The Portland Winterhawks’ road loss to the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2, puts a dent in their hopes of making the playoffs when they go scoreless in the final 41 minutes of play.
Although Kyle Chyzowski and Diego Buttazzoni each scored two points, Portland struggled to find other ways to score.
With the game-winning goal and an empty net goal, Kamloops’ Emmitt Finnie made a comeback to the starting lineup. Logan Edmonstone won by stopping 34 of 36 shots.
It was the first of three away games for Portland.
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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
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1st 7:01 KAM Beau Courtney (Ty Bonkowski) 0-1 |
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1st 8:47 POR Kyle Chyzowski (Diego Buttazzoni, Jordan Duguay) 1-1 |
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1st 16:39 KAM Tommy Lafreniere 1-2 |
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1st 19:00 POR Diego Buttazzoni (Tyson Jugnauth, Kyle Chyzowski) 2-2 |
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2nd 5:11 KAM (PP) Emmitt Finnie (Tommy Lafreniere, Jordan Keller) 2-3 |
| 3rd 19:46 KAM (EN) Emmitt Finnie 2-4 |
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Portland leads by 2+ |
0:00 |
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Portland leads by 1 |
0:00 |
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Tied |
21:04 |
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Portland trails by 1 |
38:42 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 0:14 |
Narratives
Pregame: The Winterhawks began their last significant road trip of the regular season as the clear favorites. Their goal was to maintain their lead over the Vancouver Giants for fifth place in the Western Conference. Kamloops was attempting to maintain its position in the last playoff place competition. They replaced number two scorer and NHL draft prospect Nathan Behm with top scorer Emmitt Finnie, who had been absent for nine games.
First period: Portland’s top line creates two goals, even in both goals and shots, on two occasions when defensive zone blunders put the Winterhawks behind.
Second period: Kamloops scored the lone goal on the power play in a calmer second period. With Portland spending more time killing penalties, it was a fairly level session once more.
Third period: During the first half and most of the period, Kamloops played strong defense. In contrast to so many other third periods this season, Portland got rolling as Desperation Time approached but was unable to find the goal. Logan Edmonstone also performed well in goal. The Blazers received an empty-netter as time ran out.
How it was won: 1) Kamloops pitched a shutout on Portland’s other lines, despite the fact that their top line was deadly.
2) Kamloops only took three penalties, which helped them win the special teams game 1-0. They stayed out of the box against the Winterhawks, which is the line against them.
3) Portland turnovers are exploited by the Blazers. Portland committed turnovers in their half of the ice, which led to three of Kamloops’ four goals.
4) The Blazers were greatly boosted by Finnie’s comeback.
Important stretch/moment: The final ten or so minutes, during which the Winterhawks had some opportunities but were never able to score the game-winning goal.
That Portland’s special teams lost was unexpected. They are now in fourth place and their special teams goal differential is +18.
It should come as no surprise that Kamloops, who leads the league in the number of power plays allowed (3.1 per game), outperformed that by allowing only three.
There are no disputes.
Given the disparity in records, Portland wouldn’t have wanted to see a 50/50 game where the best team prevailed.
Suspensions/injuries: Nathan Behm’s injury, which appeared to have occurred during practice, may have played a significant role but did not.
The players
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
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Logan Edmonstone |
KAM |
34 saves-36 shots |
It looks like the Blazers have found a goalie for the next couple of years. |
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Emmitt Finnie |
KAM |
2 goals |
Came back nicely after missing 9 games. |
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Kyle Chyzowski |
POR |
1 goal, 1 assist |
3-game point streak. |
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Diego Buttazzoni |
POR |
1 goal, 1 assist |
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Ondrej t bet k |
POR |
30 saves-33 shots | Can t be faulted much for the goals. |
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Ryan Michael |
KAM |
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Harrison Brunicke |
KAM |
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| Tommy Lafreniere | KAM | 1 goal, 1 assist | |
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Jager Gugyelka |
KAM |
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| Beau Courtney | KAM | 1 goal |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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Tyson Jugnauth |
POR | 1 assist | 3-game point streak. |
| Josh Zakreski | POR | 4-game point streak snapped. |
Postgame
| Winterhawks | Blazers | |
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Record |
31-23-2-1 (.570) |
21-31-4-1 (.412) |
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Goals/game |
3.9 |
3.1 |
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Goals allowed/game |
4.0 |
4.1 |
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Team shooting % |
.110 |
.094 |
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Team save % |
.883 |
.881 |
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Power play |
24.9% |
25.6% |
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Penalty kill |
76.5% |
75.6% |
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Power plays for/game |
4.2 |
3.6 |
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Power plays against/game |
3.7 |
3.1 |
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Outshooting opponents |
26-29-2 |
23-33-1 |
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After 1 period |
16-24-17 |
18-22-17 |
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After 2 periods |
21-28-8 |
16-29-12 |
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Score, last 10 games |
31-38 (-7) |
25-36 (-11) |
| Score, last 20 games | 74-83 (-9) |
59-85 (-26) |
The Portland Winterhawks
Portland maintains a two-point advantage over Vancouver and Tri-City in the race for fifth place after Vancouver also lost.
The Kamloops Blazers
Their victory put them three points clear of the final playoff spot.
Next games
Victoria, Friday, 2/28, 7 p.m. PST
Victoria, Saturday, March 1, 6 p.m. PST
Kamloops on Wednesday, March 5, at 7 p.m. PST
Future plans: Friday, March 7, 7 p.m. PST vs. Seattle
