T-Birds Season Ends in Penticton
PENTICTON, B.C. – The Seattle Thunderbirds season came to an end Friday night with a 6-3 loss to the Penticton Vees in Game Five of their first round, best-of-seven, playoff series at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Penticton wins the series four games to one.
“Tonight we needed a really efficient, smart, road playoff game,” said head coach Matt O’Dette. “But we didn’t manage the puck well and got hemmed into our own end leading either to a goal against or a penalty. Just not quite enough execution and efficiency to keep us in the game tonight.”
For the fourth time in the series, the Vees scored first, getting a goal at 3:42 of the opening period. The Thunderbirds responded with a Cameron Schmidt power play goal at 8:11, with Noah Kosick and Radim Mrtka assisting. Penticton went back on top at 17:31.
Penticton stretched their lead to 4-1 with two goals in the second period, then made it 5-1 early in the third after converting a penalty shot at 4:06. The T-birds fought back. Tai Riley scored his first of the playoffs 37-seconds later to make it 5-2. Coster Dunn and Brock England picked up the assists.
With six minutes left Seattle pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. It paid off when Dunn scored at 14:39. The assists on the T-Birds third goal went to Matthew Gard and Sawyer Mayes.
“Definitely no quit,” said O’Dette of his team’s late push. “We kept fighting. We kept fighting the whole series. Some teams would go away down 3-0. Really proud of the group for battling right ‘til the end.”
Down two goals the T-Birds continued to push the final five minutes but eventually the Vees found the empty net and a 6-3 lead they would maintain to the final horn.
While disappointed they couldn’t advance out of the first round O’Dette looked at the positives. “I think it was essential for our process, our development, to have the second half we did and earn ourselves a spot in the playoffs,” he explained. “We got our young guys more playoff experience. They got a taste of that and that’s valuable for our group going forward.”
T-BIRD EXTRAS
Coster Dunn finishes his four year Thunderbirds career having earned 144 points (65g, 79a) in 235 games. He added nine more points (3g, 6a) in 13 playoff games and won an Ed Chynoweth Cup with the team in 2023.
Ashton Cumby’s WHL career comes to a close after 256 games between Winnipeg, Wenatchee and Seattle. He added 21 playoff games and was an Eastern Conference champion with Winnipeg in 2023.
Next up for the T-Birds is the WHL Prospects Draft in early May. Seattle holds the 11th pick in the first round.
Boxscore: Seattle Thunderbirds at Penticton Vees – Friday, April 3, 2026
