WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Clinch Playoff Berth With 5-3 Win Over Tri-Cities

Published on February 11, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


They're in.

The Portland Winterhawks clinched their first playoff berth since 2006 with a 5-3 win at home over the Tri-City Americans Wednesday night. The win also snapped a six-game losing streak to the first place Americans this season.

It was a balanced scoring effort that saw the five goals come from five different scorers, while nine different players accounted for the 10 total points.

The two teams were scoreless through most of the first period, until Portland broke through with two late goals. The first came at the 17:34 mark when Ryan Johansen found Nino Niederreiter in front of the Americans' net, and Niederreiter put it past Tri-Cities goaltender Drew Owsley to make it 1-0. Then with time running out in the period and the Winterhawks holding a two-man advantage, Joe Morrow fired a shot from the point that found the back of the net with just under 16 seconds to go to make it 2-0 heading into the second period.

The two teams then exploded for five goals in a wild second period. It began 3:20 into the frame when Spencer Bennett fired a shot from the slot while the teams were 4-on-4 to make it 3-0. That goal chased Americans netminder Owsley from the game, and he was replaced in net by Alexander Pechurskiy. Four minutes later Tri-Cities forward Patrick Holland was awarded a penalty shot when he was hauled down on a breakaway, but on his penalty shot attempt Holland was stopped by Portland goaltender Mac Carruth to preserve the 3-0 lead.

The Americans would get on the board midway through the period, when Neal Prokop put in a rebound at the 10:27 mark to cut the Portland lead to 3-1. But the Winterhawks answered with two goals in a span of 1:09, the first by Troy Rutkowski on a shot from the point, the second by Luke Walker when he broke in past the defense and put it past Pechurskiy to give Portland a 5-1 lead. Tri-Cities would get one back before the end of the second when Justin Feser scored on a 5-on-3 power play to cut the Winterhawks' lead to 5-2 heading into the third period.

The Americans applied the pressure throughout the third period trying to get back into the game, and they managed one goal at the 11:58 mark on a goalmouth scramble. But apart from that goal, Carruth slammed the door, turning away 11 of 12 shots in the period.

Carruth was outstanding all night, stopping 38 of the 41 shots he faced. Portland's penalty kill also did an excellent job, killing seven of the Americans' eight power plays, while Portland was 1-2 with the man advantage.

The Winterhawks left immediately following the game to begin their trip to Prince George. They play the Cougars Friday and Saturday night. Both games begin at 7 p.m. and can be heard live on Freedom 970 AM.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 11, 2010


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