Winterhawks trip up Silvertips in Game 1 of semifinals

EVERETT — If the Portland Winterhawks felt any lingering fatigue from playing a seven-game first-round series, it did not show.

The Winterhawks controlled the game from start to finish as they knocked off the Everett Silvertips 5-2 before 4,286 fans in Game 1 of the WHL Western Conference semifinals Friday at Angel of the Winds Arena.

“They skated better, they competed harder,” Everett head coach Dennis Williams said. “We have to learn from it. There were times in the game we started to play, but our consistency wasn’t there. We need better efforts and better compete (levels) from more players.”

Portland, which needed seven games to dispatch Spokane in the first round after building a 3-1 series lead, never trailed Friday and finished with a 36-34 shot advantage.

John Ludvig finished with a goal and an assist while Ty Kolle and Kieffer Bellows each had two assists to lead the Winterhawks.

Cody Glass’s sharp-angle shot through Carter Hart’s legs at 9:57 in the third was the dagger that restored Portland’s three-goal lead.

The Tips had an excellent chance to pull within one goal several shifts earlier when Patrick Bajkov emerged from the penalty box and took a stretch pass for a breakaway attempt, but was unable to get a shot off against Portland netminder Cole Kehler.

Instead the score remained 4-2 before Glass extended the lead.

“They have big players and they stepped up today,” Everett co-captain Matt Fonteyne said. “I don’t think it caught us by surprise. We just didn’t play the way we needed to right off the start.”

Everett trailed by a pair of goals after both of the first two periods. In-between, however, the Tips appeared poised for a comeback.

Facing a three-goal deficit early in the second, Fonteyne got one back for Everett at 12:36 when he followed an Ian Walker shot and buried the rebound to make it 3-1.

Sean Richards then brought the Tips within a goal at 3-2 when he roofed a wrister over Kehler off the rush at 18:53.

But then Skyler McKenzie finished a feed from Bellows with just 1.1 seconds remaining in the second. That restored Portland’s two-goal advantage as the Winterhawks took a 4-2 lead into the second intermission.

“I credit our guys coming back there in the second,” Williams said. “Obviously some bad decision-making led to that fourth goal and credit to Portland they didn’t quit to the buzzer on that … That probably brought down our energy level a little bit.”

The Winterhawks had pushed their lead to 3-0 at 2:52 in the second when Ludvig’s wrister from the left circle beat Hart through traffic.

“They just got pucks to the net and outmuscled us,” Williams said. “We got caught puck-watching on a couple of them and that’s what happens. It’s a good wake-up call.”

Portland built the quick 2-0 lead in the opening period on the backs of its non-star players.

Third-line center Jake Gricius scored the first goal of the series just 2:13 into the opening period as he tapped in a cross-crease feed at the right post.

Fourth-line winger Conor MacEachern then pushed the advantage to 2-0 when he followed a rebound and flicked it past Hart into the open net.

“In the playoffs it’s not only the superstars or top players who get all the goals or the chances,” Fonteyne said. “It’s sometimes the guys that don’t show up on the scoresheet that kind of step up and play a big role.”

Both teams came up empty on their lone power-play opportunity.

Kehler saved 32 of Everett’s 34 shots to earn the victory. Hart surrendered five goals on Portland’s 36 shots.

Game 2 is at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Angel of the Winds Arena.

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Winterhawks 5, Silvertips 2

Portland 2 2 1 — 5

Everett 0 2 0 — 2

1st Period—1, Portland, Gricius 2 (Ludvig, Mannek), 2:13. 2, Portland, MacEachern 1 (Newkirk, Kolle), 9:32. Penalties—No Penalties.

2nd Period—3, Portland, Ludvig 1 (Kolle), 2:52. 4, Everett, Fonteyne 4 (Walker, Bajkov), 12:36. 5, Everett, Richards 2 (Pilon), 18:53. 6, Portland, McKenzie 3 (Bellows), 19:58. Penalties—No Penalties.

3rd Period—7, Portland, Glass 4 (Bellows), 9:57. Penalties—Texeira Por (high sticking), 2:02; Bajkov Evt (holding opp. stick), 5:52; Newkirk Por (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 19:51; Richards Evt (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 19:51.

Shots on Goal—Portland 17-14-5-36. Everett 9-14-11-34.

Power Play Opportunities—Portland 0 / 1; Everett 0 / 1.

Goalies—Portland, Kehler (34 shots-32 saves). Everett, Hart (36 shots-31 saves).

A—4,286