Seattle Thunderbirds capture second consecutive Western Conference Championship
The Seattle Thunderbirds will represent the Western Conference in the 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien.
Seattle, the top seed in the Conference, fell behind 1-0 with just over four minutes to play in the opening period when Kamloops forward Dylan Sydor wired a shot from the right circle past Thunderbirds netminder Thomas Milic for his fourth goal of the playoffs.
The visitors outshot the host Blazers 13-5 in the opening frame, but continued to trail by a goal into the opening minute of the second period when Kamloops netminder Dylan Ernst flung himself from right to left across his crease to take away a sure Seattle goal.
Montreal Canadiens prospect Jared Davidson tied the game at 1-1 just shy of the five-minute mark of the middle stanza, firing home his 10th goal of the post-season to bring the Thunderbirds back on level terms.
The score remained static until the 5:33 mark of period three. Seattle defenceman Sawyer Mynio, who hails from Kamloops, put a puck toward the Blazers net that glanced off a defenceman and past a prone Ernst.
Veteran forward Kyle Crnkovic extended the Thunderbirds lead just over four minutes later, tapping in a puck at the back post following a cross-crease pass from Davidson.
Dallas Stars draftee Matthew Seminoff brought the home side back to within a goal late in the frame, but Seattle put the game out of reach shortly thereafter with an empty-net tally off the stick of Reid Schaefer.
Goaltender Thomas Milic turned aside 28 shots for the Thunderbirds to earn his 12th win of the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, while at the other end, Ernst made 39 saves for Kamloops.
With the victory, Seattle advances to the WHL Championship Series for the fifth time in Club history (1997, 2016, 2017, 2022), having won the Ed Chynoweth Cup once, in 2017.
The Thunderbirds will meet the Winnipeg ICE in the 2023 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien, a series that marks the third all-time post-season meeting between the two franchises and first since 2003.
Both Seattle and the ICE have earned one series win each in the all-time post-season history between the two Clubs.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven affair is set for Friday, May 12 in Winnipeg (7:00 p.m. CT, Canada Life Centre).