With two late goals to level the game as part of a three-goal comeback, the Portland Winterhawks, who have had so many spectacular late comebacks this season, nearly pull off another one. However, they are unable to complete the task and lose to the Tri-City Americans 7–6 in a shootout.
By the end of the second quarter, Portland had fallen down 6-3 after blowing a 3-1 lead. They knotted the score in the third after regaining one before the end of the period.
It ends Tri-City’s five-game losing run.
Positively, Kyle Chyzowski is now leading the league scoring race after a 4-point performance.
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Scoring summary
| 1st 3:33 POR (PP) Diego Buttazzoni (Tyson Jugnauth, Kyle Chyzowski) 1-0 | A great move by Jugnauth to weave around and set up Buttazzoni for a one-timer. Chyzowski took a long shot that took an endboard rebound all the way back to the line to Jugnauth. |
| 1st 10:38 TC Jake Gudelj (Jordan Gavin, Gavin Garland) 1-1 | Americans passing moves the Winterhawks from side-to-side. Garland from the right wing all the way across to Gavin at the left wing, and he sends it back to the right wing to Gudelj for a one-timer. |
| 1st 11:40 POR (PP) Diego Buttazzoni (Tyson Jugnauth, Kyle Chyzowski) 2-1 | 4 seconds from the beginning of the power play to the goal. Chyzowski wins the faceoff to Jugnauth, who finds Buttazzoni open on the right wing for a one-timer. |
| 1st 15:34 POR Kayd Ruedig 3-1 | Great individual play by Ruedig. He picks off a pass from Austin Zemlak at center, takes it to the top of the right circle, toedrags, and scores. |
| 1st 19:39 TC Jake Gudelj (Carter MacAdams, Max Curran) 3-2 | Big goal at the end of the period. Curran from the outside gets it to MacAdams at the top of the crease. He finds Gudelj cutting to the net on the backdoor. |
| 2nd 6:21 TC Carter MacAdams (Max Curran) 3-3 | After three big Portland chances, including a 3 on 2 immediately preceding this, Curran carries the puck in on a 4 on 2 and drops it to MacAdams, who beats Marek Schlenker from the high slot. |
| 2nd 12:26 TC Savin Virk (Cruz Pavao) 3-4 | Pavao draws with Chyzowski on a faceoff at the right dot, Virk comes in to grab the puck and snaps one in. |
| 2nd 16:15 TC (PP) Brandon Whynott (Max Curran, Austin Zemlak) 3-5 | A great move by Whynott, making a move past Buttazzoni inside the Portland blue line, then shooting the puck between Jugnauth s legs and beating Schlenker 5-hole. Zemlak and Curran brought the puck up ice on the power play. |
| 2nd 18:21 TC Jake Gudelj (Carter MacAdams, Max Curran) 3-6 | Curran s shot gets the puck to the net, MacAdams has three Winterhawks occupied at the top of the crease, and the puck sneaks to the backdoor for an easy goal for Gudelj, converting the hat trick. |
| 2nd 19:34 POR Tyson Jugnauth (Ryan Miller, Kyle Chyzowski) 4-6 | Another big one at the end of the period. Jugnauth converts from beyond the left circle, a bad one by Lukas Matecha. Chyzowski carried the puck in, and Miller controlled a board battle and got the puck to Jugnauth. |
| 3rd 16:18 POR Ryan Miller (Kyle Chyzowski) 5-6 | Miller, after winning a board battle, gets the puck back, takes it to the top of the right circle, and scores. Chyzowski won the faceoff and then held Miller s pass at the line before getting it to him. A 6-on-5 goal. |
| 3rd 17:35 POR Ryder Thompson (Luke Wilfley, Diego Buttazzoni) 6-6 | A great play by Thompson, who shoots the puck in, chases and wins it behind the net, then goes to the net to jump on a loose puck in front to tie the game. Buttazzoni shot the puck from the left boards to create the chance, and Wilfley kept it alive in front. |
| Portland leads by 2+ | 4:05 |
| Portland leads by 1 | 17:41 |
| Tied | 16:25 |
| Portland trails by 1 | 5:06 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 20:03 |
Narratives
Pregame: The Winterhawks were playing at their best against an American club that was having a lot of trouble. Then the injuries surfaced, and the Winterhawks were playing at their peak against an American team that was having a terrible time, AND they were without their best defensive defenseman (Terrell Goldsmith) and their greatest forward (Jake Sloan). Portland’s popularity skyrocketed.
First period: An early shot. The Winterhawks gained a 2-1 lead and a significant shot advantage with the aid of power plays. However, the Americans rallied in the second half, as Jake Gudelj’s goal in the final 30 seconds tied Portland’s outstanding goal from Kayd Ruedig to make it 3-2.
Second period: The Winterhawks allowed four goals in a row, making it one of their worst stretches of the season. They started off with a few turnovers, which didn’t affect them right away but eventually did as the game progressed. They were outshot 17–6, they were beaten in front of one goal, and Marek Schlenker was beaten on a couple of poor ones. It was a bad time overall. Lukas Matecha’s poor goal reduced Portland’s deficit to two, giving them some hope.
Portland applied pressure right away and ended the third period with a 15–5 shooting advantage. After ten minutes without a whistle in the middle of the period, it appeared as though they might not make it. However, the Winterhawks knotted it 6-6 with goals from Ryder Thompson with 2:25 remaining and Ryan Miller 77 seconds apart.
