WHL Portland Winterhawks

Hawks Fall 4-3 to Kelowna

February 1, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


A tight contest went down to the wire as the Winterhawks were held off by the Rockets for a 4-3 defeat at the VMC on Wednesday night.

The Winterhawks' record now stands at 31-12-2-1 on the year.

Kelowna's win came on the strength of its second period. With the game tied at two, Kayden Longley capitalized on two-on-one for the go-ahead marker at 4:01. Five minutes later, Hiroki Gojsic's 10th of the year made it 4-2. Looking for a response, Portland got a jolt from defenseman Marek Alscher, who collected a loose puck in his own zone and wheeled around Kelowna's defensive structure before tucking it past Jari Kykkanen's pad to make it a one-goal game heading into the third.

Portland pushed in the third but couldn't crack Kykkanen, who earned the win with 31 saves on 34 shots.

Rookie Hudson Darby opened the scoring for Portland with a laser from the right circle on a breakaway four minutes into the contest. Kelowna responded with two goals in five minutes, first from former Hawk Luke Schelter on the power play, then through Ethan Mittelsteadt at 11:04. Portland punched back before the end of the first, knotting things at two on Josh Zakreski's 16th of the campaign. The 2024 NHL Draft prospect corralled a loose puck in the left circle and spun a shot over the shoulder of Kykannen with just 56 seconds left in the frame.

Portland goaltender Nick Avakyan turned aside 19 of 23 pucks on Wednesday.

These two teams face off at the VMC once more on Friday for the Winterhawks' annual Pride Night starting at 7:00 P.M.

- Tickets for the 2023-24 season are on sale NOW! With single-game seats, season tickets, flex packs, group tickets and more, there's an option for every fan.

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Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from February 1, 2024


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