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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Winterhawks Hang on for Second Straight Victory

March 22, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


Despite three goals by Spokane in the third period the Winterhawks were able to hang on for their second win in as many games.

Game #3: Spokane (3) at Portland (4)

SOG: SPO (33) - POR (38)

PP: SPO (0/3) - POR (0/2)

SCORING:

POR - 12:29 - First Period - Nick Cicek (1) assisted by Gabe Klassen and Ryan McCleary

POR - 12:12 - Second Period - Simon Knak (1) assisted by Reece Newkirk and Nick Cicek (Shorthanded)

POR - 1:07 - Third Period - Gabe Klassen (1) assisted by Seth Jarvis

SPO - 3:27 - Third Period - Adam Beckman (2)

POR - 7:45 - Third Period - Reece Newkirk (3) (Shorthanded)

SPO - 13:08 - Third Period - Mac Gross (1) assisted by Raegan Wiles and Reed Jacobson

SPO - 14:37 - Third Period - Reed Jacobson (1) assisted by Owen MacNeil and Copeland Fricker

The Story:

After earning a victory from the road bench in the same building last night, the Winterhawks swapped locker rooms and sweater colors, playing host to the Spokane Chiefs in their "home opener" Sunday.

A precursor for the first 40 minutes, Portland found a balance between their scorching hot start Thursday and their slow start Saturday to open the contest. Some timely stops from goaltender Brock Gould in his team debut gave the club some early reassurance before captain Nick Cicek polished off a setup from Gabe Klassen following a Spokane turnover to make it 1-0.

The lone goal of the first was followed up in the second by a unique series of events for Simon Knak. Battling for inside position on his defender, the Swiss forward beat Spokane defenseman Bobby Russell, but was hauled down and awarded a penalty shot. The officiating crew came together to discuss momentarily and after discussing it was deemed the puck carried into the net amidst the bodies and Portland was awarded a 2-0 lead.

It looked as if the Hawks were en route to a complete effort - team victory, especially after Gabe Klassen tapped in a tic-tac-toe just over a minute into the third.

It turned out that it would be the first of five total goals in the frame though, three of which would come from Spokane.

The Chiefs found a response to Klassen's marker via Minnesota Wild draft selection Adam Beckman, who beat Gould with one of his 11 shots on goal on the night.

Portland's fourth and final goal of the evening once again extended their lead to 4-1, coming from the red hot Reece Newkirk. A turned over puck at center by the Chiefs allowed the Islanders prospect to walk in and go glove-side high for his fifth point in three games.

Things would get dicey for the "home side" as the clock wound down though, with Spokane striking twice in just 1:29 to make it a one-goal game.

Gould and the gang would bang on though, securing the two points his club and five of six over the three-game stretch.

THEY SAID IT

"I thought we played a pretty solid game. [For it being] the third game of the week, to come out with five points is great. To me, as a coach, I felt we had control of the game throughout. When you give up the late goals, you give them a bit of momentum. But I thought we scored some timely goals and overall I'm pretty happy with our play.

Winterhawks Assistant Coach Don Hay following the game.

NOTES

- Goaltender Brock Gould finished with 30 saves in his first win as a member of the organization.

- Rookie defenseman Luca Cagnoni registered one shot in his WHL debut.

- Forward Jaydon Dureau led all Winterhawks with seven shots on goal.

Check out the Portland Winterhawks Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2021


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