Thunderbirds Cruise Past Spokane – Seattle Thunderbirds

KENT, Wash. –Jared Davidson registered a four-point night with a goal and three assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds pulled away for a 6-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs Saturday at the accesso ShoWare Center. Lukas Svejkovsky scored a pair of goals and Kevin Korchinski chipped in three assists as the T-birds beat Spokane for the tenth time this season. Seattle will play their final regular season home game Sunday when they host the Everett Silvertips. Game time is 5:05 pm

“I thought we played really well,” said T-birds head coach Matt O’Dette. “A couple bumps throughout the game but pretty tidy overall.”

The start of the game was delayed two hours because Spokane’s team bus was stuck on Snoqualmie Pass as bad road conditions led to numerous accidents and the Interstate being closed as a result. O’Dette said his players handled the wait well. “Another circumstance leading up to the game. We were rolling with the punches and going with the flow, making sure we were still prepared to play. The guys did a good job staying focused.”

Seattle (41-18-4-2) grabbed a one goal lead when Davidson potted his team-leading 36th of the season at the 11-minute mark of the first period on an assist from Sam Oremba. Not long after, the T-birds got into penalty trouble, giving Spokane a two-man advantage for just over 90-seconds. But the Thunderbirds penalty killers denied the Chiefs and almost scored twice while shorthanded.

O’Dette called it a key point in the contest. “Big momentum swing in the game. Getting those kills can really give you a boost, which I think it did. We talk about having good game management and that was a big part of that.”

The T-birds pushed the advantage to 3-0 with a pair of goals in the second period. Svejkovsky got on the board at 5:26 with Davidson and Korchinski assisting. Then Henrik Rybinksi scored on the power play at 13:12 with Korchinski earning the lone assist.

The Chiefs climbed back to within a goal with a power play goal of their own with just five seconds left in the second and another goal just 1:38 into the third. O’Dette said he wasn’t happy they allowed either goal but did like his team’s response. “It wasn’t part of the plan, giving up either goal, but I thought the response was good. We took care of the next few shifts and regained momentum back.”

The Thunderbirds answered with three goals in a two-minute, sixteen second span just past the midway point of the final period. The first of those goals came off the stick of their captain, Tyrel Bauer, at 10:56. Rybinski and Reid Schaefer had the helpers. It was Bauer’s first goal since coming back into the lineup after missing 33-games with a lower body injury. “That was a key goal by Bausy at a really key point in the game,” said O’Dette. “It gave us breathing room when it still felt tight.”

Svejkovsky added his second goal at 12:24. Davidson and Conner Roulette were credited with the assists. 46-seconds after that, with Seattle on the power play, Schaefer scored to make it 6-2. Davidson and Korchinski each picked up their third assist on the goal.

After finishing off the weekend schedule Sunday versus Everett, the Thunderbirds go on the road to close out the regular season. They are in Langley. BC Wednesday to face the Vancouver Giants. They finish Friday in Kennewick against the Tri-City Americans.

T-BIRD EXTRAS

Seattle now knows who their first-round playoff opponent will be. They will face the Kelowna Rockets in the opening round of the 2022 WHL postseason. To have home ice advantage in that series, Seattle needs to win two of their final three games.

Ryan Pickford, selected by the T-birds in the second round, 38th overall, of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft back in December, made his Thunderbirds debut in the game.

The win was Seattle’s 20th on home ice this season, giving them 20 wins at home and 21 wins on the road.

With his two goals, Svejkovsky extended his point streak to six straight games. Meanwhile Roulette has points in four consecutive games.

Seattle played without Ryan Gottfried and Jordan Gustafson, who each missed their sixth straight game. Mekai Sanders is out for the season.

Full box score: WHL Network