WHL HEADLINES – Wednesday Night Recap

HAWKS PULL OFF O/T WIN IN GAME SEVEN – Jon Bubnick scored 10:25 into overtime to lift the visiting Portland Winter Hawks to a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in the seventh and deciding game of their KalTire Western Conference quarter-final series on Wednesday, April 5th.
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rWith the overtime victory, the Winter Hawks win the best-of-seven opening-round series four games to three and advance to meet the Vancouver Giants in the Western Conference semi-final.
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rBrandon Dubinsky (pictured) netted a goal and three assists for the Winter Hawks, who came back from a 3-0 first-period deficit, while Jannik Hansen – also with a goal and three assists – and Michael Sauer also counted in the victory. Rookie netminder Kurtis Mucha stopped 27 of 30 shots to take the victory. The series win marks the first time since the 2000-01 campaign that the Hawks have advanced past the first round.
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rAaron Gagnon scored a natural hat trick in the opening stanza for the Thunderbirds, who dropped their third game on home ice of the series, while netminder Bryan Bridges turned in a 39-save effort in a losing cause. With the defeat, the T-Birds lose the best-of-seven series and are eliminated from the post-season.
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