Nguyen nets hat trick to lead Winterhawks past Cougars

PORTLAND, Ore. — While coming onto the ice in front of a glitzy red hue, Marcus Nguyen picked a good time to run wild.

The 19-year-old forward from Calgary potting a hat-trick in a convincing 4-1 victory for the Portland Winterhawks in front of 5,608 fans at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Portland Winterhawks pounced on the visiting Prince George Cougars with three goals before the game was 10 minutes old and then coasted to a 4-1 victory in the third game of the Western Hockey League Western Conference final.

Marcus Nguyen scored three times and Marek Alscher added a single for the Winterhawks, who grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of seven series. Nate Danielson chipped in with two assists.

Carlin Dezainde scored for the Cougars, who outshot the Winterhawks 31-30.

The Winterhawks went 1-for-7 on the power play, while the Cougars were 1-for-4.

Prince George won Friday’s opening game of the series 5-0, and the WInterhawks bounced back with a 5-3 win on Saturday.

Game 4 is Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.