Slow start costs Winterhawks in 4-2 loss

The Portland Winterhawks are stopped by a hot goaltender and a poor start. They lose 3-1 to the Seattle Thunderbirds, but Scott Ratzlaff, the Seattle goaltender, comes in and stops 40 of 42 shots as Seattle wins 4-2.

With two goals, Matej Pekar was the offensive star for Seattle.

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Scoring summary


1st :53 SEA (PP) Nathan Pilling (Radim Mrtka, Coster Dunn) 0-1	A bad goal to open for Ondrej t bet k. He misses Mrtka s shot going wide of the net, then is slow to get over for the endboard rebound that goes to the other side, and Pilling puts it off him and in from the goal line. Dunn got the puck back to Mrtka at the point.
1st 4:54 POR (PP) Diego Buttazzoni (Kyle Chyzowski, Tyson Jugnauth) 1-1	Buttazzoni s shot from the right dot is saved by Scott Ratzlaff, but it pops up behind him, goes off the crossbar, and then off Seattle s Tai Riley and into the net. The scorer originally gave assists to Chyzowski and Jugnauth, who touched the puck before the shot. Then mid-game they were taken away, presumably on the ruling that the touch by Riley was the primary reason for the goal. It sounds like the original ruling will end up prevailing, however, and they will get the assists. [edited for clarity]
1st 6:01 SEA Matej Pekar 1-2	Anthony Martorana forces a turnover from Alex Weiermair at the Portland blue line. The puck goes to Pekar, who takes it to the middle and beats t bet k from the high slot. Martorana will get a deserved assist if they rule that he touched the puck in forcing the turnover.
1st 7:19 SEA Colton Gerrior (Sam Charko, Brendan Rudolph) 1-3	Charko on the rush has his shot saved by t bet k, but he gets his own rebound at the goal line and backhands a pass through the crease to Gerrior, who beats Kyle McDonough and has an empty net. That ended t bet k s stint.
1st 10:42 POR Cole Slobodian (Ryan Miller, Alex Weiermair) 2-3	Slobodian at the blue line has his shot blocked, but he gets it back from Martorana, gets into the high slot and wrists one in for his first WHL goal. Miller won a puck in the corner and got it back to Slobodian. Weiermair gets an assist for winning a faceoff, although there were 3 passes between Miller and Slobodian between the faceoff and the goal.
2nd 14:46 SEA Matej Pekar (Antonio Martorana) 2-4	Portland was having a decent stretch before allowing a backbreaking goal. Max P eni ka gives up a really bad turnover to Pekar near the Portland net, leading to a Martorana shot that hits the post, but P eni ka and Ryder Thompson can t clear the puck out, and Martorana s backhand slides past Marek Schlenker to the far post where Pekar gets a touch before it goes in.


Portland leads by 2+	0:00
Portland leads by 1	0:00
Tied	2:00
Portland trails by 1	29:23
Portland trails by 2+	28:37

Narratives

Pregame: After defeating the Wild, Portland remained in the middle of the race for the final playoff berth between Wenatchee and Seattle. Seattle started a 3-in-3 with a 4-point victory over Wenatchee on Sunday, despite having Friday off. Scott Ratzlaff began in what is probably going to be a hectic weekend for him, while Ondrej T. Bet K. started for the second consecutive game. Unexpectedly, Braeden Cootes, Seattle’s finest player, was scratched.

First period: The Winterhawks paid for starting the game a bit later than the Thunderbirds. Ondrej Stebetak gave up two shaky goals and wasn’t playing at his best. Less than ten minutes into the game, he was hooked. In the end, Portland improved their skating and performance after Cole Slobodian’s first WHL goal made it 3-2. They defeated Seattle 14–12 in the end.

Second period: After an even start, Portland played well and looked effective on power plays. However, Scott Ratzlaff was good in goal, and the Thunderbirds took a two-goal lead after a poor shift and a costly turnover.

Third period: Portland was unable to get within a goal thanks to Scott Ratzlaff. Despite having a strong power play and outscoring the Thunderbirds 15–6, the Winterhawks were unable to make an impact during the game.

