Portland Stays Perfect Against Seattle With 8-5 Win On Thursday
Published on December 29, 2023 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release
A trio of two-goal efforts from Luca Cagnoni, Kyle Chyzowski and Marcus Nguyen helped the Winterhawks roll past the Seattle Thunderbirds 8-5 at the VMC on Thursday night.
The Winterhawks have won back-to-back games this week, as well as three straight against Seattle this season.
A dominant opening stanza gave the Hawks a springboard on Thursday. Cagnoni started the party with a power-play strike from the right circle 4:58 into the contest, and the Hawks responded to a Seattle equalizer at 7:07 with three unanswered before the break. Chyzowski netted the first two consecutively at 10:52 and 15:35 - both set up by Josh Zakreski - before Nguyen potted his first at 18:10 on a shorthanded breakaway.
Two more tallies in the first five minutes of the second period pushed Portland's lead to five. Coming off a two-goal game in Kennewick last night, Diego Buttazzoni tipped home a Nguyen shot at 1:41 for his 16th of the season. Three minutes later, Nguyen was again at the center of things as he tapped a rebound out of mid-air into the net for a 6-1 lead early in the middle frame.
A run of three consecutive Seattle goals bookended the second intermission, with Braeden Cootes scoring twice and Simon Lovsin adding another to put a dent in the Hawks' lead and make it 6-4 for the majority of the third. But a pair of empty-netters from Cagnoni and Ryan Miller helped put things out of reach, even as Colten Gerrior grabbed his first WHL goal for Seattle.
Portland's 8-5 victory featured 34 saves on 39 shots from Nick Avakyan, while Grayson Malinoski stopped 24 of 26 for Seattle in relief of Spencer Michnik (8/12).
The Winterhawks' next game comes on New Year's Eve as they host the Vancouver Giants at 5:00 P.M. on Sunday.
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