Portland Winterhawks Round One Notables

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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Portland Winterhawks Round One Notables

April 8, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


With a 4-2 win in Game 7 on Monday night at the CN Centre in Prince George, the Portland Winterhawks advanced to the second round of the Western Hockey League Playoffs for the fourth-straight postseason.

Portland now meets the No. 1 seed and Scotty Munro Champion Champion Everett Silvertips, who defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds in six games. The full schedule is available here.

The Winterhawks entered the first round with nine players making their postseason debuts. Meanwhile, overagers Kyle Chyzowski and Ryder Thompson each brought 38 games of playoff experience.

In the series against the Cougars, the Winterhawks were led offensively by Seattle Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth's 16 points (2G, 14A). Per team historian Andy Kemper, the overage rear guard took sole possession of three franchise playoff records: points by a defenseman in a series (16), assists by a defenseman (14), and assists by any skater (14). Only Jeff Rohlicek in 1983-1984 had more points in a series (20). Gavin McKenna and Jugnauth are tied for most points through the first round of the 2025 WHL Playoffs, presented by Nutrien. After seven games, Jugnauth also led the Winterhawks in ice time.

Chyzowski, Portland's captain, finished with 14 points (4G, 10A), which places him tied for third in WHL postseason scoring. When his team needed him most, Portland's leader stepped up in Games 6 and 7. His primary assist on the game-winning goal in Game 4 was also a highlight of Round 1. In the faceoff circle, the Surrey, British Columbia, product's 53.7% faceoff percentage paced the team amongst players who took more than 25 draws.

Alex Weiermair led the Hawks with six goals in seven games, the most by any 19-year-old, first-year player in team history. Jiri Beranek previously held the record with five markers in 1991-1992 against Seattle, per Kemper. Diego Buttazzoni was second on the team with five goals, including three timely tallies: 2:58 left in game 2, the double-overtime winner in Game 4, and the empty-net goal in Game 7. The 18-year-old also picked up four assists along the way.

Carter Sotheran joined Chyzowski with four goals against Prince George and added two assists to his name. The 6-foot-4 defenseman was second on the team in average ice time.

Nineteen-year-old forward Josh Zakreski added three goals, two in Game 1 and the series-clincher in Game 7. Max Pšenička led all Portland rookies with four assists.

In the series, five different Hawks skaters registered their first career playoff goals: Joel Plante, Hudson Darby, Ryan Miller, Jordan Duguay, and Weiermair. 13 different players contributed at least one point during the series.

17-year-old Goaltender Ondřej Štěbeták started all seven games and played 461:37 minutes for Portland. He finished with 220 saves on 248 shots for a 0.887 save percentage and 3.64 goals against average. The native of Jihlava, Czechia, Štěbeták's two shining moments came on the penalty kill in the second overtime of Game 4, seconds before Buttazzoni's winner, and all of Game 7, but especially the second period where he turned aside multiple breakaways and Grade-A chances from the slot.

Portland won the special teams battle against Prince George. Not only did the Hawks take ten fewer penalties than the Cougars, but they also converted on their opportunities. After finishing the 2024-2025 regular season 11th best on the power play at 24.4%, the Winterhawks struck for eight power-play goals on 27 opportunities (29.6%) compared to the Cougars 3-for-17 (17.6%). In four games at the CN Centre, Portland's penalty kill went a perfect 8-for-8, and Chyzowski added the only shorthanded goal of the series.

Game 4 was the longest in Portland's 49-year history, lasting 97:57 before Buttazzoni scored with 2:03 remaining in the second overtime.

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