Winterhawks Knock off Prince George for 13th Win in a Row
The Portland Winterhawks (39-12-2-3) made it 13 straight wins with an 8-4 victory in Prince George Monday against the Cougars (24-27-2-5).
The 13 consecutive wins are two behind the franchise record of 15 set in both the 1979-80 and 1997-98 seasons. The Hawks also had a 14-game streak last season.
Chase De Leo tied a career-high with five points (two goals, three assists), while Taylor Leier had four points (one goal, three assists).
Winterhawks defenseman Garrett Haar opened the scoring 7:25 into the game when his shot from the right faceoff circle beat Cougars netminder Adam Beukeboom for a 1-0 lead. Later in the period with the Hawks on a power play, De Leo collected a rebound and scored his 30th of the season to make it 2-0, which remained the score going into the second.
Prince George got on the board 2:18 into the second on a goal by Zach Pochiro, but the Hawks responded just 30 seconds later with a goal from Oliver Bjorkstrand as they regained the two-goal lead at 3-1.
Midway through the frame, De Leo scored his second power play goal of the game to push the lead to 4-1. The Hawks added to the lead when Paul Bittner banged in a rebound on a power play at the 15:31 mark for a 5-1 advantage. Pochiro scored late in the frame, his second, as Prince George cut it to 5-2 heading into the third.
The Cougars got within two when Brad Morrison scored a power play goal 6:03 into the third to make it 5-3, but the Hawks responded 1:32 later when Taylor Leier scored shorthanded to go back up by three, 6-3. After Prince George’s Marc McNulty scored a power play goal at the 11:24 mark, the Hawks came right back and scored shorthanded just 18 seconds later when Dominic Turgeon scored off a rebound on a two-on-one to make it 7-4. Keegan Iverson scored a late power play goal as the Hawks finished with the 8-4 win.
Portland scored six goals on special teams in the win, four power on the play goal and two shorthanded.
The Hawks and Cougars meet again Wednesday in Prince George at 7 p.m.
