WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Fall 4-2 To Spokane Sunday In Game 2

Published on March 21, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


The Portland Winterhawks and Spokane Chiefs took the ice at the Rose Garden Sunday in Game 2 of their first round Western Hockey League playoff series, and the Chiefs came away with a 4-2 victory. Spokane now holds a 2-0 lead in the series.

It was the Winterhawks who got on the board first, scoring the lone goal of the first period at the 4:04 mark when Oliver Gabriel gained the puck along the boards in Spokane's zone, circled out to the blue line and dropped it for defenseman Troy Rutkowski, who skated in on net and fired a shot to the top corner past Chiefs goaltender James Reid to make it 1-0.

Spokane tied the score at 1-1 2:34 into the second period after a long goalmouth scramble in front of Portland netminder Mac Carruth. With several players trying to gain control of the puck, it was eventually picked up by Kenton Miller, who scored his first goal of the playoffs. The Chiefs then took their first lead of the game midway through the period at the 10:19 mark on a shot from the point by Mitch Wahl, and the 2-1 lead would last through the end of the period.

The Chiefs made it 3-1 6:11 into the third when Miller scored his second of the night, and like the first, it too came on a goalmouth scramble. With 7:09 to go in the period Spokane's Brady Brassart was assessed a four minute penalty for butt-ending, but the Chiefs were able to kill it off to retain their two-goal lead. Late in the game Portland pulled Carruth for an extra attacker, and Spokane's Blake Gal fired a shot into the empty net to make it 4-1. Winterhawks defenseman Brett Ponich scored a late goal to make the final score 4-2.

Portland fired 41 shots at Reid, who stopped 39 of them. Carruth made 36 saves on 39 Spokane shots. Both teams were 0-3 on the power play.

The series now shifts to Spokane for Game 3 on Wednesday, which can be heard live on Freedom 970 AM at 7 p.m.

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 21, 2010


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