PORTLAND, Ore. — The Seattle Thunderbirds chased the Portland Winterhawks all season in the Western Hockey League standings and never caught them.

The T-Birds are hoping to change that in their second-round playoff series, but they still have some heavy lifting to do.

The resilient Thunderbirds kept their hopes alive Saturday night with a 3-1 win in Portland and now trail the best-of-seven series 3-2. Game 6 will be played Monday in Seattle.

Henrik Rybinski, Nico Myatovic and Reid Schaefer scored for Seattle, while Robbie Fromm-Delorme had the lone goal for Portland. Seattle outshot Portland 37-33.

The winner of this series will face the winner of the Kamloops Blazers-Vancouver Giants series in the Western Conference final. The Blazers lead the Giants 3-2 in their series with Game 6 set for Sunday at Langley Events Centre.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2022