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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Hawks Win OT Thriller 6-5 Over Spokane

December 16, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Spokane, Wash. - James Stefan fired home a wrist shot from the right circle 1:26 into overtime to give the Winterhawks a 6-5 win over the Spokane Chiefs in a thrilling contest on Friday night. The victory marks Portland's fifth in a row and the club now sits at 20-9-1-1 on the year.

Justen Maric (20/23) and Nick Avakyan (8/10) combined for the win between the pipes for the Winterhawks after the former left with an injury in the second intermission.

Stefan's OT heroics came on the back of some incredible work from Tyson Jugnauth, who singlehandedly controlled play in the Chiefs' zone for more than 20 seconds before setting up Stefan for a shot in the high slot. That initial chance missed wide, but Stefan quickly recovered the loose puck, wheeled around the faceoff dot and wired a shot past the glove hand of Cooper Michaluk for the victory.

A back-and-forth game kicked into overdrive in the closing minutes of regulation as the Winterhawks erased two separate one-goal deficits in the final three minutes of the third period. A Conner Roulette goal at 10:15 had given Spokane a 4-3 lead after the teams were deadlocked through 40 minutes, but Jack O'Brien deflected a Luca Cagnoni shot at 17:06 to knot things up for the time being.

When Brayden Crampton restored the Chiefs' lead 24 seconds later, the Winterhawks again responded at 18:34, this time through Josh Davies. With Avakyan pulled for an extra attacker, Davies collected a Gabe Klassen pass at the right side of the net, quickly spun to the front and forced a quick shot through Michaluk's body and the post.

Berkly Catton was Spokane's standout throughout the game, scoring two of his team's five goals. The top 2024 NHL Draft prospect grabbed the game's first goal just 1:52 into the contest, then tied it late in the second. Between those, the Winterhawks flexed their muscles through Stefan's first of the night - a backhanded breakaway bid into the top corner - at 8:04 of the first, followed four minutes later by Diego Buttazzoni's 13th of the season on a second chance shot from in tight.

Marcus Nguyen made it 3-1 Hawks with a shorthanded strike early in the second, calling his own number on a 2-on-1 and blistering a shot to Michaluk's stick side. Portland's two-goal lead was quickly cut in half, though, by Ty Cheveldayoff at 5:55 of the middle frame, and Catton's aforementioned tying tally at 19:57 of the sandwich stanza brought the teams back on level terms and gave the hosts momentum for Roulette's go-ahead goal in the third.

Portland and Spokane lock horns once again tomorrow night in the Rose City. Puck drops at 6:00 P.M. for Holiday Sweater Night at the VMC.

-- WINTERHAWKS.COM -

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Western Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2023


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