After dropping the first two matches to the Spokane Chiefs, the Portland Winterhawks are in a monumental battle for their playoff lives. After dropping 10-4 and then fighting back and ultimately losing in overtime, the Hawks had three straight home games to correct the series.
Game three was a tough one. There were 13 combined goals scored in the contest; sadly, eight of them went to Spokane. The Chiefs started off midway through the first period with Chase Harrinton, the guy who sank the dagger in overtime last game. From there the Hawks played catchup..Josh Zakreski tied it a few minutes later on the powerplay, only to see the Chiefs regain the lead towards the end of the period.
In the second, the Hawks once again tied it with a Diego Buttazzoni tally. The Chiefs then notched two a few minutes apart, including a powerplay goal; The Hawks made a comeback with Buttazzoni’s second of the night to cut into the lead. Towards the end of the period, the Chiefs added another, but the Hawks countered on a Joel Plante goal with 43 seconds left in the second.
The third seemed to be the Hawks chance with a second of the night by Zakreski before the third period was three minutes old. to tie the game However, two goals by the Chiefs just over a minute apart and one just three minutes later, pulled the Chiefs out to stay in a wild 8-5 game. Like the others, the Chiefs held the shot advantage this time 40-29, but Portland led on the Powerplay 2 of 3 with Spokane 1 of 2.
Game 4 was do or die for the Hawks. Win and they’d get another home shot Saturday, lose and it was all over. Andrew Cristall has been a thorn against every team he’s faced, and the playoffs are no exception. His goal, after he picked up the puck on a breakaway, unassisted, gives him 19 in the playoffs thus far. Another player on acquisition in the Hawks, Alex Weiermair, responded three minutes later as his initial shot was stopped, but the puck bounced off the foot and body of the Chiefs and the tie. The Hawks were devastated minutes later as Diego Buttazzoni was assessed a cross-checking major and game misconduct. Diego retaliated on Shea Van Olm’s check to the head in the Chiefs’ zone and is out for the game and future ones with a potential suspension, which can carry over to next season.
Cristall scored his second of the night a few minutes later on the powerplay after a couple of denials, beating Ondrej Stebatek on the blocker side. That carried through to the second period, where Ryan Miller picked up a powerplay goal to tie the score. The Chiefs restored their one-goal lead. Four minutes later, Weiermair scored his second of the night and knotted the game at three. Spokane took a penalty with two seconds left in the period, and because it carried over to the third period, the Hawks’ Josh Zakreski scored just 24 seconds in, giving the Hawks their first lead.
Spokane played a full 60 minutes as they waited until the 14 minute mark to add 3 goals 2 minutes apart and send the 4558 crowd home without a win. Spokane now captures the Western Conference, where they outshot Portland 45-43, and special teams did well on both sides, Portland 2 for 2 and Spokane 1-1
To the east, where the Medicine Hat Tigers received a sendoff worthy of Major League teams. The team bus was given a police escort, a fire truck in behind, and a huge banner hanging from a ladder truck as the Tigers headed out of town for the games in Lethbridge. It was almost like watching two different games. The Canes stormed out in front with a 4-1 lead midway through the second period. The Tigers were able to cut into the lead. A pair of goals, three minutes apart in the second frame by the Tigers, set the stage for an incredible third period.
Early in the third, the Hurricanes added to their goal total, only to see the Tigers score two, three minutes apart, including a shorthanded tally to tie the game at 5. Brendan Yaeger, whom the Canes picked up at the trade deadline, scored what should have been the dagger with just over three minutes left. The Tigers were buzzing and pulled their netminder for the extra attacker. With seventy seconds remaining in regulation, Gavin McKenna, also picked up at the trade deadline, assisted on a Bryce Pickford marker to send the game to overtime. While there. McKenna helped on the winning goal as he stripped the puck from a breakout by Lethbridge in their zone, got Jackson Unger to commit, and sent the puck to Oasiz Weiseblatt for the game winner, a come-from-behind 7-6 overtime win, and a stranglehold on the series at 3-0
The two teams met the next night, where the Canes scored first and early again. But Medicine Hat returned with a pair, including a shorthanded tally to end the period 2-1. Two goals by the Tigers increased the lead to 4-1. The Canes came back to make it interesting. Two goals over six minutes apart set the stage for the improbable comeback. The Tigers snuffed that out with an empty net goal with 37 seconds left and, in doing so, swept the series in four. They will now host the Chiefs tilt starting in a week.
In the OHL, two teams seem to be slicing down anything and everything in their path. The London Knights, who dominated during the regular season with a 55-11-2-0 record, took four straight games from the Kitchener Rangers. The final game saw them with a 4-1 lead. Kitchener pulled their netminder, who had over three minutes left. They could score once but could not score more, but prevented the Knights from scoring themselves, dropping a 4-2 contest. London will have a few days off as the Oshawa Generals held court over the Barrie Colts. After two blowouts and a 2-overtime game that went the way of Oshawa, game four was wild. After Barrie scored early in the first, Oshawa picked up 2, only to see Barrie score a pair as well. It was a four-goal burst by the Oshawa Generals with one just past the fifteen-minute mark of the second and three in a 2-minute span early into the third period, including a power-play score, that took the wind from the Colts’ sails. Though they scored near the fourteen-minute mark, less than 45 seconds later, that was taken away by the Generals. A late goal by Oshawa sealed it at 8-4, so they’ll meet the Knights. Near the end of the game, tempers flared, and misconduct penalties were handed to six players.
Game one with London and Oshawa will begin late next week.
In the QMJHL, it appears we have finalists in Moncton Wildcats who needed overtime to dispatch Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4-3, finally, and with it a clean sweep of the series. Rimouski Oceanic, who are hosting the cup this year are in the driver’s seat with their series against Shawinigan Cateractes..However, Shawinigan had other ideas. After being blown out in the first two games, the Cataractes thumped Rimouski 5-2 and then went to double overtime with a 3-2 win, which has now tied the series. Three games are scheduled over six nights and could extend to early next week if the sixth game doesn’t produce a winner.
So, all but one series has been a sweep in the third round, and we could see the very upper teams compete for the finals and the chance to play the Memorial Cup.
We’ll see if the Q will have top teams compete in the finals.
