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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Round One, Game Two Reaction

March 25, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Portland Winterhawks head back to Veterans Memorial Coliseum with tied series at 1-1 against Spokane.

"We lost the home ice at the end of the regular season, but we regained it here (in Spokane) and we're looking forward to keeping the series rolling," Josh Paterson said.

Down 2-0 midway through regulation time in game two, the Winterhawks charged back to win the game and Paterson led the way with a pair of goals in the comeback effort. He was recognized as the top star of the night.

"Well it's [Paterson's] first playoff experience since he joined the league at 16 so it's quite an incredible story where he gets into his first two playoff games and scores four points," General Manager and Head Coach Mike Johnston said. "He's a guy that's played solid for us since we've got him, he's a good person and a real complimentary overall player. You can put him in different situations."

"I'm just gelling well with my linemates and our power play has been rolling so we've been getting goals and I've just been getting touches on them," Paterson added.

The Edmonton, Alberta native scored his first career postseason goal 2:06 after Spokane took a two-goal lead in the second period of Saturday night's game. That goal triggered a response from the Hawks. They erased a third period deficit by scoring four straight on Bailey Brkin, who stopped 30 of 34 shots in the loss.

"We were down by two goals at one point so any time we come back 3-2 and finish the game 5-3, it just shows we have a great team and we can do great things when we have our heads on straight," second year forward Mason Mannek said.

Mannek was credited with the eventual game-winning goal; his second career game winner against Spokane in the playoffs.

"It's been a while for me, so that one felt good," Mannek said "But in playoffs, there are no individual efforts. We're a team. So I think five goals in a playoff game on the road is key for us. If we can keep that going, we're going to be in a good spot."

Arguably the biggest story line of the night was the fact that zero penalties were assessed to either team. It was the first time in Portland's 43-year history there were no power play chances for either team in a game.

"I give the refs some credit," Johnston added. "They managed the game well. There wasn't a lot going on in regards to extra stuff after the whistle. They weren't going to clamp down. Both teams checked hard and played well defensively, but didn't take penalties. I thought the refs did a great job tonight in managing the game and just saying 'hey, if you're going to play the game then we'll let you play.'"

Portland can take control of the series heading into games three and four this week.

"We said from the start we want to play these guys 5-on-5 or take the power play advantage so we took that and rolled with it," Paterson said. "It shows that we can come back from anything and we know we can battle through adversity and it's huge to get the split here and we're taking momentum back home."

"It was important to have a response from [the game one loss]. I thought we played parts of the game from [Friday] night well, but I don't think we played the whole game well," Johnston reflected. "And then [Saturday night], it was tough both sides, there were no power play opportunities and it was one of those games 5-on-5 where you really had to work to get open ice and open space and a good scoring chance."

The Tuesday and Wednesday night home games are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT. Game five will take place in Spokane on Saturday, March 30.

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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.

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