What: The Portland Winterhawks (50-15-4-1) take on the Victoria Royals (29-32-5-4) in Game 3 of their Western Hockey League 1st round playoff series. Portland leads the series 2-0.
When: Tuesday, April 2, 7pm PDT.
Where: Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, Victoria, British Columbia.
Watch: You can stream the game via the CHL TV pay per view (about US$7.50 for one game).
Listen: Winterhawks and Royals audio.
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Portland Winterhawks
The Portland Winterhawks lead the 1st-round series 2-0. The first game was difficult, needing a 3rd period rally to pull the game out. The second was much easier, with Portland getting a 3-0 1st period lead and only being threatened a little bit in the 2nd period.
The goal now is to win at least two out of three in Victoria and win the series in five or four games. One loss wouldn’t be the end of the world, especially with the potential opponent next round probably having a long series. You wouldn’t want a big difference in rust. Two losses, and the series goes back to Portland, and people are panicking.
| Forwards | |
|---|---|
| 20 | 13-James Stefan (276 games) 16-Gabe Klassen (270) 92-Jack O’Brien (277) |
| 19 | 19-Kyle Chyzowski (229) 71-Josh Davies (206) 72-Marcus Nguyen (238) 89-Nate Danielson (207) |
| 18 | 8-Braeden Jockims (41) 28-Josh Zakreski (162) 39-Tyson Yaremko (61) |
| 17 | 29-Hudson Darby (60) 90-Diego Buttazzoni (134) |
| 16 | 18-Kyle McDonough (58) 23-Ryan Miller (49) |
A Monday scoring change flipped the scoring lead for the playoffs from Stefan to Danielson. Although Stefan and Klassen have had more impact so far with the timing of their points. Danielson has 5, Klassen and Stefan 4. Davies is the other forward at a point per game with a goal and an assist Saturday.
Danielson has a 7-game point streak. Stefan and Klassen have 4 and 3, respectively.
Leading forwards: Klassen (110 points/69 games), Stefan (105/69), Danielson (72/56), Davies (63/57), Nguyen (57/68).
| Defensemen | |
|---|---|
| 19 | 2-Josh Mori (182) 26-Marek Alscher (200) 27-Tyson Jugnauth (43) 43-Ryder Thompson (218) 73-Luca Cagnoni (227) |
| 18 | 59-Carter Sotheran (145) |
| 17 | 4-Cohen Massey (2) 91-Alex Thompson (59) |
Cagnoni has 4 points in the series, including both game-winning goals. He has a 3-game point streak, as does Sotheran, who has 3 points.
Leading defensemen: Cagnoni (94/67), Sotheran (43/68), Jugnauth (41/43).
| Goalies | |
|---|---|
| 19 | 31-Jan Špunar (77) 34-Justen Maric (17) |
Špunar has stopped 41 of 45, a .911 save percentage.
Save percentages: Špunar .913, Maric .871.
Victoria Royals
| Forwards | |
|---|---|
| 20 | 8-Tyson Laventure (269) 29-Dawson Pasternak (153) |
| 19 | 9-Tanner Scott (222) 21-Robin Sapousek (53) |
| 18 | 17-Hayden Chaloner (58) 19-Ben Riche (143) 20-Casper Evensen Haugen (64) 22-Teydon Trembecky (122) 25-Reggie Newman (174) 36-Alex Edwards (89) |
| 17 | 28-Logan Pickford (60) 32-Deegan Kinniburgh (77) 34-Escalus Burlock (77) |
| 16 | 7-Cole Reschny (67) 16-Wyatt Danyleyko (1) |
Pasternak, trying to get himself one more game in Portland, is the only forward at a point per game with 2 points.
Leading forwards: Pasternak (74/64), Laventure (68/66), Reschny (60/63), Scott (57/70), Newman (40/66).
| Defensemen | |
|---|---|
| 19 | 15-Ryan Spizawka (163) 27-Jaren Brinson (208) |
| 18 | 3-Justin Kipkie (144) 5-Austin Zemlak (148) 23-Nate Misskey (118) |
| 17 | 2-Hudson Bjornson (31) 4-Seth Fryer (68) 24-Matthew Keller (44) |
| 15 | 18-Keaton Verhoeff (14) |
Kipkie leads Victoria in scoring with 3 points in the 2 games, all assists.
Zemlak missed Saturday’s game after an injury on Friday. That brought back the veteran Spizawka, who had missed the previous 13 games, back into the lineup.
Leading defensemen: Kipkie (55/69), Misskey (35/46), Zemlak (22/51).
| Goalies | |
|---|---|
| 20 | 31-Braden Holt (156) |
| 17 | 33-Jayden Kraus (28) |
Holt in the series has stopped 58 of 67, an .866 save percentage. There isn’t really a path to a series victory for the Royals that doesn’t have his save percentage above about .930.
Save percentages: Holt .893, Kraus .870.
Tale of the tape
| Winterhawks | Royals | Average (of teams left) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record | 50-15-4-1 (.750) | 29-32-5-4 (.479) | .592 |
| Scored/allowed (diff) | 339-208 (+131) | 225-281 (-56) | 266-237 |
| Goals/game | 4.8 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
| Goals allowed/game | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.4 |
| Power play | 27.2% | 20.9% | 24.2% |
| Penalty kill | 78.7% | 75.5% | 77.6% |
| Power plays for/game | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Power plays against/game | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
| Outshooting opponents | 61-8-1 | 20-48-2 | 37-31-2 |
| After 1 period | 46-11-13 | 23-28-19 | 28-23-19 |
| After 2 periods | 44-19-7 | 30-34-6 | 32-26-11 |
| Score, last 10 games | 53-27 (+26) | 28-53 (-25) | |
| Score, last 20 games | 100-55 (+45) | 53-95 (-42) | |
| Total WHL games | 3438 | 2751 | |
| WHL drafted top 60 | 7 | 9 | |
| NHL drafted | 6 | 1 | |
| NHL drafted top 80 | 1 | 0 | |
| Players 6′2 or over | 4 | 9 | |
| Players 5′10 or under | 8 | 8 |
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