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The Portland Winterhawks snapped their season-high four-game losing streak when they scored five unanswered goals to earn a 6-4 comeback win Friday night in Seattle.

Portland opened the scoring seven minutes into the first when Nino Niederreiter notched his 14th goal of the season to make it 1-0. But from there Seattle bounced back with three straight goals in the span of 5:37, with markers from Prab Rai, Sena Acolatse and Charles Wells, the latter two both power play goals, to head into the first intermission up 3-1.

The Thunderbirds then made it 4-1 7:36 into the second period, when Jeremy Schappert beat Portland goaltender Ian Curtis on a penalty shot.

But down 4-1, the Winterhawks refused to let the game get away from them. Jacob Berglund cut Seattle’s lead to 4-2 at the 12:25 mark with a shot to the glove side, with one of the assists going to defenseman Eric Doyle, acquired earlier this week in a trade with Swift Current and who was making his Winterhawks debut tonight. Four minutes later, defenseman Taylor Aronson cut the deficit to one, when he notched his first career WHL goal on a power play, and the score would hold at 4-3 going into the third period.

Portland then tied the game just 42 seconds into the third period when Niederreiter went top shelf for his second of the game, and 15th of the season, to make it 4-4. The Winterhawks continued pressing, and it paid off as Aronson came out from the corner and went five-hole on Seattle netminder Calvin Pickard at the 13:20 mark to make it 5-4. After being held scoreless through the team’s first 28 games, it was Aronson’s second of the night.

With the Winterhawks holding a 5-4 lead late in the third period, Pickard went to the bench for an extra attacker, and the Thunderbirds staged a furious rally trying to tie the game. After Portland blocked numerous Seattle shots, Spencer Bennett won a footrace and got to a loose puck and scored an empty net goal to seal the 6-4 win.

Aronson and Niederreiter finished with two goals apiece, and Niederreiter added two assists to make it a four-point night. The Winterhawks outshot the Thunderbirds 44-35, and Ian Curtis earned the win in net for Portland.

The two teams meet again tomorrow night in the Rose Garden at 7 p.m. as they wrap up the home-and-home set. Tomorrow’s game is the annual Teddy Bear Toss, and fans won’t want to miss their opportunity to take part in attempting to beat Calgary’s WHL record of 26,919 bears thrown onto the ice after Portland’s first goal of the game.