Hawks shoot way to opening win

Mac Carruth gets the hugs after stopping the third Everett penalty shot, preserving a 1-0 edge that won the game.

Photo by Cliff Pfenning, oregonsports.com

The Portland Winterhawks celebrated their run to the Western Hockey League final by raising a banner Friday, then thrilled home fans with an exciting 3-2 win in a shootout over Everett in the opening game for both teams at the Rose Garden.

Defender Derrick Pouliot scored the lone goal of the shootout on the Hawks third and final try, just before Portland goaltender Mac Carruth stopped Everett's third try that set off a spirited celebration in front of a crowd of 6,342 for the Hawks.

"It felt good to get the season going again," said Carruth, the Hawks main goalie from a year ago. "We've got high hopes for this team, maybe even higher than last year."

Taylor Peters, fresh from training camp with the Minnesota Wild, and rookie Nic Petan, fresh from bantam league play scored for Portland, which plays at Seattle Saturday and at Tri-City Sunday.