The Portland Winterhawks (9-3-1-0) exploded for four goals in the first period en route to a 6-0 win over the visiting Tri-City Americans (9-6-1-1) Sunday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in front of 3,711 fans.

Mac Carruth picked up his second shutout of the season for the Hawks, turning away all 15 shots the Americans took. It was the sixth shutout of his career, tying him for third in franchise history.

The Hawks struck early with three quick goals, beginning with Taylor Leier opening the scoring 4:12 into the game. Just over two minutes later, Portland made it 2-0 on a power play goal from Chase De Leo, followed by a goal at the 9:14 mark from Brendan Leipsic as the Hawks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. The Americans made a goaltending change after the third goal, replacing starter Eric Comrie with Brenden Fiebelkorn.

Later in the frame, defenseman Seth Jones scored on a blast from the point to make it 4-0 Portland after 20 minutes.

Portland then dominated the second period with an 18-5 advantage in shots on goal, and extended the lead to 5-0 with 42.4 seconds left in frame when Leipsic scored his second of the game.

The Hawks struck again 1:16 into the third when Nic Petan made a tremendous move in front of the net and slid it past Fiebelkorn to make it 6-0, which would stand as the final.

Ty Rattie finished with four assists in the win, and has a seven-game point streak, including four straight multiple point games. Leipsic had three points with two goals and an assist.

The Hawks were 1-5 on the power play, and a perfect 5-5 on the penalty kill, and outshot the Americans 43-15.

Sunday’s game was the first played on the refurbished ice sheet at the Coliseum. Over the past few months a new ice plant was installed in the Coliseum, replacing the previous system that had been in use over 30 years. As part of the renovation, the rink’s dimensions were brought up to regulation size: 200’ x 85’ (the previous dimensions were 185’ x 85’).

The Hawks are back in action Wednesday when they host the Everett Silvertips at 7 p.m. at the Coliseum.