(Kennewick, WA) As the first half of the WHL schedule begins to wind down before the Holiday Break, the Tri-City Americans (12-14-2-1) and Portland Winterhawks (22-6-1-2) met for only the second time this season. The Americans were hosting their Teddy Bear Toss Night at the Toyota Center with a red-hot Portland team coming to town.
The Winterhawks entered the night on a five-game winning streak and winners of 11 of their last 12 contests.
Saturday turned into a breakthrough night offensively for Portland as they defeated Tri-City 8-1 in front of 5,219 fans.
17-year-old Tyson Kozak started the scoring for the Winterhawks when he buried a rebound home off a Cross Hanas shot. Kozak has seen his role increased as the year rolls on. Mike Johnston uses the Souris, Manitoba, native in all game situations. With his goal on Saturday, Kozak pushed his points streak to three games.
Portland held the territory advantage after the opening 20 minutes. However, they could only beat Talyn Boyko on one of their 15 first-period shots.
In the second period, defenseman Clay Hanus finished off a play started by Reece Newkirk in the corner. The New York Islanders prospect used his body to shield the puck before dishing off to Robbie Fromm-Delorme at the half-wall. With his head up, Fromm-Delorme sent a pass cross-ice which landed flat for Hanus to one-time from the top of the right circle.
Tri-City responded 47 seconds later to cut the Portland lead to 2-1 which also brought the Teddy Bears flying. Sasha Mutala led a rush through the neutral zone and down the right side. The 2019 Colorado Avalanche draft pick sent a pass to Krystof Hrbik who drove the net hard. The 20-year-old forward tipped the puck by Dante Giannuzzi who was making his first start of the season for the Winterhawks. Prior to his recent call-up, Giannuzzi had been playing in the MJHL.
A delay ensued as 4,917 teddy bears were cleaned off the ice — a new record number for the Americans.
Hrbik’s goal was the only one to get by Giannuzzi who was dialed in and stopped 17-of-18 shots.
Joel Hofer is away representing Canada at the World Junior Championships. In his absence, Giannuzzi and Isaiah DiLaura have filled in well for Portland. The duo has combined to stop 41-of-44 shots in the two games so far this weekend.
James Stefan restored the two-goal lead for Portland with a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot. The 16-year-old picked up the second goal of his rookie season.
With the score 3-1, the Americans had a chance to get the game back to a one-shot contest with a late second-period power play. Portland defended the first 1:16 of Tri-City’s man advantage before the horn sounded. 44 seconds of power-play time carried over into the third period.
The Winterhawks penalty killers did their job, killing off the remaining power play, which allowed the goal scorers to take over the game.
Five different Portland skaters found the back of the net in the third period, putting the game out of reach.
Gabe Klassen started the outburst of scoring with a hard forecheck. He stripped the Americans defender of the puck and used a backhand shot to find the back of the net for the fourth time in 11 games.
Four minutes later Cross Hanas hit the twine shortly after Tri-City killed a penalty. The young Texan’s initial shot was stopped by Boyko but was able to convert on the rebound opportunity. With his goal, Hanas’ point total hit three on the night. When Portland and Tri-City met to start the season back in September, Hanas also had a three-point evening.
Off a Jake Gricius faceoff win, Newkirk corralled a loose puck and snapped a shot home for his 12th of the season. Reece’s goal and assist performance on Saturday extended his point streak to seven games. During this stretch he has 11 points and a team-leading 37 on the 2019-2020 season.
Defenseman Nick Cicek joined in on the scoring party while the Winterhawks were on a five-minute power play. Landon Roberts was given a five-minute major for checking from behind on Gabe Klassen. Paycen Bjorklund served the penalty as Roberts was assessed a game misconduct as well on the play.
James Stefan earned the primary assist on Cicek’s goal. As a result, the Laguna Beach, California, native registered his first career three-point night in the WHL.
While on the same power play, Hanus netted his second of the evening and the final goal of the contest. The Minnesota-born defenseman found the back of the net for the eighth time this season, matching his total from a year ago.
Fromm-Delorme set up Hanus for the second time. In doing so, the 2020 NHL Draft eligible winger hit 20 points on the season, nine of which have come in the last five games. An upper-body injury sidelined him for several games, but since returning from injury, the Richmond, British Columbia, native has caught fire.
Portland’s victory on Saturday kept pace with the Everett Silvertips who also won. Entering their final game before the holiday break, Portland has a chance to go three-for-three on the weekend if they can beat rival Seattle on Sunday evening.
Tri-City is off until Tuesday and has two games remaining before their break starts. First, Seattle comes to Kennewick before the Americans travel to Everett on Wednesday.
Portland and Tri-City meet again right back at the Toyota Center after the break on December 27.
