Hawks Secure Playoff Spot with 4-3 Win over Blazers Wednesday Night

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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Hawks Secure Playoff Spot with 4-3 Win over Blazers Wednesday Night

March 6, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Hawks clinched playoff berth with 4-3 win over Kamloops behind four different goal scorers and a 40-save performance from Ondřej Štěbeták on Wednesday night.

Game #60: Portland (4) vs. Kamloops (3)

SOG: POR (40) - KAM (43)

PP: POR (1/4) - KAM (2/4)

Saves: Štěbeták (40) - Ernst (36)

SCORING:

POR - Joel Plante (5) from Tyson Jugnauth and Alex Weiermair

KAM - Jordan Keller (28) from Tommy Lafreniere and Emmitt Finnie (power play)

POR - Diego Buttazzoni (33) from Ryder Thompson and Carter Sotheran

POR - Josh Zakreski (33) unassisted

KAM - Jordan Keller (29) from Emmitt Finnie and Harrison Brunickie (power play)

POR - Kayd Ruedig (4) from Max and Joel Plante (power play)

KAM - Emmitt Finnie (34) from Vit Zahejsky and Oren Shtrom

GAME SUMMARY:

Portland struck early on its first shot of the night after an offensive push by over-ager Tyson Jugnauth led to a loose puck picked up by Joel Plante who unleashed a wicked wrist shot over the far side shoulder of Kamloops' goaltender Dylan Ernst to start things off only 30 seconds into play.

The Blazers responded nearly eight minutes later on the power play when forward Jordan Keller fired home a feed from the right circle for his league-leading 18th power play goal of the season. The Hawks answered at the 15:13 mark during 4-on-4 play as Diego Buttazzoni walked into the offensive zone and buried his shot top shelf to regain the lead. Portland found the twine again as Josh Zakreski powered through the Blazers' defense and popped his shot from the right circle over the glove hand of Ernst at the 16:16 mark to give the Hawks a 3-1 advantage. Kamloops pulled back within one as Keller netted his second power play goal of the night off another one-time shot with just five seconds remaining in the first frame for a score of 3-2 Portland after 20 minutes of play.

Portland found the board again in the second frame as a double major boarding penalty on the Blazers gave the Hawks its first two power plays of the game, and defenseman Kayd Ruedig rifled a blue line shot through traffic for his fourth goal of the year. Kamloops answered back courtesy of its captain Emmitt Finnie, who finished a pretty tic-tac-toe passing sequence to pull back within one after 40 minutes.

Despite the Blazers fight in the third period, Ondřej Štěbeták came up big several times, posting 16 saves in the final 20 minutes for a final score of 4-3 in favor of the Hawks. Portland needed just one more point to clinch a berth into the 2025 WHL Playoffs and with this win, and a Wenatchee loss, they secured their spot in the postseason for the 14th consecutive year.

UP NEXT:

The Portland Winterhawks are back on home ice this Friday to celebrate Women of the Rose City as they host the Seattle Thunderbirds at 7:00 p.m. PST as part of the I-5 Rivalry Series presented by ZoomCare. The Hawks then head up to Kent to face Seattle again on Saturday night before returning home on Sunday to induct two Winterhawks greats into the Hall of Fame.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2025


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