Hawks Pick up a Point in First of Two Straight against Rockets
October 29, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Portland Winterhawks News Release
The Winterhawks surged ahead early but couldn’t stave off a Kelowna comeback bid in a tight overtime loss.
Game #9: Portland (3) vs Kelowna (4) OT
SOG: POR (45) – KEL (29)
PP: POR (0/3) – KEL (1/3)
Saves: Giannuzzi (25/29) – Boyko (42/45)
COMPLETE BOX SCORE
SCORING:
POR – 16:04 – First Period – Marek Alscher (2) from Diego Buttazzoni
POR – 10:06 – Second Period – Marcus Nguyen (3)
KEL – 0:33 – Third Period – Marcus Pacheco (3) from Andrew Cristall and Adam Kydd
POR – 13:49 – Third Period – James Stefan (3) from Dawson Pasternak and Marek Alscher
KEL – 16:46 – Third Period – Andrew Cristall (8) from Nolan Flamand and John Babcock
KEL – 19:55 – Third Period – Nolan Flamand (3) from Gabriel Szturc and Caden Price
KEL – 3:20 – Overtime – Andrew Cristall (9)
The Story:
The Winterhawks twice held a two-goal lead in the third period, but Andrew Cristall’s two tallies – including the OT winner – led the visiting Rockets to a 4-3 win in the extra frame.
The l0ss snaps Portland’s nine-game winning streak against Kelowna over the last five seasons.
Marek Alscher scored Portland’s first goal for the second straight game, collecting a pass from Diego Buttazzoni in the slot and firing home his second of the season at 16:09 of the first period. The Winterhawks built on that lead midway through the second period as Marcus Nguyen ripped one home on an odd-man rush to make it 2-0 Hawks heading into the third.
Kelowna pushed early in the final frame and found a goal from Marcus Pacheco just 33 seconds in, but Portland again found twine as James Stefan restored the hosts’ two-goal lead with a snapshot through the legs of Talyn Boyko at 13:49. The Rockets refused to go away quietly, though, and tallied twice in the final four minutes – Cristall’s first of the game at 16:46 brought them within one, then Nolan Flamand struck with five seconds remaining to force overtime, where Cristall came through again on a breakaway.
Portland’s Dante Giannuzzi stopped 25 of 29 shots in the loss, while Boyko turned aside 42 of 45.
The two teams battle once again at the VMC tomorrow at 6:00 P.M.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT presented by BBF TECHNOLOGIES:
“We’re back at it. There are reasons why we love these back-to-back games…we look at this as a playoff scenario. They’ll make adjustments, we’ll make adjustments – it’s like a mini playoff series. That one didn’t sit well with our guys so we’re excited to get back at it tomorrow.”
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