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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Beat Spokane 2-1 in Game 3 Wednesday

March 24, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Portland Winterhawks got a late goal from defenseman Troy Rutkowski as they went into Spokane and won Game 3 of their first round series 2-1 Wednesday night. Portland has now cut Spokane's lead in the series to 2-1.

The two teams were scoreless through the first, although the Winterhawks carried play for most of the period, outshooting the Chiefs 23-11 as Spokane netminder James Reid played an outstanding period to keep Portland off the board.

Portland's pressure paid off 5:22 into the second period when Nino Niederreiter took a pass from Brad Ross and fired a one-timer from the right faceoff circle to make it 1-0 for the Winterhawks. It marked Niederreiter's first goal of the postseason. But even with the Winterhawks again controlling play, Spokane's Kyle Beach scored his third of the series at the 12:10 mark. Portland again held a big disparity in shots with a 19-6 edge in the frame, and a 42-17 advantage through two periods.

The score remained 1-1 through most of the third period, setting up a dramatic finish. With four minutes to go in the third period Luke Walker fed Rutkowski at the right point. Rutkowski held the puck, skated in and fired a shot high past Reid for his second goal of the series. The Hawks would then withstand a Chiefs rally as they frantically tried to even the game, and finished with the 2-1 win and earning their first win in the series.

Portland finished with 48 shots on the night, with Reid making 46 saves. Mac Carruth was in net for the Winterhawks and stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced. Each team went 0-1 on the power play.

The two teams return to the ice in Spokane Friday for Game 4 at 7 p.m. That game can be heard live on 95.5 The Game.

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