The Portland Winterhawks season ended this Wednesday night after a 4-2 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL Championship. With the loss, Moose Jaw completed a 4-0 series sweep of Portland and won the Ed Chynoweth Cup. The Winterhawks had swept their first two rounds of the playoffs, defeating the Victoria Royals and the Everett Silvertips. Portland then earned the chance to play in the finals with a 4-2 series victory over the Prince George Cougars.
Portland came into the match at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, knowing a comeback in this series starts one game at a time. However, it was the Warriors who would strike first in Game 4. Just over eight minutes into the match, Moose Jaw would find themselves on the power-play. The puck crossed the width of the offensive zone and found Jagger Firkus along the boards. After pausing for a moment, Firkus would then pass the puck back through to the middle to Brayden Yager. Yager immediately fired a shot on goal that was stopped by the Winterhawks goaltender Jan Špunar. However, Martin Rysavy was left alone in front of the net. Rysavy would be able to swipe away at the puck, and eventually score on Špunar to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
Rysavy’s goal would hold into the second period, where the Winterhawks looked to dial up the intensity. Eventually, Portland found their opportunity to tie the game on the power play. Entering the match, the Winterhawks power-play had been stifled. Portland was 0/5 on the power play and had failed to score on the man advantage late in the first period. However, Portland was undeterred. Luca Cagnoni would hold the puck at the point, then make a hard pass down to Gabe Klassen. Klassen would one touch the puck across the goal to Kyle Chyzowski. Chyzowski would shovel the puck into the net for his ninth goal of the postseason, and the Winterhawks would tie the game with 5:29 remaining in the period.
However, the scoring was not done in the second period. A faceoff in Portland’s defensive zone was won by Moose Jaw. The puck would fall back to Buffalo Sabres prospect, Matthew Savoie, as he curled around the faceoff circle. From the top of the circle, Savoie would wrist a shot on net, that would snipe the high corner on Špunar’s blocker side. With 4:23 remaining, Savoie’s tenth goal of the postseason would put the Warriors back in the lead, 2-1.
The Winterhawks were not to be outdone this period. With just 1:26 remaining, the puck would be corralled behind the net by Nate Danielson. Danielson, with time, would find Marcus Nguyen crossing the face of the net. Nguyen’s shot would beat Moose Jaw’s goaltender, Jackson Unger, low blocker side and hit the twine in the back of the net. Nguyen’s eighth goal of the postseason would once again, tie the game at 2-2.
Unfortunately for Portland, things took a turn for the worse late in the third period. Moose Jaw broke out of their zone, creating a two-on-two rush. Rilen Kovacevic would take the puck up the outside lane. Brayden Schuurman, instead of driving to the net, would sit back and wait for a pass. Eventually, that pass would come and Schuurman would load up a wrist shot from inside the faceoff circle. Schuurman’s shot would beat Špunar’s elbow on the high glove side, and sneak under the crossbar. The Warriors would take a 3-2 lead with 5:53 remaining in regulation.
The Winterhawks were desperate for an equalizer and would pull their goalie with roughly 2:40 remaining. However, off a blocked shot, Rysavy would slap the puck down the ice, and score an empty net goal with 2:27 remaining. Unger and the Moose Jaw defense would hold on to win the game and become the 2024 WHL Champions.
Northwest Sports Desk 