Coming off an 8-2 loss the last time the two teams played, the Portland Winterhawks put a more competitive game together against the Everett Silvertips, but still lose 3-0, in a game that breaks Everett’s 16-game losing streak at Memorial Coliseum.
Everett had not won in Portland since November 16, 2021.
Conversely, it’s the Winterhawks’ fourth loss in a row.
The Winterhawks put more of an emphasis on defense against Everett and it worked to a large extent, holding them to 2 goals plus an empty-netter and holding a team averaging 40-plus shots per game to 30. But they sacrificed some offense to do so, and couldn’t get the goal that would have made the game closer and possibly give them energy to get over the line.
| 1st 6:00 EVT Nolan Chastko (Tyler MacKenzie, Jesse Heslop) 0-1 | A turnover at center ice gives the Silvertips an odd-man rush, and MacKenzie gets it to Chastko for the goal. |
| 2nd 10:07 EVT Beau Courtney (Carter Bear, Landon DuPont) 0-2 | Courtney from the right dot. The one blemish on goalie Marek Schlenker’s record; he’d probably want that one back. |
| 3rd 19:56 EVT (EN) Tyler MacKenzie 0-3 | Portland pulled the goalie for the last 3 minutes, and did a good job hanging on to keep the puck out, but MacKenzie got the goal seconds before time was to run out. |
| Portland leads by 2+ | 0:00 |
| Portland leads by 1 | 0:00 |
| Tied | 6:00 |
| Portland trails by 1 | 24:07 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 29:53 |
Pregame: A battle for 2nd place in the US Division. Or, a Portland team on a 3-game losing streak against an Everett team that just went 5-1 in the east and is considered a favorite in the Western Conference. The ancillary stuff seemed to favor the Silvertips: Everett being fresher, Portland still missing Diego Buttazzoni to suspension, Portland’s backup goalie versus Everett’s number one.
1st period: A 4-4 period in shots, with Everett getting the only goal. Winterhawks concentrating note on defense after giving up 8 to the Silvertips the last time.
2nd period: A contentious period with a lot more shots. Portland carried the play for some of it, but got scored on at the end of their good stretch. Portland after 2 was ahead on the shot total, a big surprise.T
3rd period: Everett ground Portland down and won the shot totals for the game. The Winterhawks probably needed one goal to get their energy level up, but it never came.
How it was won: Goaltending and defense.
Key stretch/moment: Middle part of the 2nd period. The Winterhawks threatened but couldn’t convert the tying goal, and then Beau Courtney got a somewhat soft goal to make it 2-0.
Surprising: Portland held scoreless on the power play after 8 power play goals in their previous 3 games.
Not surprising: Everett coming from behind in the 3rd to win the shots. Portland made a good game of it, and is getting better in this area, but the Silvertips have outshot the opponent in all 10 of their games.
Best team won?: Yes.
Injuries/suspensions: Diego Buttazzoni served game 2 of his 3-game suspension, on another night when Portland could have used him. Kyle McDonough didn’t play in the second half of the game and would presumably be a question mark for the Sunday game.
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Sanche | EVT | 26 saves-26 shots | Off to a great start with the Silvertips after coming over from Kamloops. A competent but not spectacular game. Very much a shutout belonging to the whole team. |
| Beau Courtney | EVT | 1 goal | A strong game with his 2nd goal of the season after 17 last season. |
| Marek Schlenker | POR | 27 saves-29 shots | Has had two good starts as the number two goalie, against two good teams, and is making the case for more consideration as the number one. |
| Tyler MacKenzie | EVT | 1 goal, 1 assist | 4-game point streak; tied at the top of the league for even-strength points. |
| Landon DuPont | EVT | 1 assist | Their top 4 defensemen–DuPont, Jamieson, Hammell, and Smith–were all very strong. |
| Eric Jamieson | EVT | ||
| Kaden Hammell | EVT | ||
| Tyson Jugnauth | POR | Finished at -3 which is harsh on him. He was arguably Portland’s best skater, moving the puck and creating chances. 4-game point streak snapped. | |
| Tarin Smith | EVT | ||
| Nolan Chastko | EVT | 1 goal | 19-year-old rookie from the Manitoba league gets the game’s opening goal. |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dominik Rymon | EVT | Rymon and Miettenen were quiet and haven’t broken out offensively yet. If will be a big deal for Everett when they inevitably do. | |
| Jesse Heslop | EVT | 1 assist | 9-game point streak. |
| Kyle Chyzowski | POR | 4-game point streak snapped. Given the game’s third star, which is really poor for the team staff. | |
| Julius Miettinen | EVT | ||
| Josh Zakreski | POR | A lot of chances, as judged by his 8 shots, but couldn’t get the finish. |
| Winterhawks | Silvertips | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 6-4-1 (.591) | 8-2 (.800) |
| Scored/allowed (diff) | 40-46 (-6) | 45-24 (+21) |
| Goals/game | 3.6 | 4.5 |
| Goals allowed/game | 4.2 | 2.4 |
| Power play | 26.9% | 22.5% |
| Penalty kill | 83.3% | 78.9% |
| Power plays for/game | 4.7 | 4.0 |
| Power plays against/game | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| Outshooting opponents | 2-8-1 | 10-0 |
| After 1 period | 2-6-3 | 5-2-3 |
| After 2 periods | 2-6-3 | 8-1-1 |
| Score, last 10 games | 35-44 (-9) | 45-24 (+21) |
| Score, last 20 games | 65-75 (-10) | 73-58 (+15) |
Portland Winterhawks
They gave a good effort and it’s encouraging that they could put in a more defensive game. But this game was always going to be gravy, and the big one is on Sunday at Tri-City.
Everett Silvertips
Now tied for 2nd overall in the league. They have three home games against teams below .500 before a rematch in Portland next Sunday.
Sunday at Tri-City, 4pm PDT
Saturday vs. Edmonton, 6pm PDT
next Sunday vs. Everett, 4pm PDT
Looking ahead: Friday 11/1 at Spokane, 7pm PDT
