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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Complete Sweep to Advance to Round Two

April 28, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Portland, Ore. - Two first-period goals and a 29-save performance from Taylor Gauthier helped the Portland Winterhawks take a 2-1 win over the Prince George Cougars, completing a first-round sweep as Portland became the first WHL team to advance to round two of the 2022 Playoffs.

The win marked the Winterhawks' first sweep since 2014.

For the fourth straight game in this series, Portland got the opening goal as James Stefan ripped home his second of the playoffs at 8:22 of the first period. Gabe Klassen snuck past the Prince George defense on a breakout to set up a 2-0n-1, then floated a saucer pass over to Stefan in the middle for the one-timed tally.

The Winterhawks then doubled their advantage three and a half minutes later on Luke Schelter's first of the postseason. Affiliate player Nick Johnson started the play in the neutral zone with a cross-ice pass to Bevington, who then weaved his way back to the left wing side before wiring a hard pass to Schelter in the crease for a nifty deflection. Johnson picked up his first WHL point with a secondary assist on the play.

With its season on the line, Prince George began to build momentum in the second period, culminating in Jonny Hooker's first of the playoffs to make it a 2-1 game at 6:55 of the middle stanza. The Cougars had their chances to tie things up with a pair of third-period power plays, but some timely shot-blocking and stellar play from Gauthier ensured Portland's victory.

The Winterhawks now await results from the rest of the WHL's Western Conference Playoffs series to determine their opponent for round two.

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Western Hockey League Stories from April 28, 2022


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