The Portland Winterhawks survived game 7 against the Prince George Cougars with a 4-2 win Monday night. Portland had a 3-1 series lead thanks to a double overtime win on April 2nd. However, Prince George won games 5 and 6, outscoring the Winterhawks 11-3 in those two playoff games. With the win, Portland advances to the second round of the WHL playoffs.
With a loud crowd at the CN Centre, Prince George had early momentum at home. Roughly six and a half minutes into the game, Riley Heidt would receive a pass in the neutral zone. With speed, Heidt would take an outside angle into the offensive zone and be forced behind the net. After a failed centering attempt, Heidt would get the puck back, and go for a wrap around shot. Winterhawks netminder, Ondrej Štěbeták, would make the save and Heidt would once again get the puck back near the bottom of the faceoff circle. Continuing to force the puck to the middle, Heidt would pass the puck all the way across the goal crease. Terik Parascak would sneak over to the far post, and then jam home the puck to put the Cougars up 1-0.
Portland would need a response and find one with 7:46 remaining in the opening period. Alex Weiermair would pass the puck to Ryan Miller, creating a two on two rush through the neutral zone. After passing the puck, Weiermair saw that he would have a step on his defenseman, and turned on the jets to get open. Miller would spot Weiermair, and skip a pass towards the offensive blue line. Weiermair would control the pass in stride, and rifle a wrist shot five hole on Prince George goaltender, Joshua Ravensbergen. Weiermair would score his 6th goal of the postseason, and the Winterhawks would head into the second period tied at 1-1.
The second period saw numerous moments where the Winterhawks had to step up. In particular, Ondrej Štěbeták shut down multiple A Grade scoring chances that Prince George was able to create. The best of which came inside the first two minutes of the second period, when Štěbeták made a leg pad stop on a Terik Parascak breakaway. Through two periods of play, Štěbeták had 21 saves on 22 shots.
Then, with 11:17 remaining in period two, the Winterhawks would find a breakthrough. Kyle Chyzowski would lead the rush through the neutral zone for Portland. Approaching the blue line, Chyzowski would pass the puck to his right for Alex Weiermair. Once Weiermair controlled the puck, he would slow down and center a pass towards the top of the crease. On the faceoff circle line, Chyzowski would get his stick on the centering pass. The puck would redirect, raising off the ice, and fly over the glove of Ravensbergen. The captain of the Winterhawks would give Portland a 2-1 lead.
Chyzowski’s goal would hold into the third period. However, Prince George would fight back with an early goal in the final frame. Terik Parascak would collect the puck in the defensive zone, then skate along the boards all the way into Portland’s corner. From there, Parascak would throw a pass to the top of the crease. Lee Shurgot would be there to quickly fire the puck on net, just out of the reach of Štěbeták. Shurgot’s second goal of the postseason would tie the game at 2-2 with 14:46 remaining in regulation.
With the pressure mounting, Portland’s veterans would make the difference late in the game. Just past the halfway mark of the third period, Tyson Jugnauth would corral the puck and skate behind his own net. From there, Jugnauth would spot Josh Zakreski racing up the ice. Jugnauth would then land a stretch pass, tape to tape, from the trapezoid to the center ice line. Zakreski would skate into the zone, two on one, with Jordan Duguay in support. Stepping into the faceoff circle, Zakreski would wrist a shot glove side on Ravensbergen. The puck would snipe corner, hitting the back crossbar of the net. Zakreski would score his third goal of the series, and the Winterhawks would take a 3-2 lead with 9:48 to go.
Prince George began to pile on the shots, desperate for an equalizer. However, Portland’s defense stayed strong. Eventually, Jugnauth would chop the puck free from the boards, with ten second to go in the game. Diego Buttazzoni would then gather up the loose puck, skate up to the blue line, and fire a shot down the ice. The puck would slide into the empty net, and the Winterhawks would hold on to win 4-2.
With the results from around the WHL playoffs, the Portland Winterhawks will now face off against the Everett Silvertips in round two. Game one will go Friday at 7:05 p.m. in Everett.
Northwest Sports Desk 