PORTLAND — Nic Petan was on a knee, practically inside his own goal, his shoulder injured and his heart aching.
A night that had started so well for his Portland Winterhawks turned out to be the last time Petan would play for the team.
“It’s over. It’s the last time I throw on the jersey, last time I play on that ice, last time I see those fans,” the Winterhawks team captain said of his thoughts as he watched the Kelowna Rockets celebrate the Western Hockey League’s Western Conference championship. “It’s a little sad to think about it.”
The sad truth for these Winterhawks is that a deep and determined Rockets team responded in championship form on Sunday, winning Game 6 by a score of 8-4 to close out the best-of-7 series. Kelowna will face Brandon for the WHL title, ending a run of four consecutive WHL finals appearances for the Winterhawks.
Sunday’s game could not have started much better for Portland, which jumped to a 3-0 lead as Chase De Leo scored two goals and set up Adam Henry’s goal as the Winterhawks knocked starting Kelowna goalie Jackson Whistle out of the game 13:30 into it.
But that development turned out to be significant as backup goalie Michael Herringer played hero.
Herringer stopped 30 of the 31 shots he saw after Portland scored three goals on its first eight shots with Whistle in net.
Perhaps the biggest of those denied De Leo a hat trick midway through the second period on a power play that produced several promising chances. Herringer’s right pad denied De Leo’s back-door chance, then Leon Draisaitl rushed up ice to create the tying goal as Madison Bowey found a rebound for a short-handed goal that tied the score at 3-3.
“That was the tipping point right there,” Winterhawks coach Jamie Kompon said. “We still had more to give and we did. They scored and we responded and I think our guys just ran out of gas at the end.”
The Rockets went up 4-3 on a Tyson Baillie goal 6:58 into the third period. The Hawks answered just over a minute later when Keoni Texeira took a back-hand pass from Paul Bittner and scored from in close.
But Kelowna silenced the Moda Center crowd of 8,490 when a centering pass on the rush from Justin Kirkland hit traffic in front and bounced under the crossbar to give Kelowna a 5-4 lead. Less than two minutes later it was 6-4 as Cole Linaker converted from a Portland neutral zone turnover.
A pair of empty-net goals then sealed the series for the Rockets.
As they did in dominating the Game 5 overtime period, the Rockets kept the Winterhawks pinned in for long stretches starting late in the first period and through the first half of the second period. Kelowna’s depth and skilled defensemen took over the game at times.
“From their (defensemen) to their forwards, their puck movement’s probably the best in the league that I’ve seen,” Petan said.
Better composure was needed in those moments, Kompon said.
“Having composure, taking a breath. You get the puck, move your feet and good things happen. Everything changes once you move your feet,” Kompon said. “I think we just started playing ping pong with it and we were under heat.
“Give them credit. We can say what we want. You knew they were going to have a push. They’re a deep hockey club,” Kompon added.
In fact, the Rockets were without forwards Rourke Chartier and Tyrell Goulbourn on Sunday, and have battled injuries throughout this playoff season.
“The injuries that they did have, they had someone to step up and take his spot,” Kompon noted. “Credit to them.”
Petan played in his league record 88th playoff game on Sunday and with two assists had at least a point in all 17 playoff games this season. He found it a bit ironic that he finished it with a bum left shoulder from a second period injury that prevented him from taking faceoffs.
“Game 88 and it just so happens that you’re falling apart in the last game,” he said.
The Winterhawks dream of a fifth consecutive conference title crumbled in a five-goal third period for Kelowna. But Portland players tried to look at the big picture at the end.
“It’s been a really good three years. It’s kind of tough to see it end this way when you feel you can do more,” said Oliver Bjorkstrand, who figures to be joining the Columbus Blue Jackets after putting up 118 points in 59 regular-season games and 13 goals and 12 assists in 17 playoff games. “Of course looking back it’s been a good year personally. But it’s a team sport and you want to win, and if you don’t win it’s not the best feeling.”
