Jan Špunar named WHL Goaltender of the Week
The Portland Winterhawks Hockey Club is proud to recognize goaltender Jan Špunar, who was today named WHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending April 21. The league’s announcement follows below.
Portland Winterhawks netminder Jan Špunar has been named Giuseppe WHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending April 21, 2024, the Western Hockey League announced Monday.
This is the second time the 19-year-old has won the award, in addition to a WHL Goaltender of the Month win in September/October.
Špunar led all WHL goaltenders with a 2-0-0-0 record, a 1.32 goals-against average, a .959 save percentage and a shutout this week to remain undefeated in the postseason.
🎥SAVE OF THE NIGHT🎥
Big Spoon always wins.@RealCdnSS | @pdxwinterhawks #NHLDraft | #SaveoftheNight | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/AwKLVMJnON
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 16, 2024
The 6-foot-3, 199-pound netminder faced a barrage of shots in Game 3 against the Everett Silvertips on April 15. Despite going down 3-0 early in the second period, Špunar shut the door as the Winterhawks slowly clawed back to force overtime. The Winterhawks sophomore’s night was highlighted by a penalty shot save on Carter Bear with the game tied 3-3 in the third period. He stopped all eight shots he faced in the extra frame while Carter Sotheran netted the game-winner for Portland. Špunar steered aside 44 of 47 shots for his busiest game of the 2023-24 WHL season.
With the Winterhawks leading the series 3-0 and with a chance to punch their ticket to the next round, Špunar turned in his strongest performance of the postseason in Game 4. The Olomouc, Czechia product denied all 27 shots he faced for his first shutout of the WHL season to eliminate the Silvertips and earn first star of the game.
Špunar is 8-0-0-0 in the 2024 WHL Playoffs with a 1.94 goals-against average, a .931 save percentage and one shutout.
The 2024 NHL Draft-eligible netminder is coming off a solid regular season that saw him post a 25-6-2-1 record, a 2.12 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage, earning a nomination for the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy for WHL Goaltender of the Year.
The U.S. Division champion Winterhawks head north to face the Prince George Cougars in the Western Conference Championship, beginning with Game 1 on Friday, April 26 at 7:00 p.m. PST.
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