T-Birds Settle for Weekend Split
KENT, Wash. –Nathan Pilling scored their only goal as the Seattle Thunderbirds fell, 4-1, to the Portland Winterhawks Saturday at the accesso ShoWare Center. As a result, the T-Birds ended up splitting the two games this weekend against their longtime rivals. Next up for the Thunderbirds is a game Tuesday at the Toyota Center in Kennewick against the Tri-City Americans.
“The things that gave us success last night (a 7-2 win in Portland), we couldn’t get going tonight.” said head coach Matt O’Dette. “We’re trying to learn the lesson that when you have the big win you have to respond, follow it up, even surpass your effort from the night before in the next game, especially when it’s against the same opponent.”
Seattle (25-32-4-1) was outshot, 25-10, in the first period. Despite that, they scored first getting a Nathan Pilling power play goal at 10:27, assisted by Coster Dunn and Brayden Schuurman. The goal was the 32nd of the season for Pilling.
The Winterhawks would respond with two goals over the final three minutes of the opening period, scoring at 16:58 to tie it and getting a power play goal at 19:31 to take the lead for good.
The T-Birds would outshoot Portland 28-19 over the final forty minutes but could not find the equalizer. The Winterhawks extended their lead to 3-1 at 8:47 of period three then closed out the game with an empty net goal at 18:30.
Despite the loss the T-Birds still sit in a playoff spot in the Western Conference with six games remaining. “Every point we come across the end of this year is going to be big,” said Pilling of the missed opportunity Saturday. “It’s up to us to show up every night, on time, and claw for everything we can get to make sure we get in.”
O’Dette said games like Saturday are a reminder his young team is still learning. “We forget sometimes how young we are and these are unique situations for a lot of our guys. These are big games,”
He then added, “It’s crunch time. We have to play like we’re in the playoffs right now and that can bring some nerves with it. We’re getting some experience in handling these situations. It’s valuable to be in these meaningful games. Now we have to persevere and we have to play each game like it could be our last, with that kind of desperation.”
T-BIRDS EXTRAS
Once again, the T-Birds were awarded just one power play, the 15th time that has happened this season.
Seattle’s magic number to clinch the final playoff spot in the Western Conference is eight points. Any combination of points earned by the T-Birds along with points not earned by Wenatchee and Kamloops over the final two weeks of the regular season equaling eight will put Seattle in the playoffs.
The T-Birds have scored 13 road goals their last two road games but just 15 home goals over their last seven home games.
Boxscore: Portland Winterhawks at Seattle Thunderbirds – Saturday, March 8, 2025
