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.
