The Kelowna Rockets opened a three-game road trip on a winning note.
At Portland, it was scoring by committee on Wednesday evening, with seven players reaching the scoresheet, as the Rockets downed the Winterhawks 4-3.
Only one Rocket had more than one point, and that was Ethan Mittelsteadt, who finished the night with a goal and an assist in the back-and-forth game.
Luke Schelter, Kayden Longley and Hiroki Gojsic also scored for Kelowna (22-22-3-0), which trailed 1-0 just four minutes into the game, but wound up scoring the next two goals en route to a 2-2 tie after 20 minutes.
In the second period, Longley scored at 4:01, with Gojsic making it 4-2 at 8:54. However, Portland closed to within one at 16:23 before what would be a scoreless third.
Hudson Darby, Josh Zakreski and Marek Alscher replied for Portland (31-12-2-1),
Portland outshot Kelowna 34-23, with Jari Kykkanen making 31 saves for the Rockets and Nick Avakyan turning aside 19 shots for the Winterhawks.
Kelowna was 1-for-3 on the power play while Portland was 0-for-2.
The two teams will play again in Portland on Friday night, with the Rockets then travelling to Spokane (17-23-4-0) to battle the Chiefs on Sunday.
Next week, the Rockets will appear on national television, with their home game against Victoria on Wednesday, Feb. 7, being played on TSN.
Viewers will also be able to take in the game on the CHL’s mobile app, or on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and online.
Wednesday’s results
- Prince Albert 4, Red Deer 3
- Saskatoon 9, Regina 1
- Swift Current 6, Lethbridge 0
- Everett 8, Tri-City 2
Friday’s games
- Red Deer at Brandon
- Calgary at Edmonton
- Spokane at Everett
- Wenatchee at Kamloops
- Prince Albert at Moose Jaw
- Kelowna at Portland
- Swift Current at Regina
- Medicine Hat at Saskatoon
- Prince George at Vancouver
- Seattle at Victoria
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