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View Full Version : Rattie's overtime goal lifts Winterhawks to win



Malc
05-07-2011, 12:04 PM
By Jim Beseda

Ty Rattie was in the right place at the right time for the Portland Winterhawks Friday night.

Rattie tipped Craig Cunningham’s shot from the left wing past Kootenay goalie Nathan Lieuwen for a power-play goal 55 seconds into overtime, lifting the Winterhawks to a 4-3 victory over the Ice in opening game of the WHL championship series at the Rose Garden.

Sven Bartschi added two first-period goals for Portland and goalie Mac Carruth finished with 39 saves as the Winterhawks took their first step toward a possible Memorial Cup berth before a crowd of 7,595.

“It was a big win for our club,” Portland coach Mike Johnston said. “We dropped the first game in the last two series, so that was a key, key game for us.”

“Right up to the end of the third period, we had opportunities to win that game, but we were just a little bit short,” Kootenay coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’re going to have to be better to beat the Portland Winterhawks.”

The overtime period opened with 1:04 remaining on a penalty to Kootenay’s James Martin, and the Ice came close to killing off their sixth consecutive short-handed situation on the night when Rattie scored the game-winner.

Derrick Pouliot started the scoring play with a pass from just inside the blue line to Cunningham, whose shot from the on the left wing, and Cunnigham fired a shot that found its way onto Rattie’s stick.

“Craig was either shooting it or aiming for my stick,” Rattie said. “I just had my down and it luckily went in.”

Defense took a backseat to offense in a wide-open first period that saw the saw the Winterhawks emerge with a 3-2 left and the teams unloaded 14 shots on goal apiece.

Bartschi opened the scoring when he drove the net from the left wing and beat Lieuwen to the short side for his seventh goal of the playoffs at 2:06.

From there, the teams traded goals, Hayden Rintoul connecting for the Kootenay, Bartschi notching his second for the Hawks, and Joe Antilla answering for the Ice before Nino Niederreiter put back his own rebound with 3.9 seconds remaining in the period to give Portland the lead.

“Everybody in the building and on both benches was wondering if it was going to be a 10-9 game,” Johnston said. “Neither coach probably really liked the start. I’m sure the players did a little bit, but the game settled out, and that’s what happens with two opponents that really don’t know each other that well.”

After a scoreless second period and an extended delay midway through the third to repair a loose pane of glass in the Portland attacking zone, Kootenay’s Kevin King scored the tying goal on a transition rush with 8:49 to play in regulation.

King, the Ice’s fleet-footed 20-year-old left wing, got behind Hawks defenseman William Wrenn on the left wing and snapped a wrist shot the sailed over a sliding Taylor Aronson and past Carruth on the short side for his second goal of the playoffs.

Shots favored the Ice 15-7 in the third period, but the Winterhawks came away with an advantage when Martin was called for tripping at 19:04, giving Portland a power play that carried over to the first minute of overtime and ultimately snapped Kootenay’s 11-game winning streak in the playoffs.

“They had a lot of excitement, feeding off their home crowd, and we looked like a team that hadn’t played for nine days,” Knoblauch said. “As the game went on, I thought we got a lot better.

“I thought we did a good job on the penalty kill most of the night. They did have their opportunities, but … that’s one thing I think we need to address and stay out of the penalty box a little bit more.”

http://www.oregonlive.com/hawks/index.ssf/2011/05/whl_championship_series_ty_rat.html