The Portland Winterhawks played back to back games against the Victoria Royals to close out their February schedule. On Friday, Feb. 27, the Winterhawks mounted a 3-2 comeback victory against the Royals. Then on Saturday, the 28th, Victoria answered back with a 7-3 win over Portland. Entering the weekend, the Winterhawks were tied with the Royals for seventh place in the Western Conference standings. With the results, the teams still remain tied for the seventh seed. However, Portland currently holds the tiebreaker between the two clubs.
Friday’s game against Victoria saw the Royals jumping out to an early lead at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena. First, a keep in at the blue line by Cruz Waltze would allow Victoria to gain offensive possession. Waltze passed the puck towards the boards where Wyatt Danyleyko would be, but instant pressure from Sam Spehar would force the puck towards the middle of the zone. Ricochetting off a skate, the puck would then kick back to the point, where Danyleyko was rotating to. Danyleyko would quickly turn and then fire a shot towards Portland goaltender Ondrej Štěbeták. Before the puck reached Štěbeták, Waltze would cut in front of the net, and catch Danyleyko’s shot with his stick. Štěbeták would be left out of position as Waltze would slide a backhand shot around his leg, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead with 10:45 remaining in the first period.
Then, late in the opening frame, Victoria would strike again. With 2:13 remaing in the first, a stretch pass from the Royals defenseman would find Nolan Stewart posted up at the far blue line. Stewart got the puck into the offensive zone, but would be muscled off possession by Max Pšenička. Reed Brown would then race back to pick up the loose puck, but Victoria’s forecheck would force Brown to turn to the center of the zone. Miles Cooper would be lurking there to steal the puck from Brown with a stick lift. Now at the top of the faceoff circle, Cooper would make a stick move to avoid checks from both Brown and Carsyn Dyck, to then pass the puck across the zone. His backhand pass would setup Landon Young inside the far faceoff dot, and Young would waste no time sending a wrist shot on net. The puck would fly over the blocker of Štěbeták and Victoria would take a 2-0 lead.
The Winterhawks would put on the pressure in the second period, outshooting Victoria 14-8. Their pressure would be rewarded with a goal, with 6:01 remaining the second frame. After a save by Štěbeták, a tie up between two players would leave the puck free for Reed Brown to pick up with pace. Speeding through the neutral zone, Brown would gain an outside edge on his defender. As Brown crossed into the offensive zone, he looked to position himself for a drive to the net. Now with the second defender sliding over to support, Brown would backhand a pass over to the top of the crease. There to swipe a backhand shot on goal was Jake Gustafson, who would slide the puck just past the outstretched leg of Royals netminder Ethan Eskit. Gustafson’s 13th goal of the season would hold as the only marker of the second period.
The third period was tightly contested, but momentum favored the Winterhawks after the midway point of the period. With 8:30 left in regulation, the Winterhawks would dump the puck into the offensive zone, and Eskit would come out of his net to stop the puck along the boards. Nathan Brown got close to Eskit, but Eskit was able to send the puck back up the boards cleanly. However, Nathan Free would jump over to the boards just above the faceoff dot to intercept the play. From there, Free would instantly throw a shot towards the net, as Eskit was still retreating back into position. Eskit would get back to the crease and reach out with his blocker pad to stop the puck, but his angle was off. The puck would hit the inside of Eskit’s blocker pad, and make a beeline to the back of the net. The mishandled shot would tie the game for Portland at 2-2.
The game winning goal on Friday would come in the final minute of regulation. The play would start with a backhand chip into the offensive zone by Sam Spehar. The puck would be gloved down by Victoria’s defensman Seth Fryer, but Spehar and Nathan Brown would pursue the puck on the forecheck. Brown would box Fryer out of the play, but Spehar would be pinned to the boards with the loose puck by Roan Woodward. Eventually, the Royals would poke the puck free down deeper into the offesive zone. Luckily for Portland, Brown still had position on Fryer and was able to get to the puck first. Brown sent a pass up to Nathan Free, who was unguarded at the top of the faceoff circle. Free looked to wind up a shot, then juked to his right to get a better angle. Once Free was in the high slot, he uncorked a wrist shot that would rip past the crouching defender in front, and fly high past the glove of Eskit. Free would earn his 26th goal of the season, and the Winterhawks would come back to win 3-2 over Victoria.
Saturday’s matchup looked to have a similar start to Friday’s, as the Royals would one again get on the scoreboard first. Just 3:14 into the action, the Royals got the chance to go on the power-play. Off a faceoff, the Winterhawks would try to flip the puck out of their defensive zone. Landon Young would grab the puck out of the air at the blue line, to keep Victoria onside. Skating down with the puck, Young would eventually pass possession back to the point for Odin Vauhkonen. Vauhkonen would then quickly swing the puck over to Caleb Matthews at the far faceoff circle. With patience, Matthews would wait for a lane to open up, then skip a pass across the zone for Heath Nelson. Nelson then threw a wrist shot low on net, where Nolan Stewart would have a chance to play the puck. Stewart would be able to redirect the puck five-hole on Ondrej Štěbeták, giving the Royals an early 1-0 lead.
Unlike Friday, the Winterhawks would be able to answer back in the opening frame. Although Portland found themselves on another penalty-kill, the Winterhawks were able to get possession and drop a pass back for Carter Matthews at their defensive blue line. Matthews waited for a moment, then sent a seam pass through the middle of the ice for Ryan Miller. Miller would get his stick on the pass, but the puck would leap off his touch down into the Victoria zone. Miller continued to fight for the puck as it rolled towards the corner, and eventually would get possession. From just above goal line extended, Miller would pass the puck back for Alex Weiermair above the near faceoff dot. Weiermair then teed up a one timer, that would beat Ethan Eskit high blocker side. The puck would stay inside the far post, and Portland would tie the game with 10:26 left in first.