1) Goaltending was the key to the victory. After giving up two goals early on, Scott Ratzlaff was excellent for Seattle, stopping 40 of 42 shots. Ondrej Stebetak didn’t last ten minutes after Portland made the odd choice to start him in a back-to-back situation.

2) The early start. Both teams have started slowly, but Portland got off to a relatively poor start—possibly due to the consequences of travel and an overnight stay. They lost 3-1, but that was plenty because the rest of the game was evenly distributed.

3) The Thunderbirds’ 4 for 5 penalty kill against a strong Winterhawks power play.

Important stretch/moment: The Thunderbirds took a 3-1 lead in the first minute thanks to goals from Matej Pekar and Colton Gerrior, who scored a fantastic fourth-line goal, 1:18 apart.

Unexpected: After 55 games, Cole Slobodian scored his first WHL goal.

Not surprisingly, Diego Buttazzoni responded to a game in which he had zero shots on Friday by winning by eleven shots on Saturday.

There are no disputes.

Portland outshot them 42-31, but it was only when they were trying to rally after falling behind by two goals. Which team won? As they increased their lead, the Thunderbirds outshot them. Therefore, I would answer yes.

Suspensions/injuries: Cooles had a scrape. Coster Dunn then blocked a shot and went out in the second. Thunderbirds persevered.

The players

Top 10		Stat line
Scott Ratzlaff	SEA	40 saves-42 shots	Didn t steal the game, but kept the Winterhawks from making a run. Was especially good on Portland 4 power plays when they were trying to get back in the game.
Matej Pekar	SEA	2 goals	Picked up the slack with Cootes out. 5 points in 5 games against the Winterhawks. 3-game point streak.
Radim Mrtka	SEA	1 assist	Another solid game for the likely NHL 1st-rounder. 3-game point streak.
Nathan Pilling	SEA	1 goal	3-game point streak.
Marek Schlenker	POR	22 saves-23 shots	Kept Portland in it after coming in from the bullpen. Will he start Monday?
Cole Slobodian	POR	1 goal	He s been showing a little more offense lately and it paid off with his first WHL goal.
Kyle Chyzowski	POR	1 assist	His line was the most dangerous for Portland, although frustrated by Ratzlaff. 3-game point streak (assuming he gets awarded the assist).
Diego Buttazzoni	POR	1 goal	8-game point streak.
Anthony Martorana	SEA	1 assist	Might get a second assist.
Sam Charko	SEA	1 assist	A nice backhand pass for a key Thunderbirds 4th-line goal.

Other notables		Stat line
Ondrej t bet k	POR	5 saves-8 shots	They took the gamble putting him in back-to-back games, and it backfired.
Coster Dunn	SEA	1 assist	3-game point streak. Left halfway through after blocking a shot.
Tyson Jugnauth	POR	1 assist	5-game point streak if he gets the assist on Buttazzoni s goal.
Alex Weiermair	POR	1 assist	4-game point streak.

Postgame

	Winterhawks	Thunderbirds
Record	29-19-2-1 (.598)	20-28-2-1 (.422)
Goals/game	4.0	3.0
Goals allowed/game	4.0	4.1
Team shooting %	.113	.095
Team save %	.883	.884
Power play	26.3%	20.1%
Penalty kill	76.7%	74.2%
Power plays for/game	4.2	3.4
Power plays against/game	3.7	4.3
Outshooting opponents	23-27-2	16-32-4
After 1 period	15-22-15	11-28-13
After 2 periods	20-25-7	13-31-8
Score, last 10 games	36-42 (-6)	35-34 (+1)
Score, last 20 games	83-84 (-1)	63-77 (-14)

The Portland Winterhawks

They’ve won two of their previous six games, but without Friday’s comeback in the third quarter, they could have easily lost all six. Two of the losses were caused by the scheduling, and they will have the schedule to their advantage for the game on Monday. Portland continues to lead Tri-City by two points and Vancouver, who won, by three.

The Seattle Thunderbirds

A significant victory, particularly without Cootes. With a 4-point victory over Wenatchee on Sunday and a matchup against Portland in Portland on Monday afternoon, they are one point ahead of Kamloops and two ahead of Wenatchee for the final playoff place.