T-birds Fall in Everett – Seattle Thunderbirds
Everett, WA. – The Seattle Thunderbirds could not use an injury-ridden Everett Silvertips team and fell 4-1 on Saturday at the Angel of the Winds Arena. The defeat ended Seattle’s five-game winning streak and prevented the leap to first place in the US division. The Thunderbirds are now taking ten days off for the Christmas vacation. Your next promotion is December 28th at the Accesso ShoWare Center when you host the Spokane Chiefs. Play time is 7:05 pm
Everett only attracted 14 skaters, four under the limit. It didn’t stop them jumping to an early lead as they converted a 3-on-1 onslaught with a Beau Courtney goal in less than 90 seconds in the opening period. The Silvertips then doubled their lead with a power play goal from Niko Huuhtanen at 6:55 a.m.
Thunderbirds Head Coach Matt O’Dette was disappointed with the slow start of his team. “Not a good start. Not enough focus. Not enough execution.” He said not everyone seemed ready to leave. “We didn’t all dial in. Whether it is thinking about Christmas or underestimating their line-up , probably a combination of both, and that can happen. “
The T-Birds began to push back in the second third and began collecting shots on goal. They were in control of the game only to have it interrupted when they got into penalty trouble. They received three minor penalties in two and a half minutes, giving Everett a long five-on-three two-man lead. Jacob Wright was the beneficiary, scoring his sixth goal of the season at 6:15 am, giving the Silvertips a three-goal lead.
O’Dette said the penalties were a turning point. “We came out on the second. We had a few good minutes at the end. We started wearing the game, then penalty, penalty, penalty derailed every momentum we could muster. ”But he repeated that it was the beginning of the game that lost the competition. “You can’t start the game in the second period. Then the game doesn’t start and sometimes the hockey gods don’t reward you. “
All thoughts of a comeback in the third period were wiped away early when Seattle spun the puck in the center of the ice, resulting in Huuhtanen’s second of the evening, a runaway goal after 2:05. The T-Birds avoided the shutout when Eric Van Impe scored in the middle of the final third, supported by Nico Myatovic.
The T-Birds passed Everett on night 50-29. O’Dette said there were many chances to score among those 50 shots. “I thought we had several dangerous chances, no doubt about that. There could probably be more traffic but you can’t get 50 shots without getting rebounds and wreaking havoc on the net. ”He said the goalkeeper had to give credit but his team could have played better.
T-BIRDS EXTRAS
The loss stopped a stretch of nine games in a row with one point earned.
The captain of T-birds, Tyrel Bauer, had an operation on his injured leg on Friday and is now starting the long rehabilitation process with the hope of getting back to the team sometime in the second half. Bauer was injured in the T-birds 6-1 win in Kamloops last Friday.
O’Dette said while the Everett loss hurts, it doesn’t detract from what his team achieved in the first two and a half months of the season. “Very happy. We hummed along and played great hockey. The last eight games or so have been excellent.” He said the loss left a bad taste in their mouths, but said there is much to look forward to in the future. “We had a fantastic first half and we need to recharge our batteries and prepare for the second half of the season.”
Seattle goes on vacation with the second highest score in the Western Conference.
WHL network