The Portland Winterhawks get challenged by a spirited Victoria Royals team; they fall behind twice, get outshot, and then get tied again near the start of the 3rd period. But a top performance by Portland’s best players, led by James Stefan’s hat trick, gives Portland a 6-5 win and a virtually unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
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The Winterhawks trailed 1-0 in the 1st and 3-2 in the 2nd, but both times scored quickly back-to-back to take the lead. The Royals tied them 4-4 in the 1st minute of the 3rd, but Portland scored twice to provide the winning margin before a last-minute Royals goal.
That the Royals outshot Portland for the game is noteworthy, as they rarely outshoot their opponents, and Portland rarely gets outshot by their opponents (only the 9th time this season). But Portland overcame it.
Stefan had an assist to go with his hat trick. Josh Davies set up two of Stefan’s goals and scored one of his own off a feed from Stefan, the goal that put Portland ahead to stay. Linemate Gabe Klassen had a goal and an assist, and Luca Cagnoni had 3 assists.
The Winterhawks go for the sweep Wednesday night.
Scoring summary
| 6:03 VIC Teydon Trembecky 0-1 |
| 15:36 POR James Stefan (Josh Davies, Luca Cagnoni) 1-1 |
| 16:49 POR James Stefan (Josh Davies, Luca Cagnoni) 2-1 |
| 21:36 VIC Justin Kipkie (Tyson Laventure) 2-2 |
| 23:22 VIC Tanner Scott (Nate Misskey, Justin Kipkie) 2-3 |
| 36:49 POR Josh Mori (Marcus Nguyen, Jack O’Brien) 3-3 |
| 38:05 POR James Stefan 4-3 |
| 40:28 VIC Casper Evensen Haugen (Reggie Newman, Tanner Scott) 4-4 |
| 49:54 POR (PP) Josh Davies (James Stefan, Gabe Klassen) 5-4 |
| 52:57 POR Gabe Klassen (Luca Cagnoni, Marek Alscher) 6-4 |
| 59:14 VIC (PP) Tyson Laventure (Dawson Pasternak, Nate Misskey) 6-5 |
| Portland leads by 2+ | 6:17 |
| Portland leads by 1 | 10:59 |
| Tied | 19:44 |
| Portland trails by 1 | 23:00 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 0:00 |
Narratives
Pregame: The Winterhawks going for the 3-0 lead that would certainly put this series to bed.
1st period: Before a home crowd for the first time, the Royals came out inspired and got the first goal. But Portland grabbed the lead with 2 goals in 1:13 late in the period, both with the same scoreline, James Stefan from Josh Davies and Luca Cagnoni.
2nd period: Again the Royals started well, and the first 14 minutes had to be one of Portland’s worst of the season against a non-contender. Victoria was able to run out to a 3-2 lead, but Portland once again chased them down, with Stefan’s hat trick goal tying it, and led 4-3 after the 2nd period.
3rd period: Another good start for the Royals as they tied the game 4-4 right at the beginning of the period. But Stefan set up Davies to get the lead back, and then Cagnoni’s long pass to Klassen ended up being the winning goal. The Royals got a flukish goal in the last minute but Portland hung on again.
Best vs. best: Stefan, Klassen, and Davies, along with Cagnoni, were just too much--Victoria doesn’t yet have anyone comparable.
Depth vs. depth: The Royals depth players played pretty well.
Special teams winner: Both teams went 1 for 3.
Best team won?: Yes.
Injuries/suspensions: The Royals again probably missed Austin Zemlak, injured in Game 1.
The players
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| James Stefan | POR | 3 goals, 1 assist | 5-game point streak. All four points either tied the game or put the Winterahawks in the lead. And for the moment he leads the playoffs in scoring. |
| Josh Davies | POR | 1 goal, 2 assists | Set up Stefan twice and got a feed from him to score his goal. |
| Justin Kipkie | VIC | 1 goal, 1 assist | 3-game point streak. The Royals’ best player by some distance. Also a +3. |
| Gabe Klassen | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | 4-game point streak. The “catch” of Cagnoni’s long pass might have been better than the pass, and then he still had to convert on the breakaway. |
| Luca Cagnoni | POR | 3 assists | Twice set up a rush leading to Stefan goals, then completed a long pass to Klassen for what turned out to be the game winner. |
| Tanner Scott | VIC | 1 goal, 1 assist | A goal in the 2nd to give Victoria their final lead, and helped win the puck to lead to the tying goal in the first minute of the 3rd. |
| Nate Misskey | VIC | 2 assists | A +2. |
| Josh Mori | POR | 1 goal | A big goal to tie the game at a point where Portland were struggling. |
| Tyson Laventure | VIC | 1 goal, 1 assist | Will hope Wednesday is not his last game. |
| Dawson Pasternak | VIC | 1 assist | Ditto. |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Sotheran | POR | Snapped a 3-game point streak, but played well. | |
| Nate Danielson | POR | 7-game point streak snapped. | |
| Jan Špunar | POR | 30 saves-35 shots | Played better than his numbers suggest, but it’s also not clear yet that he’s out of his slump. |
| Braden Holt | VIC | 26 saves-32 shots | Save percentage for the series is down to .848. |
Postgame
| Winterhawks | Royals | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 51-15-4-1 (.754) | 29-33-5-4 (.472) |
| Scored/allowed (diff) | 345-213 (+132) | 230-287 (-57) |
| Goals/game | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| Goals allowed/game | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| Power play | 27.2% | 21.1% |
| Penalty kill | 78.6% | 75.4% |
| Power plays for/game | 4.1 | 3.9 |
| Power plays against/game | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| Outshooting opponents | 61-9-1 | 21-48-2 |
| After 1 period | 47-11-13 | 23-29-19 |
| After 2 periods | 45-19-7 | 30-35-6 |
| Score, last 10 games | 52-31 (+21) | 29-54 (-25) |
| Score, last 20 games | 96-58 (+38) | 58-99 (-41) |
Portland Winterhawks
If they win Wednesday or even Friday, they’re looking at having a ton of rest ahead of the next series. Maybe too much, although there’s nothing you can do about that.
Victoria Royals
Outshooting the Winterhawks was almost as much of an upset as winning the game would have been. This should help them for next season.
Next games
Wednesday at Victoria, 7pm PDT (Game 4)
Friday at Victoria, 7pm PDT (Game 5)
Sunday vs. Victoria, 5pm PDT (Game 6 if necessary)
Tuesday vs. Victoria, 7pm PDT (Game 7 if necessary)