Matthew Wolfe
Game Recap, U.S. Division

Seattle Thunderbirds secure 3-2 win over the Portland Winterhawks

Written by Lizz Child on

 

In the middle game for both the Seattle Thunderbirds and Portland Winterhawks 3-in-3 weekends, the Thunderbirds secured a 3-2 win over the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday night.

In the first of this weekend’s two meetings between the Winterhawks and the Thunderbirds, the team in blue proved victorious behind a rookie goaltender and three new goal scorers.

This was the first regulation loss of Portland’s season as the Winterhawks see their record fall to 2-1-2-0.

Opposite that, Seattle has improved their record to 3-1-0-0, and currently, they sit second in the division early in the season.

Jarvis gets his first of the season

Seth Jarvis broke the seal and scored his first of the season for the Winterhawks in the fifth game. Making an impressive pass, Reece Newkirk found Jarvis for the game’s opening goal. It just happened to be the one that got the monkey off the back of the Manitoba native forward.

The assist also marked Newkirk’s sixth point through Portland’s first five games this season.

Meanwhile, the secondary assist went to Ryder Thompson for his first career point in the WHL.

The other goal scorer for Portland was Simon Knak, who the night before had discussed wanting to score at even strength as both of his previous goals this season had come shorthanded.

Seattle goal scorers get their firsts

Lucas Ciona scored just over halfway through the game for his first of the season for the Thunderbirds. In fact, all three goal scorers for Seattle tallied their first of the season in the game. Payton Mount and Jordan Gustafson scored the second and third goals for the Thunderbirds.

Another night for goaltenders

Facing a season-high 40 shots, Winterhawks’ goaltender Dante Giannuzzi was tested often in this game. In the first period alone, Giannuzzi saw 16 shots come his way. Starting his second game in as many days, he managed to keep the Winterhawks within striking distance for the duration.

On the other end, Jackson Berry appeared in his first game in net for the Thunderbirds on Saturday night. Allowing just two goals on 30 shots, the rookie goaltender was outstanding en route to his first win with the Thunderbirds. Berry’s win comes the day after Seattle’s other goaltender, Thomas Milic, earned his first shutout win.

These two teams meet again Sunday, March 28, with puck drop once again scheduled for 5:05 pm PDT.