A tired Portland Winterhawks team plays a solid 3rd game in 3 nights, bouncing back from some poor performances to beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-3 and end a 4-game losing streak.

Portland’s top players, Alex Weiermair and Ryan Miller, each had 3 points, while Seattle’s more impressive top stars were shut out. Some of Seattle’s other players had big nights, and kept the game close, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Thunderbirds’ second straight loss after winning five in a row.

After 3 points out of 6 possible for the weekend, the Winterhawks remain in 7th, now 4 points above the playoff line.

Pregame: Portland looking to break their losing streak after a bleak 3rd period on overtime Friday against the Thunderbirds and a shoddy most-of-the-game against the Vancouver Giants on Saturday. Seattle also had a 3-in-3, but had a lot easier travel than Portland’s Seattle-to-Vancouver-to-Portland weekend.

Seattle had a shakeup in goal. Grayson Malinoski, who played well against Portland on Friday, likely would have started, but Marek Sklenicka got hurt in the 1st period of their Saturday game with the Everett Silvertips, and Malinoski had to play an extra 40-plus minutes (and got torched). Sklenicka apparently got a clean bill of health, so they went with the more rested goalie.

1st period: Tone set with a Thunderbirds penalty in the 1st minute. Then Brayden Holberton reacted to a hit by Kyle McDonough by getting him in a one-man fight. He got McDonough pretty good and ended his night, but he also got a game misconduct and 5-minute major, which Portland scored on.

2nd period: The Winterhawks, who have had some stretches of cratering lately, almost had another after going up 2-0. They were outhshot 8-1 and gave up a goal. But they turned it around and extended the lead to 4-1 before Seattle got one back near the end.

3rd period: A solid period for Portland, made tighter on a late Thunderbirds goal. But a penalty by Coster Dunn near the end proved costly. Portland was able to run a lot of time off during the delayed penalty (and passed up the chance to run off more) and then were able to keep the puck and keep the Thunderbirds from pulling the goalie until well into the last minute. The Thunderbirds got a couple of good looks but couldn’t tie it.

Portland Winterhawks

3 out of 6 for the weekend, and if they’d played just a little better it could have been 6 out of 6. It’s a hard team to figure out sometimes.

Seattle Thunderbirds

An emotional win on Friday was followed by a blowout loss and then a struggle in the rematch. A 5-game winning streak put them into playoff contention. Now with 2 games in Central BC they’re in danger of falling right back out of it.

Friday 2/27 at Victoria, 7pm PST

Saturday 2/28 at Victoria, 4pm PST

Next home game: Saturday 3/7 vs. Everett, 6pm PST

Looking ahead: Sunday 3/8 vs. Tri-City, 4pm PDT

Next game versus Seattle: Saturday 3/14 at Seattle, 6pm PDT

Well, it’s become pretty obvious by now that one of the Seattle Mariners’ best recent moves was acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor from the Cleveland Guardians late last season. After re-signing with the club following a short stint in 2025, the 28-year-old has clearly fallen head over heels for the Emerald City. And he’s not afraid to let anyone who’s listening know about it.

“[Seattle is] just full of energy,” Naylor has said about the city and its people. “An awesome fan base, who loves baseball, loves to watch their hometown team win, and I think we really feed off that as a group. I mean, I sure do, and I can say 100% sure that everyone else does.”

“We have such loud fans. And [the Mariners] do a great job of keeping the fans excited — in between innings, in between pitches. I love playing here.”

Cheeky fun for an important cause! Cupid’s Undie Run hit the streets of Seattle on Saturday. The ‘pantsless party with a purpose’ raises awareness and funds for neurofibromatosis, a group of genetic conditions that cause tumors to grow on nerves. Seattle’s quirky Fremont neighborhood was the perfect backdrop for the event. The fun run wound through Gas Works Park during the 1-mile(ish) route, followed by drinks and dancing at the popular Fremont Dock sports bar. (Image: Elizabeth Crook / Seattle Refined) Feb. 21, 2026 ~{a href=”https://cupids.org/” target=”_blank” title=”https://cupids.org/”}Learn more here{/a}.~