The Portland Winterhawks didn’t exactly put on a dominant show, but they were simply too strong for the outmatched Regina Pats, as they easily won 7-3 after a 4-goal first period. Portland wins the opening two games of a six-game road trip to the Eastern Division and sweeps the weekend.
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Game preview
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Game thread with game updates and postgame reaction.
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The off day forum
Scoring summary
| 1st 2:47 REG Zach Moore (Connor Bear, Cameron Kuzma) 0-1 |
| 1st 8:20 POR Ryder Thompson (Hudson Darby, Carsyn Dyck) 1-1 |
| 1st 12:11 POR (PP) Diego Buttazzoni (Tyson Jugnauth, Josh Zakreski) 2-1 |
| 1st 12:50 POR Kyle Chyzowski (Carter Sotheran) 3-1 |
| 1st 18:44 POR Carter Sotheran (Hudson Darby, Kyle McDonough) 4-1 |
| 2nd 4:47 REG Zachary Lansard (Cohen Klassen, Brayden Smith) 4-2 |
| 2nd 15:18 POR Kyle Chyzowski (Alex Weiermair, Jordan Duguay) 5-2 |
| 3rd :48 POR Diego Buttazzoni 6-2 |
| 3rd 4:45 POR Tyson Jugnauth 7-2 |
| 3rd 10:57 REG Dayton Deschamps (Brayden Smith, Caden Brown) 7-3 |
| Portland leads by 2+ | 47:10 |
| Portland leads by 1 | 0:39 |
| Tied | 6:38 |
| Portland trails by 1 | 5:33 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 0:00 |
Narratives
Pregame: Portland emerged as a clear favorite, with the main wild card being whether or not they were traveling.
First period: The Winterhawks gave up the game’s first goal after a terrible start. They took charge after that and scored four goals in a row.
Second period: They had a bad start and a bad period once more. They let up an early goal to narrow the advantage to two, but they were unable to get any closer. Kyle Chyzowski’s second goal of the game at the end of the quarter put Portland ahead three again.
Third period: Portland outscored the Pats 20–7 after scoring two goals in the first five minutes.
How it was won: 1) Ryder Thompson, Carter Sotheran, and Tyson Jugnauth, three Winterhawks defensemen, scored three goals.
2) Jordan Duguay, Alex Weiermair, and Kyle Chyzowski, Portland’s top line, had yet another outstanding performance.
3) Portland won the starting goalie contest with ease. After the first, Kelton Pyne was hooked on Marek Schlenker, who was excellent enough.
Crucial stretch/moment: Carter Sotheran’s goal toward the end of the first to make it 4-1 gave them a healthy enough lead that it didn’t harm them much to slack off in the second.
Unexpected: Portland’s defensemen score, but not much else.
It should come as no surprise that Portland defeated the league’s poorest special teams in a goal differential game.
There are no disputes.
Yes, the best squad prevailed.
No suspensions or injuries.
The players
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Chyzowski | POR | 2 goals | Andrew Cristall ran up 7 points on Wenatchee to jump him in the scoring race. But Chyzowski now has multi-point games in 10 of his last 11. |
| Tyson Jugnauth | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | 4-game point streak. |
| Carter Sotheran | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | |
| Diego Buttazzoni | POR | 2 goals | |
| Ryder Thompson | POR | 1 goal | Goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. |
| Marek Schlenker | POR | 26 saves-29 shots | |
| Brayden Smith | REG | 2 assists | |
| Zach Moore | REG | 1 goal | |
| Alex Weiermair | POR | 1 assist | |
| Ewan Huet | REG | 27 saves-30 shots | Played decently mopping up in the last two periods. |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Keets Fawcett | REG | 3-game point streak snapped. | |
| Kelton Pyne | REG | 8 saves-12 shots | Hooked after 1 period. Gave up two goals on shots from long distance, one from medium distance, and one on a long distance shot that was tipped. |
| Kyle McDonough | POR | 1 assist | 3-game point streak. |
Postgame
| Winterhawks | Pats | |
|---|---|---|
| Record |
23-14-2-1 (.613) |
11-22-4-2 (.359) |
| Goals/game |
4.1 |
2.8 |
| Goals allowed/game |
4.0 |
4.2 |
| Team shooting % |
.118 |
.090 |
| Team save % |
.887 |
.876 |
| Power play |
27.3% |
15.4% |
| Penalty kill |
78.8% |
71.3% |
| Power plays for/game | 4.1 | 3.2 |
| Power plays against/game |
3.8 |
4.0 |
| Outshooting opponents |
16-22-2 |
13-23-3 |
| After 1 period |
12-16-12 |
10-17-12 |
| After 2 periods |
15-19-6 |
10-22-7 |
| Score, last 10 games |
50-40 (+10) |
35-42 (-7) |
| Score, last 20 games |
94-78 (+16) |
55-91 (-36) |
The Portland Winterhawks
For fourth place in the conference, they remain four points behind Victoria. Tuesday is a crucial matchup with Prince Albert.
Pats, Regina
It doesn’t seem good, as they are 12 points out of a postseason berth.
Next games
Prince Albert, Tuesday, January 14, at 5 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Saskatoon, Wednesday, January 15, at 5:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Moose Jaw, Friday, January 17, 5 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Swift Current on Saturday, January 18, at 5:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Looking ahead: Tri-City vs. Friday, January 24, 7 p.m. PST
This year’s Finals won’t be Regina’s next match.
