The Portland Winterhawks picked up a point in the standings Saturday, but fell 4-3 in a shootout in the Seattle Thunderbirds’ Western Hockey League season opener at the ShoWare Center in Kent.
Roberts Lipsbergs netted Seattle’s first two goals.
Portland (1-0-0-1) recovered from the 2-0 deficit with a second period goal by Ethan Price and a third period goal from Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Seattle got the lead back with a power-play goal from Jerret Smith, and Portland’s Chase De Leo put in the equalizer with about 7 minutes remaining in the game.
Seattle’s Mathew Barzal and Portland’s Nic Petan each scored in the first round of the shootout, while Seattle’s Alexander Delnov and De Leo for Portland were each denied in the second round, keeping it at 1-1 after two rounds.
Branden Troock then scored for Seattle in the third round, and when Bjorkstrand was stopped by Thunderbirds netminder Justin Myles it sealed Seattle’s victory.