However, just 28 seconds later, Victoria’s power-play would earn redemption. After a dump and chase into the offensive zone for the Royals, Roan Woodward would pass the puck back up to the point for Timofei Runtso. Piloting from the point, Runtso would drift towards the middle and pass the puck down and over to Ludovic Perreault. Perreault wouldn’t hold on to the puck for long, passing it right back to Runtso at the point. This time, with the defense now shifted, Runtso would let a wrist shot fly on net. Runtso’s shot would deflect high off a Portland stick, and go over the right shoulder of Štěbeták. The puck would stay under the crossbar, and the Royals would retake the lead.
Then, just over three minutes later, Victoria would strike again. After a blocked shot in Victoria’s defensive zone, the puck would be swiped out towards the blue line. Will McLaughlin would chase after the loose puck for Portland, but Cruz Waltze would poke the puck up ice before McLaughlin could gain possession. Now with speed, Waltze would catch up to the puck at the center ice line and race towards the offensive zone. With an outside angle on McLaughlin, Waltze would take a near side wrist shot that Štěbeták would save with his leg pad. The rebound off Waltze’s shot then kicked right into the slot, where Max Silver had won his footrace against his defender. Silver instantly flicked a wrist shot past the glove of Štěbeták, and inside the far post to give Victoria a 3-1 lead.
Silver’s goal would hold as the last marker of the first period, but an early second period goal would help the Royals keep the pressure on. A power-play for Victoria had carried over from the end of the first period, and that allowed the Royals to gain possession quickly in the offensive zone. After rotating and passing around the point, Roan Woodward would set up Miles Cooper for a one timer at the top of the right hand faceoff circle. Cooper’s shot would be saved by Štěbeták, but the rebound would loosely bounce between a few skates and bodies in front of the net. Eventually, Cooper would fork the puck free to himself, and spin to pass the puck back to the point. Woodward would recive Cooper’s pass, and be all alone in the high slot. From there, Woodward wound up a wrist shot, that would rip past the high blocker side of Štěbeták. Woodward’s 31st goal of the season would extend Victoria’s lead up to 4-1, just 51 seconds into the second period.
The Winterhawks needed something to change the momentum of the game, and they would find that moment just over six minutes later. After a save by Štěbeták, Alex Weiermair would intercept a pass made from behind the net. Then to gain some space, Weiermair skated around the back of Portland’s net and towards the far corner. Looking for a breakout pass, Weiermair would loft the puck high into the neutral zone and over the head of a Victoria skater. At the far blue line, Ryan Miller would glove down Weiermair’s pass and create a two on one. From the top of the faceoff circle, Miller would pass the puck back and across the zone for Reed Brown. With momentum, Brown would one timer a shot on goal to beat Eskit low glove side. Brown’s 16th goal of the season would cut Royals lead down to 4-2.
Victoria was undeterred by Portland response, and would answer back late in the period. After a goalie substitution by Victoria, the Royals would win a battle for the puck off an offensive zone faceoff. Caleb Matthews would help poke the puck along the boards for Ludovic Perreault in the corner. Perreault would then skate down low, going behind the net and turning back at the far corner. From there, Perreault would roll the puck along the boards back behind the net for Nolan Stewart. While drifting away, Stewart spotted Matthews circling towards the front of the net. At the last moment, Stewart would pass the puck over to Matthews, setting up for another one timer shot. Štěbeták, anticipating Stewart to still have the puck, was late to react to the centering pass. Matthews’s shot would sneak between the glove of Štěbeták and the near post, puting Victoria back up by three with 3:06 left in the period.
After Matthews’s goal, it would take nearly a full period’s worth of action for the Royals to find the back of the net again. This time, Victoria was able to poke the puck free in the neutral zone, and create a two on one the other way. Heath Nelson would skate into the offensive zone with the puck, but his pass across would be blocked by the leg of Will McLaughlin. The puck would kick back to Nelson, who then tried a backhand pass across the net. Once again, McLaughlin blocked the pass, and was able to sweep the puck back behind the net. Unfortunately for McLaughlin, the puck would split the legs of another Portland defender. This allowed Nelson to win the battle for the puck as the play shifted towards the corner. Once Nelson had possession, he would pass the puck back behind the net for Reggie Newman. Newman would take a moment to corral Nelson’s pass, then sent the puck into the slot for Miles Cooper. Cooper would slap a one timer shot on goal, and beat Štěbeták to the far post. With 5:05 left in the third, the Royals would extend their lead to 6-2.
Portland did strike back quickly after Cooper’s goal. Just 34 seconds later, Luke Wilfley would have his shot blocked in the offensive zone for the Winterhawks. This lead to Victoria passing the puck towards the boards for Ludovic Perreault. Wilfley would recover and cut off Perreault at the blue line, but Perreault would still be able to get the puck out of the zone. A short pass looked like it would set up Nolan Stewart with speed. However, Alessandro Domenichelli with a hustle play, would pick the pocket of Nelson before he hit the red line. Domenichelli then turned with the puck and skated into the offensive zone. With momentum carrying Domenichelli to his left, he dragged the puck back away from an oncoming poke check, and then fired a wrist shot on net. The shot would race high over the low glove of substitue goaltender Jake Pilon, and Domenichelli would earn his first career WHL goal.
Unfortunately for Portland, Domenichelli’s goal would be too little, too late. An empty net goal by Reggie Newman with 2:35 remaining in third would be the last goal of the night. Victoria would win on Saturday, by a final of 7-3.
The Winterhawks now look forward to March, with another triple header weekend on the horizon. Their first game of the month will be on the road against the Everett Silvertips at 7:05 p.m. Friday, at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, WA.
Northwest Sports Desk 