RECAP: Sotheran, Davies strike twice as Hawks hold off Tips for 6-4 win

The Winterhawks weathered a late storm and rode a pair of two-goal showings to a 6-4 win over the Everett Silvertips on Sunday.

Game #19: Portland (6) vs. Everett (4)

SOG: POR (40) – EVT (34)

PP: POR (2/3) – EVT (3/5)

Saves: Špunar (9/9), Brunen (21/15) – Chadwick (34/39)

COMPLETE BOX SCORE

SCORING:

• POR – 4:40 – First Period – Jack O’Brien (6) from Luca Cagnoni and Gabe Klassen
• EVT – 13:24 – First Period – Austin Roest (13) from Teague Patton
• POR – 19:17 – First Period – Josh Davies (12) from James Stefan and Gabe Klassen
• POR – 1:49 – Second Period – Marcus Nguyen (7) from Nick Johnson and Jack O’Brien
• POR – 19:33 – Second Period – Carter Sotheran (4) from Josh Davies and Luca Cagnoni
• POR – 2:14 – Third Period – Carter Sotheran (5) from Marcus Nguyen and Diego Buttazzoni
• EVT – 3:36 – Third Period – Dominik Rymon (13) from Austin Roest and Julius Miettinen
• EVT – 10:42 – Third Period – Andrew Petruk (1) from Julius Miettinen and Carter Bear
• EVT – 12:21 – Third Period – Austin Roest (14) from Dominik Rymon and Julius Miettinen
• POR – 19:08 – Third Period – Josh Davies (13) from Gabe Klassen

The Story: 

Carter Sotheran and Josh Davies each scored twice for Portland as the Winterhawks held off a late Silvertips charge for a 5-4 win at the VMC on Sunday evening.

Goaltender Jan Špunar began the game with nine saves on nine shots for the Hawks, but left the game with an apparent injury in the first period. Rookie netminder Luke Brunen took over from there to earn his second WHL win with 21 saves on 25 shots. Everett’s Ethan Chadwick posted 34 saves on 39 shots in his team’s loss.

Portland dominated play early on and found a reward 4:40 into the contest on Jack O’Brien’s sixth of the year. Luca Cagnoni’s shot from the blue line hit a few bodies in front before settling on the stick of O’Brien at the left post, who quickly made it 1-0 Hawks. Everett found its legs and equalized 10 minutes later through Austin Roest, but a run of four consecutive Portland goals gave the Hawks a healthy lead.

Davies picked up the first of that run, scoring with just 43 seconds left in the first period as he finished off a stellar solo effort from James Stefan that yielded a handful of rebounds before the Florida Panthers prospect slotted it home. Marcus Nguyen was next, tucking in a nifty pass from Nick Johnson behind the net to make it 3-1 early in the second, followed by the first of two from Sotheran. The big blueliner showed off his skating to take the puck down the left wing and around the net before depositing the puck on his backhand late in the middle frame.

Sotheran grabbed his first career multi-goal game with another strike in the third, firing a rocket from the blue line on the power play just 2:14 into the final period to push Portland’s lead to four. But with plenty of clock left, Everett pushed back and made it a one-goal game with three goals in just under nine minutes. Dominik Rymon potted the first at 3:36 on the power play, followed seven minutes later by Andrew Petruk’s first of the year at 10:42 and another for Roest at 12:21. That was as close as they’d come, though, as Brunen and the Hawks held firm and Davies potted an empty-netter to seal Portland’s win.

The Winterhawks are back in action at the VMC on Wednesday night at 7:00 P.M. for their first meeting with the Victoria Royals.

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