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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Gutsy Shorthanded Hawks Knock off 'Tips in 7-6 SO Thriller

January 1, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Portland, Ore. - Dressing just 13 skaters and a goalie, the Winterhawks faced long odds against a reinforced Everett club on Saturday but came out with a 7-6 win behind herculean efforts from throughout the lineup. Dante Giannuzzi finished with a career-high 51 saves, Kyle Chyzowski picked up four points and Gabe Klassen netted the shootout winner for Portland.

Klassen helped the Hawks pick up right where they left off last night with a goal at 1:41 of the first period, when he slid a pass across the crease that banked off of a defender's skate and into the net for his 14th of the season. Everett responded with a Jacob Wright tally five minutes later, but Portland would not be denied as Marcus Nguyen put on a few moves and found Tyson Kozak for a backdoor pass and a 2-1 Hawks lead at 16:21.

Everett came out firing in the middle frame with a pair of goals in the opening 13 minutes to take the lead. Niko Huuhtanen knotted things up with his 17th of the year at 5:30, followed by Alex Swetlikoff's quick snapshot for the 'Tips' first lead of the game at 12:40. The Winterhawks quickly responded, though, as Luke Schelter again leveled the score just 26 seconds after Swetlikoff's marker, and Dawson Pasternak restored Portland's advantage two minutes after that.

The 'Tips again started hot in the third with a tying goal from Ryan Hofer just 4:12 into the stanza, but Chyzowski pushed Portland ahead once more just a minute later with his third point of the night and third goal of the season on a 2-on-1 rush with Nguyen. But after Portland's Marek Alscher lit the lamp at 13:18 for the first two-goal lead of the night for either team, Swetlikoff and Michal Gut tallied in quick succession for Everett to send this see-saw game to extra time.

After a back-and-forth battle in OT that saw both netminders come up huge for their clubs, Klassen grabbed the only goal of the shootout as Giannuzzi turned aside Swetlikoff, Gut and Olen Zellweger to backstop his team's victory.

-- WINTERHAWKS.COM -

Ticket plans are now on sale for the 2021-22 season! Season Ticket Memberships are the best way to never miss a second of the action, including the same great seat to all 34 Winterhawks games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Our new Flex Packs give fans the flexibility of cheering on the Hawks all season long. Flex packs, which give nearly 30% savings, are purchased in increments of ten ticket vouchers so there is no limit to how much fun you can have! To learn more about all available ticketing options, visit Winterhawks.com.

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