T-Birds Tripped up by Tigers
KENT, Wash. –The Seattle Thunderbirds surrendered five consecutive power play goals to the Medicine Hat Tigers, turning a 1-1 game into a 7-1 loss at the accesso ShoWare Center Saturday. Seattle is on home ice again Tuesday when they host the Victoria Royals. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
“We didn’t handle it (adversity) too well,” said head coach Matt O’Dette. “It’s something that we have to work on, obviously. There’s a lot of ebbs and flows to a game and you have to find a way to get over a tough spot.”
It was an even game up until the 13:55 mark of the second period when a scrum developed and ended with Seattle (5-9-1-1) down a man for five minutes. The Tigers would score three goals on that major power play to break the game open. “You have to find a way to reset and get in the right mindset for your next shift,” remarked O’Dette.
The two teams traded goals in the first period. Medicine Hat struck first at 7:46. The T-Birds responded at 14:32 with Noah Kosick scoring his sixth of the season, assisted by Antonio Martorana and Sawyer Mayes.
“I thought we were doing a lot of good things,” stated O’Dette. “We were starting to tilt the ice in the second period, right up to the point of that penalty. What more can you say? It was detrimental to our chances to win the game.”
Prior to that, goalie Grayson Malinoski was doing his part, stopping a number of quality scoring chances including a penalty shot. “We left him high and dry,” O’Dette said bluntly. “To beat the best teams in this league you need everyone going, sacrificing for the team. Some of the intangibles you need to win, we haven’t been doing them enough.”
The Tigers added two more power play goals at the start of the third period and finished off the scoring with three minutes left.
T-BIRDS EXTRAS
T-Birds played Saturday without both their captain, winger Simon Lovsin, and defenseman Owen Hayden. Both were hurt in Friday’s game in Kamloops. The two are day-to-day. Defenseman Tai Riley is still out long term after suffering an upper body injury in training camp.
Sawyer Mayes played in his 200th WHL game Saturday.
The T-Birds have given up eight power play goals in their last two games while they are 0-for-5 with the man advantage over that span.
Boxscore: Medicine Hat Tigers at Seattle Thunderbirds – Saturday, November 7, 2026
