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena in Victoria, BC was do or die for the Royals. Through the regular season, Portland had been good about getting an early advantage on their opponents. That trend would continue this series as Portland scored the first goal of the game in three of the four matches. One of those first strikes came on Wednesday night. Just 3:24 into the first period, the Royals would fail to clear their defensive zone. Nate Danielson would scoop up the loose puck, and turn to attack at the blue line. Danielson would be play patient, then pass the puck down to Tyson Jugnauth at the faceoff circle. Jugnauth would face the goal, then pass across the face of the crease to Josh Zakreski. Zakreski would have a back door, tap in goal, to put the Winterhawks up 1-0.
Just a few minutes later, Portland would find a similar angle of attack. Shoveling the puck along the boards, Kyle Chyzowski would brace for impact as the puck reached his stick behind the net. After shrugging off a check, Chyzowski would turn to look for a play in front of the net. From the bottom of the faceoff circle, Chyzowski would throw the puck across the crease. On the far side, Zakreski would push the puck back on target from a slim angle. Royals goaltender, Braden Holt, would slide over to get a skate on the puck. However, it was not enough. Zakreski would score his second goal of the night, with 12:29 remaining in the first period.
Victoria was desperate to slow down Portland’s momentum. Luckily for them, a chance on the power-play was just what they were looking for. With 2:58 left in the first period, the Royals would enter the attacking zone and set up their offense. A point pass from Justin Kipkie would find Cole Reschny just inside the faceoff circle. Reschny would adjust his angle, and shoot towards the far post. Winterhawks goaltender, Jan Špunar, would do his best to absorb the puck. However, the wrist shot from Reschny would sneak past the right elbow of Špunar and trickle into the back of the net. Thanks to a power-play goal, the Royals would cut the lead down to 2-1 before heading into the locker room for intermission.
That momentum the Royals had was diminished as the second period moved along. Victoria managed a series low, five shots, in the second period. Meanwhile, the Winterhawks offense continued to pelt the net with scoring chances. Portland would be rewarded for their efforts late in the period. A turnover down low would eventually allow Marcus Nguyen to feed puck to the offensive point. Ryder Thompson would receive Nguyen’s pass at the blue line, and Thompson would throw the puck on net. Before the puck could reach the crease, Josh Davies would redirect the puck down and past Braden Holt. The puck would slide into the back of the net, giving the Winterhawks a 3-1 lead with 3:25 remaining in the period.
The dagger of this series would come just 2:32 into the third period. The Winterhawks were cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Josh Zakreski would corral the puck behind the net off a blocked shot. Working his way up the boards, Zakreski would backhand a no look pass to the middle of the zone. The pass would reach Diego Buttazzoni, who would then turn and immediately fire a wrist shot on net. Holt would make the save, but the rebound would kick out to his right side. Waiting there was Kyle Chyzowski, who then tried to tap home the rebound. Holt would make a beautiful reaction save, but the puck would rebound out again. This time, the puck would bounce off the leg of a defenseman and in front of the net. A second defenseman would have a chance to clear the puck away, but the puck would jump his stick and go between his skates. At that point, Chyzowski had battled his way to front of the net. Swiping at the puck, Chyzowski’s stick would make contact, and the puck would just barely beat the glove of Holt across the goal line. Chyzowski’s first goal of the postseason would put the Winterhawks up 4-1. A score line that would hold for the remainder of the game.
Portland now await the results of two playoff series to see who they will face in the next round. Their possible opponents include the Kelowna Rockets, the Wenatchee Wild, and the Everett Silvertips.
Northwest Sports Desk 