T-Birds Grab 2-0 Series Lead
KENT, Wash. –Jeremy Hanzel’s goal at 6:21 of overtime completed the comeback and the Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Kamloops Blazers, 4-3, Sunday at the accesso ShoWare Center in Game Two of the Western Conference Championship Series. Seattle now leads the best of seven series, 2-0. Game Three is scheduled for Tuesday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette said it wasn’t his team’s best effort of the postseason, but they persevered. “It was certainly a wild one out there. A high event game, up and down, lots of chances,” he remarked. “A little too high event and volatile for the coaches liking. We had to dig into some resiliency, and we did that tonight.”
Seattle fell behind when Kamloops scored once at the end of the first period from Caedan Bankier, and then again in the first minute of period two when Olen Zellweger converted on the power play.
The Thunderbirds finally got on the board thanks to a power play goal from their captain, Lucas Ciona, just before the midpoint of the second period. “We needed a little jump,” said the Calgary Flames prospect. “It was nice to see the puck go into the net. We got gelling more through the rest of the game. It just helped us.”
The Blazers responded with another power play goal of their own five minutes later from Matthew Seminoff. Down two goals again, the T-Birds started the comeback at 15:56 of period two when Colton Dach scored his third of the postseason with assists to Gracyn Sawchyn and Kevin Korchinski.
“It was a good forecheck by Sawch and Davey (Jared Davidson), keeping the puck down low and Kevin activating,” he explained. “There was a loose puck and I tried to get it on net as quick as I could.”
The Thunderbirds found the tying goal early in the third period. Just as another Seattle power play expired Hanzel and Kyle Crnkovic worked the puck around the offensive zone, got it to Brad Lambert at the front of the net and he tapped it home.
The T-Birds had to kill off another Kamloops man advantage late in the third period to force the overtime. In the extra period, Seattle was stopped on an early power play. Lambert then won a puck battle deep in the offensive zone, pushed it out to Sawyer Mynio at the left point. Mynio fed it to Hanzel who ripped a one-timer into the back of net.
“He’s got a heavy shot,” said O’Dette of Hanzel’s game winner. “Especially in overtime you need to be direct. Every shot is a good shot and he got rewarded.”
In addition to Game Three, Game Four will also be in Kamloops. The game will take place at the Sandman Centre on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. If necessary, Game Five would be back at the accesso ShoWare Center Saturday at 6:05 p.m. If the series goes to Game Six it would be the following Monday in Kamloops with Game Seven in Kent on Tuesday, May 9th.
T-BIRDS EXTRAS
For the first time in franchise history, the Thunderbirds have started the postseason by winning their first ten games.
This was the first time in the 2023 playoffs Seattle has allowed more than two goals in a game.
Through the first ten games of the postseason, the Thunderbirds have outscored their opponents 23-3 in the third period and later.
Boxscore: WHL Network
