WCQF | Game #1 | Recap | Royals (3) @ Winterhawks (4)
Portland, OR – For just the second time in franchise history, the Victoria Royals (0-1) and Portland Winterhawks (1-0) met in the WHL postseason, ending a ten-year break since their last playoff meeting in 2013-14. The seventh-seeded Royals made their way into the Veterans Memorial Coliseum for a Friday night clash under the lights as they aimed to open the series with a pivotal lead over the second-seeded Winterhawks. Between the pipes, 20-year-old Braden Holt (21-17-4-3, 3.57 GAA, .894 save percentage) got the start for Victoria as he made his sixth career postseason start. On the other side, the Winterhawks countered with U.S. Division First Team All-Star Jan Špunar (25-6-2-1, 2.12 GAA, .913 save percentage) who made his tenth career playoff appearance.
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Victoria jumped out to a quick start as they sought an early advantage, firing five out of the first seven shots on goal. The early push from Victoria earned them the game’s first powerplay, as Marcus Nguyen was forced to take a slashing penalty just in front of his own net. Victoria wasn’t able to muster a goal with the extra man, but it provided the team with a positive road start.
Despite the positive start from Victoria, it was the Winterhawks striking first. The second Winterhawk named to the U.S. Division First All-Star Team, Luca Cagnoni (1), showcased his elite shot as he wired home the opening goal of the contest. Cagnoni received a feathered seam pass from Detroit Red Wings draft pick Nate Danielson before picking a lane and unleashing a wrist shot that evaded the reach of Braden Holt.
The lead wouldn’t last long for Portland, as the Royals bounced back with their first goal of the postseason. It took only 1:14 for Victoria to find the equalizer, with the Royals’ regular-season goal-scoring leader, Tyson Laventure (1), making his mark and grabbing his second career playoff goal. The equalizer came off a Deegan Kinniburgh face-off win to the right of Jan Špunar, and the Royals found possession following that. Laventure grabbed the puck near the high slot and released a quick snap shot that beat Špunar, and knocked the water bottle off the Winterhawks net to pull Victoria level.
The two mid-period markers were all that found the back of the net during the first, as Portland and Victoria entered intermission deadlocked at ones, with Victoria carrying a slight 10-9 advantage in shots.
The middle stanza looked like it would be a scoreless affair, as neither side could find the back of the net during the opening 18 minutes. There was just one penalty in the period, with Deegan Kinniburgh sitting for a mid-period slashing call. The Royals were able to kill off the penalty, with Braden Holt standing up to the challenge.
Late in the period, Victoria found their first lead of the game. It was long-time Royal Tanner Scott (1) notching his first-ever playoff goal in his first-ever WHL Playoff game. The go-ahead marker was sparked from a neutral zone interception by Victoria, who then moved the puck into the offensive zone with Casper Evensen Haugen. The puck was quickly moved over to Justin Kipkie, who fired the puck towards the net. Initially stopped by Špunar, the puck slipped through, and Tanner Scott finished the play off as he drove to the net and tapped the puck into the yawning cage to give Victoria the lead.
Tanner Scott‘s late goal in the middle frame sent Victoria into the second intermission with a one-goal cushion, while being slightly outshot, 18-15.
Portland came out storming in the final stanza, desperately looking for an equalizer, firing eight shots at Holt’s net in the first five minutes. They would break through exactly five minutes into the period, with Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Carter Sotheran (1) tallying the tying goal. The defenseman showcased poise at the blue line as he dragged the puck and drove the lane before wiring a wrist shot into the Royals’ net.
Midway through the period, Portland restored their lead. 20-year-old Gabe Klassen (1) finished off a two-on-nothing rush with James Stefan. Stefan fed the dashing Klassen with a backdoor tap-in as he lifted the puck high into the top corner to make it 3-2 in favour of the Winterhawks. Minutes later, they would strike again, with Luca Cagnoni (2) notching a powerplay goal for the home side as the Winterhawks doubled up on their lead. James Stefan and Nate Danielson grabbed the assists on the goal, as they also tallied their second points of the evening.
Victoria had chances late, heading to the man-advantage twice with Jack O’Brien and Josh Davies sitting for two-minutes apiece. The Royals threw several pucks towards the net, including two high-danger chances from right in front of the net of Špunar, but he was up to the task for Portland.
With just over a minute to go in the period, there was a flurry of penalties as both sides ignited a playoff rivalry which continued the parade to the penalty box, combining for 26 penalty minutes in the pile up. After the dust was settled, Portland earned the extra penalty in the end which sent the Royals to another late powerplay.
On the ensuing powerplay, with just 23 seconds to go, Victoria made it a 4-3 contest. It was Nate Misskey (1) scoring for Victoria as he tallied his first ever playoff goal, in first ever playoff game. Misskey got the puck from a cross-seem pass from Dawson Pasternak who made no mistake in finding the big blueliner.
The late tally was too little, too late, as Portland grabbed game one by a 4-3 decision.