The Portland Winterhawks dropped a 4-3 decision to the Calgary Hitmen Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in front of 4,372 fans.
Portland (43-8-1-2) controlled play through the first period, outshooting Calgary 15-5. They scored the lone goal of the frame at the 13:31 mark when defenseman Shaun MacPherson scored on a shot from the point to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead going into the second.
The Hitmen (34-16-1-3) evened the game 8:47 into the second on a power play goal by defenseman Alex Roach to make it 1-1. It remained tied until late in the second, when the Hawks scored twice in 14 seconds to go ahead 3-1. First Ty Rattie scored on a power play at the 17:16 mark, followed quickly by Brendan Leipsic to give Portland a two-goal lead going into the third.
Calgary got one back 56 seconds into the third on a goal by Cody Sylvester to cut Portland's lead to 3-2, then tied it at the 6:57 mark on a goal by Brooks Macek. It remained tied until there was 1:32 remaining, when Sylvester scored his second of the night to make it 4-3, which would stand as the final.
Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski played his 222nd straight game tonight, setting a new franchise record for consecutive games played, passing Andrew Ference's mark.
Next: Portland at Kelowna, 7p.m. Friday (radio on (KPAM860)
-- From Portland Winterhawks information services