Hawks knock off Tips 4-3 for Game 1 win

Three goals in the final 40 minutes carried the Winterhawks to a 4-3 win in Game 1.

Round 1, Game 1: Portland (4) vs Everett (3) [POR leads series 1-0]

SOG: POR (37) – EVT (34)

PP: POR (3/4) – EVT (1/6)

Saves: Špunar (31/34) – Palmer (33/37)

COMPLETE BOX SCORE

SCORING:

• EVT – 7:10 – First Period – Austin Roest (1) from Aidan Sutter and Jackson Berezowski
• POR – 8:52 – First Period – Robbie Fromm-Delorme (1) from Gabe Klassen and Jack O’Brien
• POR – 5:26 – Second Period – Marcus Nguyen (1) from Kyle Chyzowski and Josh Zakreski
• EVT – 4:17 – Third Period – Jackson Berezowski (1) from Austin Roest and Aidan Sutter
• POR – 10:59 – Third Period – Marcus Nguyen (2) from Josh Zakreski and Marek Alscher
• POR – 12:20 – Third Period – James Stefan (1) from Marek Alscher and Kyle Chyzowski
• EVT – 16:49 – Third Period – Austin Roest (2)

The Story: 

Two Marcus Nguyen tallies and a late James Stefan strike helped the Winterhawks knock off the Silvertips 4-3 to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Everett’s Austin Roest kicked off the see-saw affair with a goal 7:10 into the first period to give the visitors a quick lead, but Portland responded 102 seconds later when Robbie Fromm-Delorme whacked home a power-play rebound. The Hawks doubled their lead early in the second on Nguyen’s first of the night, another power-play strike that came from quick puck movement down the right side of the zone and across the crease for Portland’s #72 to hammer home.

Portland carried the lead into the final frame, but the Silvertips tied things back up on Jackson Berezowski’s power-play strike early in the third. A back-and-forth battle ensued, and Nguyen’s second strike put Portland back on top at 10:59. The third-period go-ahead goal mirrored the one from the prior frame, with Zakreski setting up Nguyen with a cross-crease look for a one-timer. Shortly after, Stefan deflected a Marek Alscher shot for 4-2 lead, and while Roest struck late to make things interesting for Everett, the Hawks’ three goals in the final 40 minutes proved enough for the Game 1 win.

The teams are back on the ice in the VMC tomorrow night for Game 2 at 6:00 P.M. Join us for Fan Fest outside the arena beginning at 3:00 P.M.!

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT presented by BBF TECHNOLOGIES:

“I thought we got into it quick, you know, energy is there from us and from the fans and I thought we played a good game all night. I think we all missed the playoff atmosphere, just the tight-checking, close game of inches. It was really fun today…now we’ve got to regroup tonight and just focus on tomorrow.”

Winterhawks forward Marcus Nguyen