After a few early opportunities for Portland, Carter Sotheran was called away for a trip. We went to the shootout after Jordan Gavin missed an empty net that would have won it and Lukas Matecha made a fantastic stop on Tyson Jugnauth’s shorthanded attempt.
Shootout: All three Portland shooters failed, and Cruz Pavao, a middle shooter, scored for the Ams. Portland will have a shootout loss in the second game in 2025 after not having one in 2024. They haven’t lost a shootout since November 3, 2023.
How it was won: 1) TC outscored Portland 4-1 and outshot them 16-7 in the second period.
2) The Max Curran, Jake Gudelj, and Carter MacAdams line of TC. MacAdams had a goal and two assists, Curran had four assists, and Gudelj had a hat trick.
3) A little goaltending. Matecha conceded a few poor goals but also made several crucial saves, such as the shootout, and managed to defeat Schlenker and Ondrej t bet k, who took his position in the third period.
Important stretch/moment: In the second period, Portland had the opportunity to seize the initiative. Tri-City was on the power play in the second, and they were ahead 3-2. Tyler MacAdams comes the other way on a 4 on 2 and scores on a great look from the high slot after Matecha makes key stops on Josh Zakreski and Tyson Jugnauth shorthanded. Portland then gets another 3 on 2 shorthanded where the last pass barely misses. The Americans launched a 4-goal assault after that, which was sufficient to withstand Portland’s comeback.
It was unexpected when Portland won the third round after Tri-City won the second.
Not surprisingly: Despite losing the shootout, Portland pulled off another incredible comeback.
Controversies: In such a wild game, it is not surprise that neither team looked very pleased with the officiating.
Which team won? You may argue that both teams had a right to win and lose.
No suspensions or injuries.
The players
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Gudelj | TC | 3 goals | His first career hat trick. 3 goals on 3 shots. |
| Carter MacAdams | TC | 1 goal, 2 assists | For two of Gudelj s goals, MacAdams was just as responsible, and then he scored another of his own. You could easily put him ahead of Gudelj. |
| Max Curran | TC | 4 assists | First career 4 point game. |
| Kyle Chyzowski | POR | 4 assists | With 62 points, he passes Gavin McKenna and Andrew Cristall, who both have 60. 7-game point streak. |
| Tyson Jugnauth | POR | 1 goal, 2 assists | 2 great power play setups to Diego Buttazzoni and a soft goal that started the Portland comeback. He had a few chances at another goal that would have give the Winterhawks the win. |
| Diego Buttazzoni | POR | 2 goals, 1 assist | A 12-game point streak, and this matches his high point total on the streak. |
| Ryan Miller | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | Two nice plays in the middle of Portland s comeback. |
| Ryder Thompson | POR | 1 goal | A great all-around hustle play to get the tying goal. |
| Brandon Whynott | TC | 1 goal | A great play for a key goal as the Ams built their lead. |
| Kayd Ruedig | POR | 1 goal | He also gets honored for a nice individual goal, plus he was +2 in a 6-6 game. |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lukas Matecha | TC | 33 saves-39 shots | He didn t have a great game, but the big saves he did make were at key times. And he was 3-for-3 in the shootout. |
| Josh Zakreski | POR | 3-game point streak snapped. | |
| Ondrej t bet k | POR | 7 saves-7 shots | Didn t have much to do in the 3rd after coming in, but he got busier in overtime and then the shootout. Assume he ll come back in the Saturday game. |
| Marek Schlenker | POR | 23 saves-29 shots | A pretty rough 2nd period. |
Postgame
| Winterhawks | Americans | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 21-13-2-1 (.608) |
20-11-2-1 (.632) |
| Goals/game |
4.0 |
4.0 |
| Goals allowed/game | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| Team shooting % |
.116 |
.111 |
| Team save % | .888 | .891 |
| Power play |
27.6% |
16.1% |
| Penalty kill |
79.1% |
81.3% |
| Power plays for/game |
4.2 |
3.6 |
| Power plays against/game | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Outshooting opponents |
14-21-2 |
19-15 |
| After 1 period |
11-14-12 |
11-12-11 |
| After 2 periods | 14-18-5 |
16-10-8 |
| Score, last 10 games | 44-37 (+7) | 28-43 (-15) |
| Score, last 20 games | 88-76 (+12) | 75-76 (-1) |
The Portland Winterhawks
Victoria has tied them in games and points, but they are currently fourth in the league and conference. They will now attempt to survive a third game in three nights.
Americans from the Tri-Cities
The monkey is off their backs, but it’s not pretty. With Sloan and Goldsmith missing, it was an extremely strong victory. It’s possible that several of their players are ill to varied degrees. It will be Portland’s hope that they are not infectious.
After Portland finishes with them, they play Wenatchee on Sunday, making it a three-game series for the Wild. They’ll be hoping for points from that match as well as their upcoming matchup with Seattle.
Next games
1/4 vs. Wenatchee on Saturday at 6 p.m. PST
Brandon, Friday, January 10, at 5:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
next Saturday, January 11, at 4 p.m. PST (6 p.m. CST) in Regina
Looking ahead: Swift Current on Saturday, January 18, at 5:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Tri-City’s next game is on Friday, January 24, at 7 p.m. PST.
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