RECAP: Hawks hit 100 points with 4-3 shootout win in Seattle

The Winterhawks capped off an incredible regular season with a thrilling 4-3 shootout win over the T-Birds in Kent.

Game #68: Portland (4) at Seattle (3) SO

SOG: POR (44) – SEA (32)

PP: POR (2/7) – SEA (2/4)

Saves: Maric (29/32) – Ratzlaff (40/43)

COMPLETE BOX SCORE

SCORING:

• POR – First Period – 10:49 – Diego Buttazzoni (29) from Josh Zakreski
• SEA – First Period – 17:02 – Nathan Pilling (18) from Eric Alarie and Sam Popowich
• SEA – Second Period – 3:34 – Jeremy Hanzel (17) from Sam Popowich and Nathan Pilling
• POR – Second Period – 6:04 – James Stefan (50) from Carter Sotheran and Justen Maric
• SEA – Third Period – 3:30 – Jordan Gustafson (12) from Braeden Cootes and Nico Myatovic
• POR – Third Period – 11:51 – Carter Sotheran (13) from Marcus Nguyen and Kyle Chyzowski
• SHOOTOUT
  • POR – Kyle Chyzowski

The Story:
The Winterhawks became the third WHL team to cross the 100-point threshold this season thanks to Kyle Chyzowski’s shootout heroics and Justen Maric’s 29 saves in a 4-3 SO win over the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Hawks boast points in 11 straight games (9-0-2-0) heading into the postseason.

Portland’s regular season concludes with a record of 48-15-4-1 (101pts, 2nd Western Conference). The Winterhawks also completed an unbeaten run against Seattle through the regular season (8-0-2-0) and their last regulation loss against the T-Birds came on March 24, 2023.

Each team scored once in each period to set the stage for overtime. Diego Buttazzoni opened Portland’s scoring for the third straight game with a shot from behind the net that ricocheted off Scott Ratzlaff and into the net at 10:49, but Nathan Pilling managed a response for the T-Birds later in the frame.

Jeremy Hanzel then gave Seattle a 2-1 lead early in the second, but James Stefan answered back with a highlight-reel effort to tie it, weaving through the Seattle defense and tucking a shot past Ratzlaff’s glove. The goal was Stefan’s 50th of the season, making him the first Winterhawk since Joachim Blichfeld in 2018-19 to post 50 goals and 100 points in a season.

Seattle again took the lead with Jordan Gustafson’s power-play marker at 3:30 of the third, but Portland once again had a response through a power-play strike of their own. Carter Sotheran netted the tying tally at 11:51 with a shot from the blue line that deflected home.

Neither team found paydirt in overtime, and Chyzowski’s goal was the only one of the shootout. Maric earned the win with 29 saves on 32 shots, while Ratzlaff faced down 40 of 43 Winterhawks attempts.

Portland’s next contest comes on Friday as they open the 2024 WHL Playoffs against the Victoria Royals at the VMC.

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