Thunderbirds Double Up Cougars
November 2, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Seattle Thunderbirds News Release
KENT, Wash. – Reid Schaefer’s second hat trick of the season helped lead the Seattle Thunderbirds back into the win column with a, 6-3, victory over the Prince George Cougars Tuesday at the accesso ShoWare Center. Schaefer’s linemate, Kyle Crnkovic added a goal and two assists as Seattle improved their record to 10-1-0-0. Next up for the Thunderbirds is a road game in Portland Friday against the Winterhawks.
The Thunderbirds got off to a fast start scoring twice in the first 71-seconds. The first goal came at the 53-second mark from Crnkovic as Seattle skated with the man advantage. Just 18-seconds later Schaefer made it a 2-0 game with the first of his three on the night. He said a fast start was key in their response to their first loss of the season last Saturday.
“Obviously it was a big bounce back win for the team. Overall, we just came out a lot harder, were more efficient and that led to scoring the early power play goal and getting another quick one after that.”
Head coach Matt O’Dette agreed. “You can’t ask for a better start. We came out of the gates really efficient, which is something we focused on tonight.”
Prince George got one back with a goal at 4:38 of the opening period but Seattle would regain the two-goal advantage when Schaefer scored his second of the game at 17:11.
The only goal of the second period came from Seattle’s Gabe Ludwig at 12:47 and ended up as the game winner. Ludwig’s third of the season finished off a nice play from Gracyn Sawchyn, who got the puck to Ludwig after being knocked to his knees.
“Kovy (Easton Kovacs) made a nice simple pass to me,” said Ludwig. “I saw Sawch flying, he’s really fast, so I gave him an area pass. He made a beautiful pass back to me and it was a wide-open net. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
The Thunderbirds stretched the lead to 5-1 with a Jordan Gustafson goal just 35-seconds into the third period. Prince George scored a pair of goals, three and a half minutes apart, to pull within one at 5-3 before Schaefer completed his second hat trick of the season, scoring into the empty net at 19:22.
Thomas Milic earned his sixth win of the season with a 28-save performance, often stopping a high-quality Cougar scoring chance. “That’s something I try not to focus on too much. The biggest stat I’m worried about is the win column. I think we’re doing a pretty good job of that as a team and eventually down the road, as we tighten up as a group and lock down defensively, we’ll minimize those chances.”
O’Dette thought his team started to play with more of the identity he wants to see from them as they move into the busier part of their schedule. “It was a nice step forward, as far as our formula we need to see each and every night. You just feel it on the bench when it’s in place for us. We’re on the right side of line changes and we spend a lot of time in the O-zone, setting up the next line for success.”
Seattle will be back on home ice Saturday when they host Portland at 6:05 p.m.
T-BIRDS EXTRAS
Seattle and Prince George will finish up their four-game regular season series December 13th in Kent.
Kevin Korchinski played in his 100th WHL game Tuesday, all with the Thunderbirds, earning three assists in the process.
Kyle Crnkovic stretched his point streak to 11-games with his three point night.
Gabe Ludwig has equaled his goal total from last season when he scored three times in 55-games.
Bryce Pickford was out of the lineup for the first time this season with an upper body injury. He is listed as day to day.
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