WHL Portland Winterhawks

Slow Start Stymies Hawks in Spokane

Published on December 18, 2021 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Three early Spokane goals doomed the Winterhawks on Friday as they fell 4-1 to the Chiefs despite carrying play for the latter two periods.

Game #27: Portland (1) at Spokane (4)

SOG: POR (40) - SPO (17)

PP: POR (0/1) - SPO (0/2)

Saves: Giannuzzi (13/16) - Beaupit (39/40)

SCORING:

SPO - 7:46 - First Period - Graham Sward (5) from Cordel Larson and Brayden Crampton

SPO - 11:12 - First Period - Carter Streek (4) from Copeland Fricker and Saige Weinstein

SPO - 13:10 - First Period - Luke Toporowski (11) from Erik Atchison and Bear Hughes

POR - 14:19 - First Period - Robbie Fromm-Delorme (5) from Cross Hanas and Kyle Chyzowski

SPO - 19:29 - Third Period - Chase Bertholet (9) EN

The Story:

The Spokane Chiefs netted three goals in a six-minute span during the first period and held on from there, riding a 39-save effort from Mason Beaupit to a 4-1 win over the Portland Winterhawks.

Robbie Fromm-Delorme grabbed the lone Portland tally, beautifully orchestrating a give-and-go play with Cross Hanas before tapping the puck home at the right side of the net late in the first period.

Prior to Fromm-Delorme's tally, Spokane's Graham Sward, Carter Streek and Luke Toporowski each found twine to give the home team a comfortable lead. Sward opened the scoring at 7:46 with a wrist shot through bodies from the top of the right circle, before Streek was credited with a goal just three and a half minutes later as a bouncing puck looped over Dante Giannuzzi and into the Portland cage. Just over a minute after Streek's marker, Luke Toporowski bagged his 11th of the year with a missile from the left circle over Giannuzzi's shoulder to make it 3-0 Chiefs at the time.

Portland outplayed Spokane for the vast majority of the final 40 minutes, limiting the Chiefs to just two shots in each frame, but could not solve Beaupit beyond Fromm-Delorme's initial strike. Beaupit's 39 stops on 40 shots earned his team the win, while Giannuzzi turned aside 13 of 16 shots in the loss.

The two teams face off again tomorrow night in Spokane.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT presented by BBF TECHNOLOGIES:

"I thought the second and third our team played well. The first period, we kinda want that back. They scored three quick goals there and ran with that lead. I thought we did some good things tonight. They had all week to practice and get ready for us and we played a midweek game, fresh off the bus and first road trip in a while, but tomorrow we'll be ready for them and watch some video and I'm sure we'll come very prepared."

Winterhawks defenseman Kurtis Smythe

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2021


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