Ryan Fromm-Delorme scored with 10:15 left in overtime, as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Everett Silvertips 3-2 to win the series 4 games to 1.
Portland dominated most of the game, but some Everett power play goals had Portland trailing 3-2 after 2 periods. They needed a 4-minute power play to get the tying goal from James Stefan midway through the 3rd to tie the game and force overtime.
Portland is into Round 2, which makes this season a success. They’ll open next Friday and Saturday against the Memorial Cup host Kamloops Blazers.
| 17:39 POR Gabe Klassen (Marek Alscher, James Stefan) 1-0 | |
| 36:51 EVT (pp) Austin Roest (Raphael Pelletier, Jesse Heslop) 1-1 | |
| 38:36 EVT (pp) Jackson Berezowski (Raphael Pelletier, Roan Woodward) 1-2 | |
| 48:29 POR (pp) James Stefan (Luca Cagnoni, Marcus Nguyen) 2-2 | |
| 69:47 POR (pp) Robbie Fromm-Delorme (Gabe Klassen, Jack O’Brien) 3-2 |
| Lead | Time |
|---|---|
| Portland leads by 2+ | 0:00 |
| Portland leads by 1 | 19:12 |
| Tied | 40:42 |
| Portland trails by 1 | 9:53 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 0:00 |
Pregame: The Silvertips trying to get it to Game 6 in Everett, where they feel they’ll have a chance to steal the series. Portland trying to not let them do that.
1st period: A 13-4 period for the Winterhawks, and while it took them forever, they eventually got the goal they deserved.
2nd period: A 14-6 period for Portland, but they could make it count. Then they got into penalty trouble, and Everett’s star players, Austin Roest and Jackson Berezowski cashed in with a goal each, and Everett went into the 3rd up 2-1 despite being outshot 27-10
3rd period: The Winterhawks got a 4-minute power play on a high-sticking double-minor by Beau Courtney, and Portland cashed in to tie it on James Stefan’s goal.
Overtime: Everett did get chances, Portland got a couple more, and got the winner from Fromm-Delorme to win the series.
Won on offense, defense, or special teams: Portland tied it and won it on special teams, but Everett took the lead on special teams when it didn’t look like they’d score another way. So you can call that even. Portland’s offense generate 43 shots and did enough to win it earlier.
Best team won?: Yes.
Injuries/suspensions: In the end, it was too many injuries for Everett, most notably Ben Hemmerling, who would have made it more of a series. Portland’s worry moving forward is Aidan Litke missing his second game after making it back for the first three. Portland will need all their players back for the Kamloops series.
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabe Klassen | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | Saved his biggest game for the last of the series. Scored the first goal and set up the winner. |
| Robbie Fromm-Delorme | POR | 1 goal | The veteran gets the series winner. |
| Tyler Palmer | EVT | 40 saves-43 shots | Kept Everett in it longer than they had any business being in it. |
| James Stefan | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | He finishes as the series’s leading scorer with 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points. The tying goal when it looked like Portland might be in trouble. |
| Raphael Pelletier | EVT | 2 assists | He finishes his WHL career with a 3-game point streak. |
| Luca Cagnoni | POR | 1 assist | Assist on Stefan’s tying goal. 3 points in 5 games, he’ll need a little bit more for Kamloops. |
| Ryan McCleary | POR | A good defensive game including a backcheck on Roest. | |
| Jackson Berezowski | EVT | 1 goal | Gave Everett their final lead of the season in his 288th and final game. Co-leading scorer for Everett in the series with 4 goals and 1 assist. Finishes his career with a 3-game point streak. |
| Austin Roest | EVT | 1 goal | Matches Berezowski with 4 goals and 1 assist for the series. |
| Marek Alscher | POR | 1 assist | 3 assists in the 5 games, welcome extra production for Portland. |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Špunar | POR | 19 saves-21 shots | Started the series well, finsishes it with a .928 save percentage. |
| Jack O’Brien | POR | 1 assist | 2 goals, 3 assists for the series. |
| Marcus Nguyen | POR | 1 assist | The top player for Portland as they took the series lead, finishes with 4 goals and an assist in the 5 games. |
| Winterhawks | Silvertips | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 44-21-5-3 | 34-36-2-1 |
| Goal difference | +26 | -24 |
| Goals/game | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| Goals allowed/game | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| Power play | 24.5% | 21.0% |
| Penalty kill | 82.2% | 77.2% |
| Power plays for/game | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| Power plays against/game | 4.1 | 3.5 |
| Outshooting opponents | 51-20-2 | 37-33-3 |
| After 1 period | 28-19-26 | 29-27-17 |
| After 2 periods | 32-26-15 | 34-31-8 |
| Score, last 10 games | 29-31 | 25-33 |
| Score, last 20 games | 54-65 | 56-75 |
Portland Winterhawks
Once Seattle and Kamloops made their trade deadline moves, this series was always going to be the determiner of how Portland’s season went. They passed the test. Which didn’t always look good during their long losing streaks, most notably the 10-3 loss in Everett a month ago.
Kamloops will be tough; Portland will go in as giant underdogs, even underdogs just to win two games.
Everett Silvertips
In the end, just not enough depth. They determined the direction of their season when they traded Olen Zellweger and Ryan Hofer to Kamloops for a giant haul. They’ll be better in the future for that, and the most it potentially cost them was a 5th seed, which may not have gotten them a better playoff matchup.
They’ve made the playoffs every year of their existence (when it’s been possible). They should make it next season but much more than that will be tough.
Friday at Kamloops, 7pm (Game 1)
Saturday at Kamloops, 7pm (Game 2)
Looking ahead: Wednesday 4/19 vs. Kamloops, 7pm (Game 3)
Looking ahead: Thursday 4/20 vs. Kamloops, 7pm (Game 4)
Looking ahead: Saturday 4/22 at Kamloops, 7pm (Game 5 if necessary)
Looking ahead: Monday 4/24 vs. Kamloops, 7pm (Game 6 if necessary)
Looking ahead: Wednesday 4/26 at Kamloops, 7pm (Game 7 if necessary)
Next Everett game: Preseason.