The Portland Winterhawks went 2-0 this past weekend. First, they defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-3 Friday night. Then, Portland put together an 8-4 victory over the Wenatchee Wild on Saturday. With a sweep this weekend, the Winterhawks are now on a four-game win streak. The offense has come alive in the past four games as well. On this win streak, Portland is averaging 5.75 goals per game. Here’s a look at all the action from this weekend.
Friday night’s game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum was the start of four straight home games for Portland. Wanting to start off on the right foot, the Winterhawks applied pressure early and often in the first period. Just over two minutes into the match, their aggression would be rewarded. A shot from the point by Kyle McDonough would deflect off a body between the faceoff circles. Off the redirect, the puck would drop to the skate of Jordan Duguay in front of the net. Kicking the puck to his stick, Duguay would be able to stretch around rookie goaltender Koen Cleaver, and slide the puck into the back of the net. Duguay’s fourth goal of the season, would put the Winterhawks on the board first.
The Hurricanes were quick to respond. Roughly three and a half minutes later, Lethbridge would enter their offensive zone with a 3-on-2 rush. Brayden Edwards would receive a pass, and have the time to load up a wrist shot. Ryder Thompson would block the shot, but the rebound would bounce right back to the stick of Edwards. Quickly, Edwards would throw another wrist shot at the net. This time, the puck would beat the glove of Ondrej Štěbeták high to the near post, tying the game at 1-1.
However, Portland was not to be out done in the first period. With just over five minutes left before the first intermission, the Winterhawks found themselves on a penalty kill. Tyson Jugnauth would intercept an entry zone pass, and create a 2-on-0 breakaway through the neutral zone. Skating the puck in, Jugnauth tried to slide the puck five hole on a backhand move across the crease. Cleaver would make the save, but the rebound would be easy pickings for Kyle Chyzowski to follow up on. Chyzowski wasted no time firing the loose puck past a recovering Cleaver, and into the net. The shorthanded tally would give Chyzowski his 15th goal of the season, and put Portland in the lead 2-1 at the end of the period.
In the second period, an early flurry of goals helped Portland pull away from Lethbridge. First, the Winterhawks would start the period with a two man advantage. It would only take 32 seconds for Portland’s power-play to find their opportunity to strike. A feed from Carter Sotheran would setup Diego Buttazzoni for a one-timer from the faceoff circle. The shot would sneak inside the near post, and beat the glove of the outstretched Cleaver to extend Portland’s lead to 3-1.
Then, another goal came to Portland just 19 seconds later. This time, Ryder Thompson would catch a pass with space in the offensive faceoff circle. Spotting a potential backdoor cut in front of the net, Thompson would throw a wrist shot towards the top of the crease. Diego Buttazzoni was the forward for Portland, working his way to the front of the net. With the shot incoming, Buttazzoni would turn his body, and the puck would redirect off his left skate. Cleaver would be too far out of position to recover, and Buttazzoni would score his second goal of the night.
Even with both power-plays now gone for Portland, there was no reprieve for the Hurricanes. Another 1:46 later, the Winterhawks would cycle the puck along the top of the offensive zone. Eventually the puck would come to Tyson Jugnauth, who would skate from left to right across the zone. With no immediate pressure, Jugnauth would have the time to turn and shoot from the top of the faceoff circle. Jugnauth’s shot would beat Cleaver high blocker side this time, and the Winterhawks would take a 5-1 lead.
Looking to change the momentum, Lethbridge would substitute their goaltender after Jugnauth’s goal. However, Brady Smith was put to the test roughly five minutes later. A hooking penalty by Trae Johnson would send the Winterhawks to their third power-play of the game. Working the puck around, a pass from below the faceoff circle through the middle of the zone would set up Carter Sotheran for a shot. Sotheran’s shot would be blocked, but the rebound would be jammed away at by Tyson Yaremko and Jordan Duguay. Eventually Duguay would find the angle to wrist the puck back on target. Smith would still get a piece of the puck, but not enough to fully slow the puck down. Duguay’s goal would end up being the last of period two, and the last of the night for Portland.
In the third period, the Hurricanes would find two goals on 13 shots. The first would come nearly two and a half minutes into the final period, courtesy of Brayden Edwards. The second would come from Leo Braillard with 1:40 remaining in regulation. However, Štěbeták would finish the night saving 31 of 34 shots, and the Winterhawks would hold on to win 6-3.
The next day, Portland would play host to the Wenatchee Wild. Veterans Memorial Coliseum was packed as the Wild had just won two games in a row. However, it was the Winterhawks who would jump out to an early lead. In the first period, Portland would earn three power-play chances. The first, would be capitalized on almost seven minutes into the match. Josh Zakreski’s slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle would beat Wenatchee goaltender, Daniel Hauser, high blocker side.
After an unsuccessful power-play halfway through the period, the Winterhawks would get their third chance with 7:25 left in the opening period. Wenatchee would successfully stall Portland’s offense for the majority of the man advantage. However, with seconds left on the power-play, the Winterhawks would win an offensive zone faceoff. Carsyn Dyck would pick up the puck, and shoot between pairs of forwards in the faceoff circle. The puck would elevate over the shoulder of Hauser, and stay under the crossbar. Although it wouldn’t count as a power-play goal, Carsyn Dyck’s fourth goal of the season would give Portland a 2-0 lead.
Goal number three for the Winterhawks would come in the second period. Eight minutes into the action, Ryder Thompson would gather the puck along the boards. Skating his way down the offensive zone, Thompson would center a pass from the corner. Sneaking down unmarked from the high slot to receive the pass was Josh Zakreski. Once he had the puck, Zakreski would fire a shot just inside the near post, as Hauser was moving off of it. Zakreski’s tenth goal of the year would give Portland a 3-0 lead.
Then Wenatchee caught fire, scoring four goals in a row. Shaun Rios would score on a power-play, just over halfway through the period. Then, Lukas McCloskey and Deagan McMillan would score in the final three minutes of period two. Lastly, thanks to Evan Friesen, the Wild would take a 4-3 lead just 31 seconds into the third period.
Portland knew, they needed to respond quickly. Luckily for them, an answer would come just 42 seconds later. The Winterhawks would enter the offensive zone, out-manned as they crossed the blue line. From the boards, Kyle McDonough would pass the puck to the middle. Reed Brown would catch the pass close to his skates. Corralling the puck, Brown would then uncork a wrist shot blocker side. Once again, the puck would slip past Hauser and stay inside the near post, tying the game at 4-4.
The assist by Kyle McDonough was the start of a tremendous third period for the Winterhawks defenseman. Roughly two minutes later, McDonough would find himself with the puck along the boards. Skating towards the blue line, McDonough would follow the arch of the faceoff circle while protecting the puck. Gaining some space in the high slot, McDonough would then turn and fire a wrist shot on the screened Hauser. McDonough’s shot would beat Hauser’s glove, and the Winterhawks would take a 5-4 lead.
Portland would not let this momentum slip away with their new lead. Nearly two minutes later again, McDonough would skate the puck into the offensive zone. Weaving his way over the blue line, McDonough would find space and draw defenders to the center of the zone. A quick pass to McDonough’s left would then set up Jordan Duguay in the high slot. Duguay’s shot was roofed under the crossbar, and the Winterhawks would extend their lead to 6-4.
Wenatchee struggled for the remainder of the period, only managing four shots on goal. Eventually, a pair of empty net goals from Kyle Chyzowski and Kyle McDonough would ice the game. The Winterhawks would go on to win by a final score of 8-4.
The Winterhawks return to the ice for back-to-back home games against the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday and Friday this week. Puck drop on Wednesday is at 7:00 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 