It looked for a bit that the Portland Winterhawks would fall below .500 as they faced the Tri-City Americans.
Tri-City got on the board midway through the first person while short-handed, and they went up two late in the first period. Just before the seven-minute mark of the second period, Tri-City scored again, which put them up by three, and it looked like the Hawks were going to let this slip away.
First-time scorer Marcus Nguyen got one past Taryn Boyko in the Tri-City net less than thirty seconds later, and the Hawks seemed a bit revived.
It would be the third period that Portland found its way in lighting the lamp.
Gabe Klassen scored his second of the year on a helper by Kyle Chyzowski at 2:08 of the third period to make things much closer.
Kyle Chyzowki attempted a penalty shot at 6:41 of the third period but was unsuccessful.
The Hawks would tie the game just before the fifteen-minute mark with a goal by highly touted Dawson Pasternak while on the powerplay.
A newcomer to the defense, Czech-born Marek Alscher, scored at 17:05 to give the Hawks their first lead. Tri-City was only able to garner 37 seconds with the goaltender out to try and salvage a tie but were unable to do so.
The Hawks won 4-3 in regulation and are above.500 for the first time this year.
Portland will play a Friday/ Saturday game against the Everett Silvertips with two more games to play as of October ends. One will be at home, one on the road.
Two personnel have left the Hawks organization.
Walter Ruff, who was the game night media person sending press releases following games and other behind the scenes, has moved on from the Hawks to Editorial Content Producer and Team Reporter with the Carolina Hurricanes. Walter came to the Hawks through the Tuscon Roadrunners (AHL), Norfolk Admirals (ECHL), and the Lone Star Brahmas in the NAHL. Just a season ago, and jumped into Communications and Digital Media right away. Current feelers are out to replace him.
At the same time, Rich Franklin, who has been at the helm of Marketing and sponsorship as well as the trusted Fanboni Driver at games over the past decade, has been tapped to join Oak Grove, which is the parent company at the Seattle Kraken’s AHL Farm Team doing the same type of duties with Corporate Sponsorship in both team and the Coachella Arena in Palm Springs, California. Franklin was working on significant sponsors like Toyota and Fred Meyer, with Dean “Scooter” Vrooman handling smaller accounts that have been the team’s bread and butter since he arrived in the early 1980s. Dean retired a few years back and has no desire to get back into things again.
There has been considerable interest in Rich Franklin’s position, so we will see who lands this plum position.
As you can see, the team develops many people and has an excellent reputation for creating great people who can fit into higher-up positions. The Hawks have lost some major players in the past couple of months and will take some time to recover to where they were. However, it looks like the Hawks will continue to bounce back and provide a fan experience like no other.
