The Portland Winterhawks’ regular season concluded with a 5-4 overtime loss against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday night. With an overtime point earned, and thanks to a 2-1 loss by Victoria to Prince George, the Winterhawks and the Thunderbirds each earned spots in the postseaon. Entering the contest, Portland had gone 4-1-2 against Seattle. The last time these two teams played, the Thunderbirds won at home in Kent, Washington, 3-2 in overtime on March 14th.
Before the match, there was a team awards ceremony, commemorating some select Winterhawks for their hard work this season. Alex Weiermair won the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club Player of the Year, Scholastic Player of the Year, Most Valuable Player and Top Scorer Awards. Ben Miller won the Sportsmanship and Ability Award. The Jann and Robert Boss Best Defensive Player Award was shared between Ondřej Štěbeták and Cole Slobodian. Luke Wilfley was awarded Rookie of the Year. And last but not least, Ryan Miller was the winner of the Winterhawk Award.
After the ceremony, puck drop led to a quick start for the Winterhawks at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Just 25 seconds into the first period, Alex Weiermair would work the puck off the boards for Jordan Duguay at the top of the faceoff circle. Skating his way down, Duguay would find space as he reached the bottom of the faceoff circle. From there, Duguay would make a backhand pass to the slot. There to receive his pass was team captain Ryan Miller, who would immediately fire a shot on net. The puck would race by the glove of Seattle goaltender Grayson Malinoski and find the back of the net. On the first shot of the game, the Winterhawks would take a 1-0 lead.
Portland kept its foot on the gas early, with another goal just 2:42 later. After a dump around the boards by Max Pšenička, the puck would roll down into the trapezoid. Carsyn Dyck would shift down low to regather possession, then skate to his left. Spotting a cutter to the front of the net, Dyck would throw the puck out into the slot and take a massive check from Seattle’s Brayden Holberton in the process. The cutter that Dyck spotted was Ben Miller, who would receive Dyck’s pass at the top of the crease. Miller then lifted a quick wrister over the glove of Malinoski and inside the near post. Ben Miller’s third goal of the season would up the Winterhawks lead to 2-0, with 16:53 left in the first.
Seattle was not to be outdone in the opening frame and would answer back late in the period. With 2:26 on the clock, while operating under 4-on-4 hockey, the Thunderbirds would skate the puck out through the neutral zone. Coster Dunn would then lead Seattle into the offensive zone and work a pass across for Cameron Schmidt. Schmidt would try to one-time Dunn’s pass, but his shooting lane wasn’t clean. The puck would end up hitting Portland defenseman Griffin Darby and kicking wide to Štěbeták’s right. Schmidt’s momentum would take him past Darby and allow him to reach the puck first. From below the goal line, Schmidt would then throw a backhand shot towards the net. The puck would bounce off the back of Štěbeták as he was retreating to hug the near post, and trickle into the net. Schmidt’s goal would be the last of the period, and the Thunderbirds would cut the lead down to 2-1.
In the second period, the Winterhawks got out to an early start again. This time, Jordan Duguay would enter the zone for the Winterhawks and lead a lofted pass to the middle of the zone. Racing into catch up to the puck was Alex Weiermair. Weiermair had gained a step on his defender and found himself one-on-one with Malinoski. Weiermair would make a move to his forehand, but Malinoski would kick his right leg out to make the save. The rebound, however, would fall right back to Weiermair behind the net. From there, Weiermair looked up and spotted Ryan Miller wide open on the far side of the slot. With multiple bodies in front of the net, Weiermair would squeak a pass through to the skate of Miller. Miller would kick the puck back to his stick, but that allowed enough time for Seattle’s defense and goaltender to shift over for the shot. Seeing the goalie slide, Miller fired a wrist shot around the encroaching defender and back towards the far post. The shot would whip by the high blocker side of Malinoski and stay inside the post for Miller’s 30th goal of the season. With 16:55 left in the second, Portland would take a 3-1 lead.
