Sports stats



WHL Portland Winterhawks

Hawks Top Chiefs 5-4 for Third Straight Win

January 28, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Spokane, Wash. - A fast start and stingy defense down the stretch helped the Winterhawks hold off the Spokane Chiefs for a 5-4 win on the road on Saturday. Reigning WHL Player of the Week Luca Cagnoni earned first-star honors with one goal and two assists, while James Stefan (2G), Tyson Yaremko (1G, 1A) and Nate Danielson (2A) also starred with multi-point efforts.

The Winterhawks have won three consecutive contests and their record now stands at 30-11-2-1 on the year.

Portland got off to a flying start on Saturday with a 3-0 lead through just over 10 minutes. Luca Cagnoni started the party with a power-play goal from distance just 1:56 into the game, followed 35 seconds later by Tyson Yaremko's wrister from the right circle that found the top corner. Carter Sotheran wrapped up the Hawks' hot start at 10:19, tapping home a Marcus Nguyen rebound on the power play.

Spokane began to push back from there, netting a late goal from Rasums Ekström in the first period and starting the second with a Brayden Crampton tally to get within a goal. The remainder of the second stanza was a tennis match; Stefan's first of the night at 4:20 restored Portland's two-goal lead, but only for five minutes as Berkly Catton netted a PPG at 9:18. Stefan wired a shot for his second tally of the night at 12:31 for a 5-3 lead, but another power-play marker from Conner Roulette again narrowed the gap to one through 40 minutes.

For the second straight game, Portland took a one-goal lead into the third period and locked it down, limiting Spokane to just five shots in the final 20 minutes. Nick Avakyan earned the wint with 32 saves on 36 shots, outdueling Dawson Cowan, who finished with 24 of 29 stops for Spokane.

The Winterhawks now return home to wrap up the three-in-three against Seattle at the VMC at 5:00 P.M. on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on Portland's CW.

-- WINTERHAWKS.COM -

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central