Winterhawks win a scrappy game, 3-1 over Seattle

Winterhawks win a bad game 3-1: Nick Cicek scored 12 seconds before the third goal and Dante Giannuzzi stopped 28 shots when the Portland Winterhawks won a defensive battle with the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-1 at the Memorial Coliseum.

Winterhawks turn it around in the 3rd round: It was a difficult first two offensive periods for Portland, punctuated by a 3-shot period in the 2nd. But they scored Cicek and Tallman’s quick goals in the 3rd, ending with 10 shots , enough to prevent Seattle from seriously threatening its leadership the rest of the way.

Giannuzzi stops 28: Portland goalkeeper Dante Giannuzzi, who had played a few average games, scored the highest award with 28 of 29 shots. He wasn’t overly tested in a defensive game but kept Seattle off the board when they were the better team after two periods.

A Battle for the Offensive: After going on the offensive has been difficult for much of the game, it’s hard to figure out where the offensive is in Portland. Your goals go beyond the league average. You’d think they should do better with Seth Jarvis, Jaydon Dureau, and Reece Newkirk. The depth of the offensive behind this is questionable or inexperienced in the community, and the expectations may be too high. Either way, it’s Sunday’s game against Everett, and that’s not exactly a matchup that will help with those answers.

Rookies Score in Third Game: Winterhawks defender Brody Tallman scored his first Western Hockey League goal for the Portland insurance goal in game three. Luke Schelter received his first WHL sponsorship in his fourth game for the Winterhawks. Another rookie, Jonah Bevington, made his second assist in two games on the same gate.

Portland jumps Seattle to 2nd place: With the win, the Winterhawks jump over Seattle to 2nd place, one point ahead of the Thunderbirds. You’re five points behind the Everett Silvertips to finish first in the division and will likely have to beat Everett on Sunday to stay in the race. Otherwise the race with the Thunderbirds will be held for 2nd place.

No goals, shots 8-7 Portland.

time	team	Result	scorer
33:23	SEA	0-1	Keltie Jeri-Leon	A nice finish from a bad angle after a faceoff.
35:41	TO THE	1-1	Reece Newkirk	In the power game, Simon Knak’s pass is blocked, it trickles to an open Newkirk in the slot and it ends.

Shots 11-3 Seattle.

time	team	Result	scorer
40:12	TO THE	2-1	Nick Cicek	Takes a pass from Luca Cagnoni from a pass and scores from the blueline for the winner.
45:59	TO THE	3-1	Brody Tallman	Finishes well from the right of the slot after the puck bounces straight at him. First WHL goal and first WHL point for Luke Schelter.

11-10 Seattle.

Top 10		Stat line
Dante Giannuzzi	TO THE	28 saves, 29 shots	Broke a 4-game losing streak.
Reece Newkirk	TO THE	1 goal, 1 assist	A few great moments in a quiet game.
Nick Cicek	TO THE	1 goal	3-point series with the winning goal.
Kade Nolan	TO THE		One of his better games of the season.
Keltie Jeri-Leon	SEA	1 goal	Had a good finish and his line was slightly better than the others.
Kurtis Smythe	TO THE		Quiet was pretty good defensively.
Brody Tallman	TO THE	1 goal	First WHL goal.
Seth Jarvis	TO THE		He played well enough in the 3rd to get the Winterhawks across the line. The season is not quite on the right track yet.
Ryan Gottfried	SEA		Strong game for the experienced defender.
Cade mcnelly	SEA		He had a good game. He was clearly aimed at Jonah Bevington’s head when he hit the ice in the middle on the first period and was lucky enough to only get 2 minutes.

Sunday in Everett, 4 p.m.

Saturday versus Seattle at 5 p.m.

next Sunday against Seattle at 5 p.m.

Looking to the future: Saturday, May 1st against Tri-City, 5 p.m.