PORTLAND — In the end, the Portland Winterhawks didn’t have the firepower to overcome one of the best defenses in the Western Hockey League.
That end came for Portland on Wednesday, a 4-2 loss to the Everett at the Moda Center as the Silvertips swept the first-round playoff series.
Playing from behind throughout the series, and playing without its two best forwards, Portland could not break through. Portland held a lead for less than three minutes in the series, and the Silvertips held strong to third-period leads in all four games as the Winterhawks did not score a third-period goal in the series.
Portland had won its previous seven first-round playoff series and had not been swept since a 4-0 loss to Tri-City in 1999.
The loss of Paul Bittner to hip surgery in December and of team captain Dominic Turgeon to shoulder surgery this week certainly did not help a Portland team lacking the special firepower Winterhawks fans have watched during the club’s five consecutive trips to the conference finals.
But Portland coach and general manager Jamie Kompon would not use that as an excuse.
“There’s no excuses. You want someone be your hero. You want someone to step up,” Kompon said, noting that rookie goalie Mario Petit won the first three games for Everett before starter Carter Hart returned for Game 4.
Ultimately, a Silvertips team built to play with the lead did just that the whole series.
“I think our biggest problem in the series is we got down (early) in three of the four games,” Winterhawks goalie Adin Hill said after making 30 saves. “We needed to get that first goal and carry it from there because they’re very good once they have the lead.”
On Wednesday, the Winterhawks twice answered Everett goals as defensemen Blake Heinrich and Keoni Texiera scored power-play goals. But the key tally came moments after a potential momentum-shifting moment.
Late in the second period, Hill came up big as Portland killed a five-on-three power play. But Cole MacDonald’s second goal of the game came 32 seconds from the end of the second period after a delay of game penalty put the Hawks right back on the penalty kill.
“We were the root of our own problem tonight. We took way too many penalties,” Kompon said. “We did a great job killing that 5 on 3 off and the next thing you know we give up the next one. It was all self-inflicted.”
Both teams finished 2 for 6 on the power play.
But Kompon said that Portland’s penalties left some key players sapped for energy.
A lot of Portland’s trouble stemmed from the quick, smart decision making by Everett’s defensemen, especially in the Silvertips own zone.
Hart, who made 28 saves in his return from injury, came up big on a breakaway chance for Evan Weinger early in the second period. Moments later Dewar scored on the rush for a 2-1 Everett lead.
That was the way momentum went all series.
“It’s very disappointing,” Kompon said. “Offensively, we’ve got scoring by committee most of the year and in the series we were unable to do it.”
