Hockey weekend recap: Hawks take 2-0 lead

April 9, 2012, 8:40 am

In a carryover from game 1 Friday night in which the Winterhawks scored 4 times in the final 11 minutes to win 5-3, despite being down 1-0 in the first 30 seconds of the game, Kamloops came out hard, physical and ready to fight. Only the Winterhawks don't always fight with words. Hawks take 2-0 lead. Here's how it happened, your weekend recap.

Game 1, Friday night:

The Portland Winterhawks scored four goals in the third period as they overcame a two-goal deficit to earn a 5-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers Friday in Game 1 of their second round playoff series in front of 6,109 fans at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Ty Rattie and Sven Bartschi picked up right where they left off in the first round sweep of Kelowna, as Rattie had two goals and two assists for four points, while Bartschi had one goal and three assists for four points.

Kamloops opened the scoring 24 seconds into the game when Matt Needham tipped in a shot from the point to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead. They made it 2-0 when Jordan DePape scored at the 7:56 mark, and while the Hawks held a 16-11 advantage in shots on goal in the frame it remained 2-0 going into the second.

The Hawks got on the board 5:41 into the second when Rattie fired a shot that beat Kamloops netminder Cole Cheveldave to cut the Blazers’ lead to 2-1. Kamloops regained a two-goal lead at the 9:11 mark when Chase Souto scored to make it 3-1, a score that would stand through the end of the period.

Down 3-1 midway through the third, the Hawks staged the big comeback to take the lead. It started when Bartschi and Rattie scored just 1:07 apart to tie the game at 3-3. Rattie’s goal was his second of the game and league-leading 12th of the playoffs. Then at the 14:47 mark with Portland on a power play, Brad Ross scored on a shot from the slot to give the Hawks a 4-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Ross added a shorthanded goal into an empty net with 29.4 seconds left to seal the 5-3 win.

Mac Carruth earned the win with 26 saves on 29 shots.

Coach Johnston after the game talking about the poise of the team, being able to come back from a 3-1 whole, scoring 4 in the final 11 minutes.

Click to listen to Brad Ross

Game 2, Saturday night:

Sven Bartschi scored twice as the Portland Winterhawks defeated the visiting Kamloops Blazers 4-1 Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in their second round playoff series in front of 6,445 fans at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.  

Like Game 1, it was a big third period that led the Hawks to the victory, as they scored three goals in the final frame to pull away for the win.

The two teams played a scoreless first period, and the game remained 0-0 through most of the second, with the Hawks finally breaking through for a goal with just 46.4 seconds in the second when Sven Bartschi scored to give Portland a 1-0 lead going into the third.

After the late second period goal, Portland then got two early third period goals as Taylor Leier and Cam Reid scored back-to-back in the first 1:15 of the period to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead. The Blazers got one back 39 seconds after Reid’s goal as Chase Souto got them on the board to cut the lead to 3-1.

The Hawks got that one back at the 7:12 mark when Bartschi got his second of the game while on a two-man advantage to put Portland back up by three, 4-1. Through a physical third period, the Hawks maintained the lead to finish with the win and take the 2-0 series lead.

Mac Carruth was outstanding in net, making 39 saves on 40 Kamloops shots to pick up the win.

Cam Lanigan started in net for Kamloops in place of Cole Cheveldave, who was injured in Friday’s Game 1 in a collision with Winterhawks forward Oliver Gabriel, who sat out tonight’s game due to suspension.

The series now shifts to Kamloops for Game 3 Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Game 4 Wednesday at 7 p.m

After the game: Coach Johnston talks about a hard fought game, showing resilience and not backing down.



Ty Rattie reacts to being the target of some vicious checks from behind, sporting a shiner above his right eye, his team picking him up after an early first period exit from a penalty, and taking a 2-0 advantage.



Joe Morrow, who got the early boot for a 10 minute misconduct penalty, reacted to the bush league hits placed on his teammates, his aggressiveness in being willing to fight with anyone and everyone, and passing the time on the bus on road trips.



Also, check out this great story done by Jim Beseda from the Oregonian, talking about the great 1-2 punch of Sven Bartschi and Ty Rattie, and their tale of the season playing together. Find the story here.