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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks, Chiefs Battle in Playoff Preview

March 19, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


In the final game of the regular season, the Hawks scored three goals in the second period, but a late rally by the Chiefs eventually led to a 5-4 shootout victory for Spokane at the Moda Center on Sunday.

Spokane got on the board first, with Riley McKay picking up his fourth of the season 9:46 into the first period.

In the second, the Hawks responded with rookie Mason Mannek burying a Lane Gilliss pass to tie things at one. Then, with under eight minutes remaining in the second frame, Kieffer Bellows went shelf on Donovan Buskey on a pass from Cody Glass to give Portland it's first lead of the game, 2-1. The Hawks weren't done there. With under four minutes left in the second, Skyler McKenzie corralled a Keoni Texeira stretch pass and wired it past Buskey for his 47th goal of the season to extend Portland's lead to 3-1.

In the third, Ryan Hughes made it 4-1 just 2:11 into the period on a wrister from between the hash marks. But Chiefs slowly began to chip away, beginning with a Jake McGrew powerplay goal with under nine minutes remaining. Just 37 seconds later, Milos Fafrak put a shot past Hawks goaltender Shane Farkas to make it a one-goal game. Then, with under a minute left in regulation and Spokane on the powerplay, Nolan Reid wired home a wrist shot from the left circle to tie things at four.

Overtime solved nothing, so the two teams went to a shootout. After four Hawks shooters could not beat Buskey, it was Riley McKay going five-hole on Farkas to give the Chiefs the 5-4 victory.

Farkas made 18 saves in the contest. The Winterhawks finish the season 44-22-1-5, their best regular-season performance since the 2013-14 season.

Pregame, the Hawks handed out their 2017-18 team awards. Below are the winners:

MVP - Cody Glass

Defensive Player - Henri Jokiharju

Rookie of the Year - Mason Mannek

Sportsmanship and Ability - Conor MacEachern

Scholastic Player of the Year - Mason Mannek

Leading Scorer Award - Cody Glass

Character, Leadership and Heart and Soul Award - Skyler McKenzie

Booster Club - Most Popular Player - Skyler McKenzie

The Hawks now head to the postseason and will face-off with the Chiefs in the first-round. Portland hosts Game #1 and Game #2 next Saturday and Sunday at the VMC. For complete information on the series, click here.

You can purchase ticket packages and single game playoff tickets HERE!

Scoring Summary:

1st @ 9:46 - SPO - Riley McKay (4), Jake McGrew

2nd @ 2:48 - POR - Mason Mannek (10), Lane Gilliss, Jake Gricius

2nd @ 12:15 - POR - Kieffer Bellows (41), Cody Glass, Clay Hanus

2nd @ 16:07 - POR - Skyler McKenzie (47), Keoni Texeira

3rd @ 2:11 - POR - Ryan Hughes (17)

3rd @ 11:43 - SPO - Jake McGrew (19), Ethan McIndoe, Luke Gallagher (PP)

3rd @ 12:20- SPO - Milos Fafrak (9)

3rd @ 19:39 - SPO - Nolan Reid (14), Eli Zummack, Filip Kral (PP)

SO - SPO - Riley McKay

SHOTS ON GOAL:

POR: 37

SPO: 22

POWER-PLAY:

POR: 0/3

SPO: 2/3

SAVES:

POR: Shane Farkas 14 saves

SPO: Donovan Buskey with 33 saves

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2018


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