T-Birds Silenced in Portland
November 5, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Seattle Thunderbirds News Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Seattle Thunderbirds surrendered two goals in the game’s first six minutes and never recovered, falling to the Portland Winterhawks, 5-1, Friday at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The loss dropped the Thunderbirds record to 10-2 but they remain atop the Western Conference standings. The same two teams will face each other again Saturday at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent.
The game was just twenty seconds old when the first Winterhawks shot found the back of the Seattle net. “They cashed in on one right away,” Head coach Matt O’Dette said. “That’s not the way to start a game. But we had plenty of time and opportunity to get the train back on the track, but we were unwilling to play the way we need to play.”
Portland doubled the lead at 5:12 of the first period with a shot that deflected in off a Seattle stick. Down, 2-0, the Thunderbirds would get four straight power plays but failed to cash in. “The special teams battle is always a factor, especially against Portland,” commented O’Dette. “I thought the execution wasn’t there. The plan is in place, but we need to execute.”
Instead, it was the Winterhawks who were able to execute with the man advantage, scoring two power play goals just past the midway of the second period to double their lead to 4-0. Seattle finally broke onto the scoreboard when Jordan Gustafson connected on his sixth goal of the season as the Thunderbirds skated 5-on-3 in the final minute of the period.
Seattle struggled to generate consistent scoring opportunities and Portland finished the game off by scoring a last-minute goal into an empty net.
O’Dette said there were similarities between this loss and Seattle’s first loss of the season last Saturday in Prince George. “Pretty similar,” he said. “A disappointing game. We didn’t play to our identity and our formula which is the way we need to play that makes us successful.”
In their ten wins Seattle has outscored their opponents 60-28. In their two losses, they have been outscored 9-2.
T-BIRDS EXTRAS
Kyle Crnkovic was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season, snapping his 11-game point streak.
Seattle’s leading scorer, Jared Davidson, missed the game with an upper body injury and is listed as day to day.
Mekai Sanders made his season debut. Sanders suffered a lower body injury last March. He missed the final ten games of the 2021-22 season, all 25 2022 playoff games and the first eleven games of this season.
Bryce Pickford, who did not play Tuesday with an upper body injury, was back in the lineup versus Portland.
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