Portland Dominates Defensively- Win 3-0 and Take 3-1 Series Lead

It was back to business as usual for the Hawks on Wednesday night in Kamloops as their defense once again dominated a seemingly over matched Kamloops squad 3-0. Portland got it's 2nd shutout of the series and 4th of the playoffs. They scored a couple first period goals and then road out the storm as Kamloops threw everything they had at the Hawks in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Games 5 goes Saturday night in Portland at the Rose Garden.

Seth Jones

Portland, for the 2nd game in a row was given a 5 on 3 power play. This, time it was Blazer's D-man Joel Edmundson taking down Nic Petan in front of the net from behind. Petan would get his revenge on the 5on 3, just 2:09 into the game when he banged home a back door feed from Ty Rattie, scoring his 7th of the playoffs.Then 11:43 into the game, Seth Jones used a Brendan Leipsic screen in front of the net, to score from the point, his 4th of the playoffs. The Hawks took a 2-0 lead into the 2nd, after out shooting Kamloops 12-6.

The Blazers would rebound and create their best scoring opportunities in the 2nd period, most coming from the top unit of J.C. Lipon, Tim Bozon and Colin Smith, as expected. They were foiled however, by an inability to finish in close, 2 posts and Carruth smothering any juicy rebounds.

Brendan Ranford

Nic Petan would make sure that they rued these missed chances, when he poked home a rebound off  a Ty Rattie shot for his 2nd of the game and 8th of the playoffs. Kamloops had a golden opportunity with 8:35 left in the game, when Keegan Iverson was penalized for charging. It was deemed by the linesman that Iverson checked Ranford high and to the head, meaning Kamloops had a 5 minute power play. Iverson was also given a game misconduct. Without Ranford, who left the game, their power play sputtered and Portland was able to coast to the Game 4 victory.

Carruth stopped all 29 shots he faced and Cole Cheveldave was 24 of 27. Portland finished 1/7 on the power play and Kamloops was 0/4.

3 Stars:
#3- Seth Jones- His calming presence once again anchored the Hawks defense. He also contributed offensively in this one, scoring once and setting up another.

#2- Ty Rattie- 3 assists take his career playoff points up to 88. He has 10 points in 4 games, in this series so far.

#1- Nic Petan- Was strong on the puck all night and won key battles, both in the faceoff circle and in the corners. His play on both ends of the ice has been really key to the Hawks ability to switch from defense to the attack seamlessly.

Random Notes:
-Iverson was not given a suspension for the Ranford hit, as it was deemed he made contact with Ranford's chest, not his head.
-Carruth got his 7th playoff shutout,  extending his team record.
-Rattie is now 3rd on the all time WHL playoff scoring list, behind former Blazer Greg Hawgood, who has 100.
-Iverson and Paul Bittner's physical play was key in the game and I could not see Coach Travis Green changing the lineup at all, unless injuries occur.
-Edmonton dominated Calgary 7-3, to know the series up at 2 games a apiece, heading back to Edmonton.
-Griffin Reinhart, Edmonton's Captain and the New York Islander's first round pick's foot was sliced by a skate in game 3 and it seems likely he is done for the season.