Kent - The Portland Winterhawks defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-4 Friday night at ShoWare Center in Kent. This was the first game of a home-and-home series between the two teams as they will meet Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at the Rose Garden.
Portland (17-12-0-0) opened the scoring on Nino Niederreiter's 14th goal of the season at 7:01 of the first period. Ryan Johansen and Brad Ross assisted on the goal. Seattle (10-15-1-3) answered quickly when Prab Rai scored his 15th goal of the season at 8:09 of the first period. Rai gained control of the puck on his own blue line and deked around both Portland defensemen. As Rai entered the Portland zone, he cut in front of Portland goalie Ian Curtis, then went to his backhand to finish the play. Charles Wells and Stefan Warg were credited with assists.
The T-Birds took a 2-1 lead at 10:48 of the first period on a 5-on-3 power play when Sena Acolatse scored his 10th goal of the season. After receiving the puck from defenseman Jeremy Schappert, Acolatse fired a slap shot from the left point that beat Curtis five-hole. Stefan Warg had the second assist on the goal.
Charles Wells put the T-Birds in front 3-1 at 13:46 of the first on a power-play goal. Warg sent the puck from the right point to Schappert at the left point. Schappert held the puck then sent it to Wells in the left circle. Wells beat Curtis with a quick snap shot low for his seventh goal of the season.
Seattle outshot Portland 17-13 in the first period.
Seattle took a 4-1 lead at 7:36 of the second period on a penalty shot by defenseman Jeremy Schappert. Schappert had just finished serving a penalty when he exited the box to a loose puck and a breakaway opportunity. As Schappert entered the offensive zone, he was hooked by a Portland defenseman, setting up the penalty shot. On the penalty shot, Schappert cut across the slot and fired a shot over Curtis' glove for his eighth goal of the season.
Portland cut the lead to 4-2 at 12:35 of the second period when Jacob Berglund scored his third goal of the season. Eric Doyle and Brett Ponich had assists on the play.
The Winterhawks scored again at 16:24 of the second to cut the lead to 4-3 on a power-play goal by defenseman Taylor Aronson. Niederreiter and Ross were credited with the assists.
Portland outshot Seattle 15-10 in the second period, giving them a 28-27 overall lead in the game through two periods.
Portland tied the game 42 seconds into the third period on Niederreiter's second goal of the game, his 15th of the season. Johansen was credited with the only assist.
Aronson put the Winterhawks in front 5-4 with his second power-play goal of the game at 13:20 of the third. Johansen and Niederreiter had the assists.
Portland sealed the win at 19:19 of the third on an empty-net goal by Spencer Bennett. Stefan Schneider had the only assist.
Portland outshot Seattle 16-10 in the third period, giving them the overall advantage 44-37.
Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard (8-11-1-3) stopped 38 of 43 shots in the loss, while Portland goalie Ian Curtis (8-4-0-0) stopped 33 of 37 shots to earn the victory.
For photos of this game go to Kent Valley Sports.
T-Birds single game tickets for the 2009-10 season are available online at the T-Birds website and at the ShoWare Center box office. The ShoWare Center Box Office is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday game days at 10 a.m. and Sunday game days at noon.
T-Birds Group tickets are currently on sale. Group tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.
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