Seattle then found an answer again with 7:07 left in the period. After Štěbeták made a save on a point shot, the rebound would bounce loose to the top left of the crease. With multiple bodies in front, the puck would bounce around some legs and eventually, Štěbeták would make another save. This time, the rebound would kick farther out, just below the benchside faceoff circle. There to pick up the rebound was Seattle’s Ethan Bibeau. With traffic collapsing in front, Bibeau would work the puck back up to the high slot for Ashton Cumby. Cumby’s shot would be saved, but the rebound would once again fall to Štěbeták’s left. This time, Bibeau would get to the rebound and fire a shot back on net. Štěbeták would slide over and reach out, but Bibeau’s shot would beat him five-hole. The Thunderbirds would stay within striking distance, making the score 3-2.
Another crucial goal came with exactly 44 seconds left in the second period. The puck would find it’s way to Tai Riley above the offensive faceoff circle for Seattle. From there, Riley would skip a pass across the zone for Noah Kosick. Kosick would spin as he received the pass and begin to weave his way down the Portland defensive zone. Making a move to his right, Kosick would let loose a high-angle shot that Štěbeták would blocker away. Unfortunately for Portland, the puck would fall just out of reach of the nearest Winterhawks defenseman. Then, sliding down into the zone for Seattle, Cameron Schmidt would swipe at the loose puck and make contact. Schmidt’s shot would beat the right leg of Štěbeták, and the Thunderbirds would tie the game at 3-3 heading into the third.
While Portland dominated the shots on goal category in the third, it was Seattle that scored in the final frame. After a blocked shot, the puck would bounce out to Coster Dunn at the faceoff circle. From there, Dunn would spot Cameron Schmidt racing up the right wing side of the ice. The stretch pass was fast, but Schmidt was able to coral it after batting it down from shin high out of the air. In the offensive zone, Schmidt was able to box out Portland’s last defender and be one-on-one with Štěbeták. Schmidt would fake to his right, then cut back to his left and lift the puck over the right leg of Štěbeták. Schmidt’s hat-trick would give Seattle their first lead of the night at 4-3, with 11:54 remaining in regulation.
With potentially their season on the line, the Winterhawks had to make a late push. With 2:26 left in regulation, and already through most of a power play, Portland opted to pull their goalie. Alex Weiermair would fan on a pass to the point, but Max Pšenička would jump up and get to the puck first. Pšenička quickly backhanded a pass to the top of the far faceoff circle, where Nathan Free would be waiting as an outlet. Free would then pass the puck down to Jordan Duguay just above the goal line extended. Duguay then centered a pass to the slot, where Pšenička had found a pocket. Pšenička would one time Duguay’s pass on goal, and the puck would slide past the right leg of Malinoski. Pšenička would score his eighth goal of the season, and the Winterhawks would force overtime.
Both teams had scoring chances in the extra frame, but it was Seattle who would find the dagger first. The play would start with Antonio Martorana skating around Coster Dunn to the middle of the offensive zone blue line. As he crossed, Martorana would pass the puck across and to his left for Dunn. Dunn would then wheel around and pick up the puck with momentum, skating down into the left wing faceoff circle. Once he was just above the faceoff dot, Dunn let loose a wrist shot around a Portland defenseman. The puck would elevate over the left shoulder of Štěbeták and stay under the crossbar to find the back of the net. Dunn’s 25th goal of the season would win the game for the Thunderbirds, 5-4 in overtime.
After the game, when asked about which players he’s seen the most improvement from, Witerhawks head coach Kyle Gustafson dove into Max Pšenička.
“In terms of who’s improved the most, it’s unique because guys are at different stages of their career,” Gustafson said. “You have to remember that Max came to us halfway through the season last year.”
He said Pšenička was another guy who was getting used to smaller ice and the competition.
“Things are happening faster and I see the growth in his game,” Gustafson said. “That’s a tough one because he was a second-round draft pick to the NHL. But he is a reliable player for us, game in and game out and I see him getting stronger. He puts in the time.”
With the overtime point earned, the Winterhawks are now the number eight seed in the Western Conference. Portland will face the No. 1 seed Everett Silvertips in the opening round of the postseason. The playoff schedule will be announced later this week.
Northwest Sports Desk 