The COLUMBIAN Sunday, October 9, 1983
Vancouver, Wash
by LYNN MATTHEWS The Columbian
PORTLAND - Peter Fry turned back 45 shots and Alfie Turcotte scored three goals in 1:11 as teh Portland Winter Hawks beat Victoria 7-3 in Saturday's Western Hockey League game at Memorial Coliseum.
It was the third win in a row for the Winter Hawks and the second victory in as many starts for the 16-year-old Fry, who lives in Victoria during the off season.
Despite the nifty net work by Fry, Portland didn't take control of the game until late in the second period when Turcotte figured in four straight goals. Turcotte set up Brian Benning for a goal to snap a 2-2 tie 12 and a half minutes into the second period, then sent the 6,179 fans into a frenzy with three consecutive power-play goals in the final minutes of the period.
Turcotte seemed to hold the puck for an eternity on his first goal. He took a feed pass from Grant Sasser, then controlled the puck until defenseman Rob Kivell and goaltender Darren Moren both went to the ice. Turcotte then lifted the puck into the empty net.
He scored off a Jim Playfair rebound 49 seconds later. Turcotte completed his hat trick with a backhander on a breakaway, making it 6-2 and virtually locking up the game.
But the night belonged to Fry who turned down an offer from the Victoria Cougars and elected to play for the Winter Hawks.
"He was terrific" Portland coach Ken Hodge said of Fry. "I"m so happy to see a yound goaltender come in and play as strongly as he did. This is good for our entire team. It's a confidence booster for our defense."
"I'm glad to get that home opener out of the way. I was really nervous," Fry Said. "The team helped me out a lot. The players were talking to me and the defensemen did a good job of clearing the puck from in front of the net"
"I'm not used to facing 48 shots, but it does keep you in the game. I thought I played well, but I did get a bit lucky."
"The way the game was officiated, it was our power play against their penalty killers and vice versa. We were much stronger in goal, much stronger at penalty killing and much stronger with a man advantage," Hodge said.
Turcotte, playing his first Memorial Coliseum game since being named most-valuable player in the Memorial Cup, picked up where he left off to finish with three goals and an assist.
"When you're on the power play, your goal total goes up about 10 a season," Turcotte said.
"We were kind of dead the first period, but we got good saves from little French Fry. We got our confidence in the second period," he said.
Turcotte, Rich Kromm, Grant Sasser and Terry Jones led a penalty killing unit which frustrated Victoria's power play. The Cougars scored once in nine power-play opportunities, including 3:54 with a two-man advantage.
"Victoria likes to have one man carry the puck into the zone on the power play. If you can stand that guy up at the blueline, he doesn't have anyplace to go," Turcotte said of Portland's Penalty Killing.
Gordon Walker had two goals for the Winter Hawks, while Jones and Benning added one each.
The Winter Hawks have a week off before facing Western Hockey League champion Lethbridge at Memorial Coliseum next Saturday.
