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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Winterhawks remain hopeful

After dropping two games at home over the weekend the Portland Winterhawks remain optimistic with the next three games of their Western Hockey League best-of-7 series with the Spokane Chiefs at the Arena.

Why not, considering the 'Hawks went 4-0 in Spokane. A note of caution, though, those four games were all in the first half of the season, the 2009 half. But you didn't expect the Winterhawks to say they're not going to show up, did you. Their side of the story from The Oregonian correspondent, Scott Sepich.

Back after tonight's game.

By Scott C Sepich  

History is not on the side of the Portland Winterhawks as they try to
rally in their Western Hockey League playoff series against Spokane.

The Hawks have never rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a postseason
series. That is the challenge they face -- for the 10th time in 34
years -- after they lost the first two games of the best-of-seven
Western Conference quarterfinals at the Rose Garden last weekend.

But perhaps a trip to eastern Washington will be a blessing in
disguise for the Winterhawks, who were 23-13 on the road this season,
including a 4-0 record at Spokane Arena, where Game 3 begins at 7 p.m.
Wednesday.

Game 4 on Friday and Game 5 (if necessary) on Saturday also will be in Spokane.

"We've been a great road team," Hawks forward Chris Francis said.
"We're going to go there and play a simple game and grind it out and
try to get a couple of wins."

Fifth-seeded Portland must win at least two of three games played in
Spokane this week to force a Game 6 at the Rose Garden on Monday.

As for what went wrong last weekend, the Hawks pointed to
inconsistency and a disparity in playoff experience between their team
and fourth-seeded Spokane.

"We played three good periods of hockey here," Hawks coach Mike
Johnston said. "Unfortunately, they weren't all in the same game."

Johnston referred to the first two periods Saturday, when the Hawks
built a 4-2 lead in Game 1, and the first period Sunday in Game 2,
after which they led 1-0.

The Hawks were outscored 3-0 in the third period of Game 1 (a 5-4
loss) and 4-1 over the final two periods of Game 2 (a 4-2 loss).

With nearly every Spokane player sporting extensive playoff experience
and the Hawks featuring three with any postseason history, the gap has
been difficult for Portland to overcome.

Experience "played a big role in Game 1," Spokane coach Hardy Sauter
said by phone Tuesday. "Being down two goals twice, our group didn't
panic. They've done this before. They stuck together and came out and
played a real good third period."

The decisive turnarounds in both games, Sauter said, weren't a result
of any shift in strategy.

Spokane "talked about intensity and effort" in the locker room between
periods. "We didn't start either game with good energy, but we
regrouped," Sauter said.

"There are times when we didn't handle the moment," Francis said,
reflecting on the first postseason games of his career. "We're
learning. We're not getting outplayed by any stretch. They're just
taking advantage of some opportunities. "

To get back into the series, Johnston is relying on the leadership of
his veterans and the confidence the team built in its four
regular-season wins in Spokane.

"When this team gets its first win in this series, it's going to do a
lot for our momentum," he said. "And it's not like we're going
somewhere we haven't played well, so that helps."

Sauter knows his team is in for a fight.

"We're happy with the results so far and feel good about our
position," he said. "Portland has had success in our building, though,
so this is far from a slam dunk for us."

Notes: Portland forward Taylor Peters suffered a knee injury blocking
a shot on Sunday and will miss the remainder of the playoffs. ...
Portland defenseman Luca Sbisa and Spokane forward Kyle Beach, both
nursing injuries, squared off in a fight at the end of the first
period Sunday. "If you can take a guy like Beach off the ice for a
while, you do it," Sbisa said. Beach had 52 goals and 34 assists in 68
regular-season games. Beach and Sbisa were teammates in Lethbridge
last season. ... Said Sauter: "I don't think either guy won the fight.
But it gave our bench some energy."
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