Sports stats



WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Finish Road Trip With 7-3 Loss in Vancouver Saturday

November 22, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Mac Carruth got his first career WHL start in net Saturday in Vancouver for the Winterhawks, but the Giants spoiled his debut and earned a 7-3 win.

The two teams played an even first period, until the Giants beat the buzzer with just 49 seconds to go in the period when Neil Manning beat Carruth to make it 1-0.

Six minutes into the second Ty Rattie tied the game for Portland, putting the puck past Giants netminder Mark Segal, who like Carruth was making his first career WHL start. But less than a minute later Vancouver regained the lead when Brendan Gallagher notched his 14th goal of the season to make it 2-1. The Giants extended the lead to 3-1 at the 11:53 mark when Craig Cunningham scored his 13th goal of the season.

The Hawks would then cut the lead down to one again when Luke Walker scored his third goal in the last two games, beating Segal with a shorthanded goal at the 17:44 mark to make it 3-2. It was Walker's team-leading 15th goal of the season. But the Giants again responded, with Lance Bouma scoring a power play goal at the 18:50 mark to make it 4-2 heading into the third period.

In the third Portland did their best to get back into it, and 5:15 into the period Riley Boychuk scored his eighth goal of the season on a rebound at the doorstep to cut Vancouver's lead to 4-3. But the Hawks caught a bad break late in the third period when Manning fired a puck that ricocheted off the skate of a Winterhawks defender and deflected past Carruth into the net with just over five minutes to go, Manning's second of the night. Vancouver then added two more late goals to finish with the 7-3 win.

The Giants were a perfect 3-3 on the power play, while the Winterhawks were held scoreless with the man advantage in four attempts. It marked the first time this season Portland lost when outshooting their opponent, holding a 30-25 edge in that category over the Giants.

The Hawks finished their three-game road trip 1-2. They return to the ice Tuesday night at home against the Regina Pats. That game takes place at 7 p.m. at the Memorial Coliseum.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central