The Moda Center in downtown Portland, Oregon, was rocking on Saturday night. The reigning Western Conference champion Vancouver Giants (10-8-1-1) were in town completing the second half of a home-and-home with the Portland Winterhawks (11-5-0-1).
A crowd of 8,026 were on hand to witness two of the top teams battle for 65 minutes and a nine-round shootout. In the end, the home fans went home happy after Mason Mannek scored and Joel Hofer stopped Evan Patrician in the ninth round.
The Winterhawks defeated the Giants 2-1.
“I was telling (Nick) Cicek on the bench, this crowd, this is the coolest crowd ever,” Mannek said postgame. “When we talked about it in the room, this was one of those games you are going to remember for a long time.”
Justin Sourdif and Dylan Plouffe did their best to silence the home crowd. The duo went in on a two-on-none breakaway. Sourdif’s pass was just in front of Plouffe; however, the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native did not give up on the play. While falling, he got the puck back to the 2020 NHL Draft eligible forward who fired it high over Hofer’s glove.
“It was a nice goal, obviously a great finish. He has a knack for the net, and he got his opportunity and made the most of it,” Vancouver head coach Michael Dyck said about Sourdif’s goal.
A few minutes later, the Winterhawks and their fans thought they tied the game when Reece Newkirk put the puck into the net. However, the referee blew the whistle for a Newkirk slashing minor penalty. An upset fan base and head coach Mike Johnston voiced their disapproval.
After the game, Johnston said the explanation he received from the referees was, “They thought it wasn’t a hockey play, knocked his stick out his hands. I don’t understand.”
Rather than letting the non-call get the team down, Portland responded via a big-time fight by 18-year-old Kishaun Gervais.
Gervais and forward Justin Lies dropped the gloves in a spirited fight with both players landing several punches.
During the preseason, the two fought as well. “I saw that we needed momentum, and I asked the guy I fought in preseason if he wanted to go again,” Gervais explained. “He was willing to do it, so props to him. He is probably the toughest 16-year-old I’ve ever seen in my life. It was probably one of the better fights I’ve ever had. To see this building, how fired up they were, I was just trying to do my part.”
Jack O’Brien and Mason Mannek agreed about the momentum it brought to their bench. O’Brien said, “It fired the boys up a lot. It got the crowd into it, got everyone into it, and everyone went out competing and battling.” Mannek added, “(Kishaun) is an energy player, a great guy in the room. He did that in preseason as well. He deserves a lot of credit because he is not a very big guy, but he takes on big guys to get momentum for the guys. A lot of credit to him. He really got us going.”
The momentum shifted to the Winterhawks’ side of the ice. Vancouver took two penalties, giving Portland time on the man advantage. Even though they were unable to convert, the power play kept the energy in the building and bench up.
A few minutes later, Kishaun’s linemate, O’Brien, scored to tie the game. Nick Cicek’s point shot was deflected in by the Colorado native.
“I just went hard to the net, stood in front, got a good stick on it, went five-hole pretty sure,” O’Brien said while describing his goal. “It was just an amazing feeling, just the best feeling in the world, especially in front of that crowd we had tonight. I think it was a big momentum change for the team, and we really believed we were back in the game.”
Johnston agreed and praised the young line of James Stefan, Jack O’Brien, and Kishaun Gervais. “I think anytime those young guys can chip in, it really helps. (O’Brien) went to the net, stood in front of the net, and tipped the puck there. I thought that that was a key thing. Gervais has the fight, so their line had a big impact on the game with a goal and a fight. I think both of those were momentum turners for the game.”
Neither team was able to solve Hofer or Trent Miner more than once during regulation and overtime. Both goaltenders made some big saves to keep their teams alive.
Hofer stopped 30-of-31 Vancouver shots, while Miner saved 27-of-28 from Portland.
Following a thrilling back-and-forth overtime period, the Zamboni completed the dry scrape for what proved to be a long, nine-round shootout.
The teams matched one another through the first eight rounds. Jaydon Dureau and Cross Hanas converted on their shootout attempts for Portland, while Vancouver received shootout goals from Bowen Byram and Tristen Nielsen.
The ninth round was Mason Mannek’s opportunity to win the game. “Actually, Jaydon Dureau tried to tell me what to do, what he saw when he went in. I completely blanked and did my own thing, but it ended up working out.”
Mannek’s goal meant Patrician had to convert to extend the shootout, but once again, Hofer answered the call for the Winterhawks. Portland picked up both points and earned a split with Vancouver in their home-and-home.
“It was a long shootout. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a shootout that long,” O’Brien said.
Michael Dyck felt, “It was a hard-fought game with two good teams. I thought it certainly had a playoff feel on a back half of a doubleheader. A good defensive effort, good goaltending, could have been anyone’s game.”
Mike Johnston expressed, “I didn’t like our game (Friday) night so that’s the first thing. We needed a response (Saturday). I thought we had the response that we needed. Them scoring first gave them a little bit of momentum. Their first power play was really good, gave them the shot advantage. I thought from that point on the game was really even. Great goaltending at both ends, both goaltenders made phenomenal saves, a lot of traffic in the crease.”
A special teams goal could have been the difference-maker in the game, but neither team was able to convert on the man advantage in four chances.
“The penalty kill was outstanding,” Dyck said. “The guys did a great job of getting in the lanes. Trent Miner was very good for us, made good saves when he needed to. Our penalty kill guys did a great job.”
Portland’s penalty kill is also in the midst of a strong run. Dating back to October 11th — their last ten games — the Winterhawks have successfully killed off 39-of-41 opponents’ power plays. During this time, they also have scored two shorthanded goals of their own.
Unfortunately for Vancouver, their power play was unsuccessful on Saturday. Dyck said the team will “keep working on it. It needs to be better. We are getting some good looks and just aren’t finishing. We need to stick with it.”
The Giants’ power play currently sits at 18th in the league after Saturday night.
In the end, perhaps this was a preview of what could come when the WHL playoffs roll around.
Mannek said, “It was awesome, a great bounceback from (Friday) night. We didn’t have the strongest game yesterday, but I thought the boys came out really hard. That is what you ask for. When the playoffs come around, you want games like this for experience. I think we handled the pressure really well.”
“I called it a ‘classic’ game,” Johnston said. “It is one of those games you will always remember. It was hard-fought, good battles, good skill out there on the ice, great plays, good hockey players both ways. I think if you’re a fan, or you want to be a fan of the game, this was the game to be at for sure.”
Portland is off until Friday when they kick off a three-in-three with a home game against the U.S. Division rival Spokane Chiefs.
Vancouver meanwhile is off until Saturday when they will host Prince George.
