The Portland Winterhawks, coming off a tough loss to the last place team in the BC Division, the Victoria Royals, turned it around with a blowout win Sunday over the US Division’s runaway leader, the Everett Silvertips. Tyson Kozak, Aidan Litke, and Luca Cagnoni all scored in a 1:48 stretch late in the 1st period, and the Winterhawks beat the Silvertips 7-1 at Memorial Coliseum.
Why the Winterhawks won: Special teams. Everett had four power plays in the 1st period when the game was in the balance. Portland killed all four, two without giving up a shot. And the Winterhawks went 3-for-6 on the power play, including the game’s first goal. If Everett gets the first goal on the power play with one of those chances instead of Portland, maybe the get the energy to play a better game.
Why the Winterhawks won: A balanced attack with 7 different goal scorers, 11 players getting points, and 8 getting multiple points. Depth was expected to be a strength going into the season, but it hadn’t been in the season’s first third.
Why the Silvertips lost: In the 1st period, after the Silvertips failed on their power plays and Portland got that first power play goal, Everett got rattled in a way they usually don’t. They started running around in their own zone, which quickly led to the second goal, and then had iffy goaltending that led to the third.
Why the Silvertips lost: They could blame their third game in three nights. It’s the first time they’ve given up 7 goals in a game since September 23, 2017, which was Dennis Williams’s first game as coach. That season ended with them in the WHL Finals.
What it means: A 3-point weekend wasn’t a big surprise, but the Winterhawks did it backwards, with the overtime loss to the low-ranked Victoria Royals when they had a big shot advantage, and the easy win over the overwhelming division leader, when shots were close. It was good, anyway, to come back from such a tough loss on Saturday.
In general, we won’t know anything about the Winterhawks until their goaltending stabilizes.
What it means: A few questions for Everett. After a 16-0-0-1 start they’ve gone 2-3-1. They lose their two best defenseman and their coach to World Juniors, so they might not get a handle on where they are until January, when there’s a trade deadline they have to deal with as well. They’re still 9 points ahead in the US Division.
| 14:50 POR (pp) Tyson Kozak (Gabe Klassen, Clay Hanus) 1-0 | From the slot, beat Braden Holt high. |
| 16:03 POR Aidan Litke (Jack O’Brien, Luca Cagnoni) 2-0 | O’Brien in front to Litke with Everett uncharacteristically running around in their own zone. |
| 16:38 POR Luca Cagnoni (Clay Hanus, Jaydon Dureau) 3-0 | From the left wing on the rush. |
| 22:37 POR James Stefan (Gabe Klassen, Cross Hanas) 4-0 | All alone in front, Koen MacInnes almost got it but it rolled in. |
| 26:54 POR (pp) Cross Hanas (James Stefan, Jaydon Dureau) 5-0 | Rebound in front. |
| 39:59 POR Jack O’Brien (Robbie Fromm-Delorme, Ryan McCleary) 6-0 | Down the right wing on the rush. |
| 42:20 EVT Ryan Hofer (Ben Hemmerling, Olen Zellweger) 6-1 | Hofer, who probably was rooting for the Winterhawks with brother Joe playing, backhands one in from close to end the shutout. |
| 43:37 POR (pp) Robbie Fromm-Delorme (Jaydon Dureau, James Stefan) 7-1 | Good effort by Dureau to get to the net, Holt stops him, but the rebound is easy for Fromm-Delorme. |
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| James Stefan | POR | 1 goal, 2 assists | Another big game after 2 goals on Saturday. |
| Luca Cagnoni | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | Back after missing 2 games; not counting those he has a 4-game point streak. |
| Jaydon Dureau | POR | 3 assists | 10 points in his last 3 games; on a 7-game point streak with 5 goals and 10 assists. |
| Dante Giannuzzi | POR | 31 saves-32 shots | Good comeback game after two games off. Save percentage is .881, headed back in a positive direction. |
| Clay Hanus | POR | 2 assists | |
| Jack O’Brien | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | |
| Cross Hanas | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | |
| Robbie Fromm-Delorme | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | |
| Gabe Klassen | POR | 2 assists | |
| Tyson Kozak | POR | 1 goal |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Olen Zellweger | EVT | 1 assist | |
| Braden Holt | EVT | 14 saves-18 shots | Hooked after the 1st period, came back for the 3rd. |
| Koen MacInnes | EVT | 9 saves-12 shots | Played the 2nd as the Silvertips were looking for a spark but it didn’t happen. |
| Aidan Litke | POR | 1 goal | Goals in 2 straight games now. |
Friday vs. Spokane, 7pm
Saturday vs. Spokane, 6pm
Next road game: Friday 12/17 at Spokane, 7pm
Looking ahead: Friday 12/31 vs. Seattle, 5pm
Winterhawks blow out first-place Everett, 7-1 - oregonlive.com
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