WHL Portland Winterhawks

Francis Earns Hat Trick, But Portland Falls 5-4 In Shootout To Spokane

December 6, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Chris Francis had his second hat trick of the season Sunday night, but the Winterhawks lost 5-4 to Spokane in a shootout. It was the second time this season Francis had earned the feat, the previous occasion coming on November 7 against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

After the two teams were knotted at 1-1 after two periods, on goals from Mitch Wahl for Spokane and Francis for Portland, they exploded for six combined goals over the final 13 minutes of the third.

The third period scoring started when the Chiefs' Mitch Wahl fired a shot from the point that beat Portland netminder Ian Curtis at the 7:29 mark. But the Hawks tied it up just 30 seconds later when Luke Walker stole the puck in the Spokane end, got the puck to Ty Rattie who in turn passed it to Francis, who fired a backhand past Chiefs netminder James Reid to make it 2-2.

Spokane then took the lead once again when Kenton Miller took a cross-ice pass and fired a shot from the left faceoff circle to make it 3-2 at the 10:38 mark. Just two minutes later, Francis earned the hat trick when he carried the puck over the blueline and fired a high shot past Reid's blocker on the far side to make it 3-3. Portland then took the lead just 45 seconds later when Brad Ross followed Francis's lead. Like Francis, he carried the puck over the blueline on the right side and went high to the blocker side, and gave the Winterhawks their first lead of the game at 4-3.

Spokane answered right back just over two minutes later when Tyler Johnson stole the puck in the Portland zone. It led to a scramble in the crease in front of Curtis, and Mitch Holmberg eventually banged it in to make it 4-4 and send the game to overtime.

After a scoreless extra frame the game went to a shootout. In the second round of the shootout, Francis added to his outstanding night when he scored to put Portland up. It was similar to his previous hat trick, a game in which he had three goals in regulation followed by the winner in the shootout. But it wasn't to be on Sunday, as Spokane responded with goals from Wahl and Kyle Beach to escape with the win.

In addition to the hat trick from Francis, linemates Ty Rattie had three points while Luke Walker had two. Curtis made 31 saves on 35 Spokane shots, while Reid turned away 19 of the 23 shots he faced.

The Winterhawks will travel to Everett to take on the Silvertips Tuesday night. They play the Tri-City Americans on the road Saturday, and return home to host the Silvertips Sunday at the Rose Garden at 5 p.m.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2009


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