Portland Winterhawks Survive Prince George Onslaught, Thunderbirds Fall In 2OT As WHL Playoffs Heat Up

Game 7 in Prince George with the Cougars hosting the Portland Winterhawks and game 6 in Kent, WA between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips felt much like playoff hockey. 

The first period in Prince George saw the Cougars with the edge in shots 11-7 and a 1-1 tie, which resulted from a goal by PG just over six minutes in and a tie by Alex Weiermair about six minutes later. Goaltenders again had to be on their toes as both squads looked to get past this round. 

Kyle Chyzowski, near the midway mark of the second period as the Hawks still couldn’t get a great deal of offense in the period as Ondrej Stebatek saw a great deal of rubber come his way in the Winterhawks net Both the first and second periods saw Prince George put up 11 shots a period versus the seven a period for the Hawks through 2. 

In the third, Prince George once again tied it up and seemed to put heavy pressure on the Hawks. In doing so, they allowed Josh Zakreski to get free, where he scored, putting the Hawks up again. Prince George then went crazy offensively as they tilted the ice with shot after shot, but Stebatek held strong.  

With less than two minutes left, Prince George needed to pull their netminder but found the Hawks able to keep the disc at Prince George’s end. Kyle Chyzowski kept the clock going, holding the puck in the Cougars’ zone. The Cougars scrambled like crazy and had Stebatek without a stick in the net, but they could still gain the save. After several attempts, Diego Buttazzoni finally fished the puck out of the zone and scored the empty-net goal to send the Hawks into the second round. 

The final was Portland 4-2 over Prince George. PG was outshot 35-23, and power plays saw PG 0-1 and Portland 0-0. As seems to be traditional, the stars were the overage players of the game.  

Coach Kyle Gustafson has won his first-ever WHL Playoff series since taking over as bench boss from Mike Johnston for the Portland Winterhawks. 

In Kent, WA, it was a scoreless first period with Seattle doubling shots 16-8 versus Everett, which was behind in the series, only to capture the last two games and with it, a lead in needing one more game to clinch and make it into round 2. Everett was able to keep up with Seattle in the shots department as both hit double digits in the second frame. The third seemed to be along the same lines, with both squads looking to find that one inch to gain momentum.     

Like the other two, the third period was scoreless, and the two faced off in sudden-death overtime. The Tips and Thunderbirds faced overtime in Everett, where the Tips won that overtime game 3-2. The first overtime ended with no scoring, and it nearly went to the end of the second overtime, just as Everett centered a feed from the corner, then when it came out in front, popped up and in behind Ratzlaff for the win at 1-0. The 100-plus shots of the game combined by both teams were not highlight-reel save quality, but numerous. 

The series starts Friday, and you can guarantee that the teams will be tired. In the west, Everett hosts Portland, and Spokane entertains Victoria. 

Tuesday will see the Prince Albert Raiders attempt to complete the comeback against the Edmonton Oil Kings. Both teams are tied at three games apiece. The winner will head to Medicine Hat, as Calgary hosts Lethbridge. 

The elite eight are set and begin play on Friday. Next week, we’ll add the OHL and QMJHL and pare down their playoffs to put the League Finals and the representatives from all three leagues to participate in the Memorial Cup.

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Author: Hey PDX

Hey PDX Team