Winterhawks top T-Birds in overtime in front of sellout crowd | WHL

For the Reporter

The Portland Winterhawks defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds in overtime, 4-3, in Western Hockey League play Saturday night.

The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 6,208, the third largest in the history of the ShoWare Center.

The loss puts Seattle’s record at 22-18-3-3, while Portland moves to 27-19-0-3.

Taran Kozun’s 26 saves on 30 shots weren’t quite enough to come away with the win. Kozun’s record now stands at 20-13-3-3 after the overtime loss. Adin Hill got the nod for Portland and made 42 saves on 45 shots, earning the win in the process. Hill is 16-7-0-0 on the season.

Miles Koules won the game for the visitors two minutes into overtime, beating Kozun to make it a 4-3 final. Nicolas Petan and Paul Bittner assisted on the winning goal.

Both teams recorded two shots in overtime, though Seattle won both faceoffs.

The Winterhawks took an early lead with a goal at 1:53 on their first shot of the game. Petan brought the puck up the boards and fed it across to Oliver Bjorkstrand, who was rushing down the opposite wing. Petan and Paul Bittner had the assists on Bjorkstrand’s goal, which came on a quick shot inside the faceoff circle as Kozun slid across the crease.

Cory Millette nearly tied the game at 3:28 with a bit of help from Kaden Elder. Elder had his shot bounce off of Hill from point blank range, with the rebound going to Millette. A scrum followed, with Portland knocking the net off its moorings before Millette could connect with the puck.

Jared Hauf tied the game up at 5:50, triggering a cascade of over 4,000 teddy bears. Calvin Spencer and Donovan Neuls worked the puck up the boards from behind the net, eventually getting it to Hauf at the point. Hauf’s shot was a rocket, finding its way through plenty of traffic and over Hill’s shoulder for the goal. It was Hauf’s second goal of the season and made it a 1-1 game.

Shea Theodore was stopped by Hill on an early breakaway in the second period. Hill made a fantastic diving glove save, only to have the puck trickle out of his glove to Keegan Kolesar in the slot. Kolesar’s shot came with intense defensive pressure and went just over the crossbar as Hill lunged to get a piece of it.

The Winterhawks took back the lead at 7:41. Chase De Leo scored, gaining possession in the zone with no defenseman in front of him and beating Kozun just before Seattle could get a body on him. The assists went to Jack Flaman and Keoni Texeira.

The lead was short-lived for Portland, as the T-Birds came back up the ice and scored 30 seconds later. Spencer held the puck in at the top of the zone and passed to Neuls in the slot as the Winterhawks defense backpedaled back into position. Neuls worked a pass across the crease to Ryan Gropp, who put it home to make it 2-2 at 8:15.

Portland scored their third goal of the night with just 44 seconds left in the second period. Petan flipped a backhand shot past Kozun to make it 3-2. The goal was unassisted.

Seattle was put on their heels at the start of the third period, taking two penalties back-to-back that left them shorthanded for four minutes. A rush up the ice by Theodore helped put an end to the first penalty while clearances by Hauf and Kolesar ensured that the second came to a close without any goals.

Kozun made a golden save at 10:15, keeping the deficit at one goal for the home team. Portland managed to get a forward behind the defense, leaving Kozun in a one-on-one situation. Kozun followed the puck well, not falling for a quick deke, and just kicked the puck away from an opening at the post.

Seattle scored at 11:55, once again tying the game, this time at 3-3. Evan Wardley took a point shot that just rebounded off of Hill’s pads. Gropp was waiting for the puck and pushed it through a pile of bodies for his second goal of the night. Cory Millette had the secondary assist.

Gropp almost completed the hat trick as the game wound down. Wardley sent a pass onto Gropp’s stick as the winger cut to the net. The pass was on point and left Gropp with no Portland players around him, but his shot went just wide of the post to keep the game 3-3.

Next: Trip to Spokane

The T-Birds are back on the road Sunday night, playing the Chiefs in Spokane at 5:05. After that, Seattle  travels to Kamloops to play the Blazers at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – 1, Portland, Bjorkstrand 28 (Petan, Bittner), 1:53. 2, Seattle, Hauf 2 (Spencer, Neuls), 5:50. Penalties – Henry, Portland (hooking), 3:28. Wardley, Seattle (cross-checking), 9:55. Cederholm, Portland (holding), 18:39.

Second period – 3, Portland, De Leo 21 (Flaman, Texeira), 7:41. 4, Seattle, Gropp 17 (Neuls, Spencer), 8:15. 5, Portland, Petan 7 (unassisted), 19:16. Penalties – Lipsbergs, Seattle (hooking), 3:46. Cederholm, Portland (cross-checking), 19:53. Eansor, Seattle (slashing), 19:53.

Third period – 6, Seattle, Gropp 18 (Wardley, Millette), 11:55. Penalties – Hauf, Seattle (checking to the head), 4:35. Smith, Seattle (tripping), 6:38.

Overtime – 7, Portland, Koules 21 (Petan, Bittner), 1:52. Penalties – No penalties.

Shots on goal – Seattle 12-18-13-2 45, Portland 7-6-15-2 30. Goalies – Seattle, Kozun 30 shots-26 saves (20-13-3-3); Portland, Hill 45-42 (16-7-0-0). Power plays – Seattle 0-2; Portland 0-4. A – 6,208. Referees – Chris Crich, Sean Raphael. Linesmen -Nathan Van Oosten, Michael Bean.