WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

In The Corners with Thom Beuning

Published on November 24, 2004 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


Someone check the birth certificates! Are we sure Ladislav Scurko and Derek Couture weren't separated at birth? These two wingers play on the same line and they both play the same style of game; a strong fore-check, gritty in the corners and neither has seen a puck they didn't think belonged on the end of their stick...and they won't give up on the play until it is.

Since one plays left wing and the other is on the right, they are more like mirror images of each other. As a result the one's play compliments the other. They have to be on the top of Aaron Gagnon's Christmas list though. Gagnon centers the line with these two and together they have accounted for 58-points (27g, 31a) and are a combined plus-39. It's like a Porsche flanked by two Hummers.

IN THE PIPES: With Seattle's defense-first style of play limiting some opponents to very few shots on goal, it only seems like Bryan Bridges could pitch a tent and kick back in the crease. But most goaltenders will tell you they would prefer to face a steady diet of shots, just to keep them both physically and mentally involved in the game. This makes some of Bridges' efforts so far this season all the more impressive. Take the 6-0 win over Portland Saturday night when he faced only 18-shots. That's an average of just six shots a period or one shot every 3.3-minutes. By comparison, his Portland counterpart, Dustin Butler, was facing a shot on average every 1.7 minutes.

Up until the late stages of the first period of that game Bridges had faced just one shot on goal. Then with just slightly over two minutes to go in the period two T-birds end up in the penalty box and all of a sudden Portland is skating with a two-man advantage. The Winter Hawks proceeded to fire five quality shots on goal and Bridges kicked them all out. Seattle skated off with their 1-0 lead intact and Portland never again put up a serious threat. And don't forget throughout the game Portland kept trying to throw Bridges off his game, bumping and interfering with him on a couple of occasions, but Bridges never got rattled and kept his focus.

By the way, is Bridges the T-Birds Lou Gehrig? As the story goes, Gehrig got into the New York Yankees lineup because of an injury to Wally Pipp. He played so well, Pipp never got back his starting spot at first base. Josh Lepp was in goal for the T-Birds season opener in Prince George and played very well in a 1-0 T-birds loss. A few days later he hurt his hand in practice. While Lepp was out with the injury, Bridges got most of the starts and made the most of it. As a result Lepp was traded last week to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

SHOWDOWN LOOMING: The Thunderbirds get their first look at competition outside the Western Conference when they host two Central Division teams this week. While most of the attention will focus on Saturday's game against the defending league champion Medicine Hat Tigers, do not look past tonight's opponent, the Calgary Hitmen. While the Hitmen have been just a .500 team over their last ten games, they are very capable of putting the puck in the net and are led by one of the best player in the league in Ryan Getzlaf.

As for the Tigers, they are on course to make a serious run at defending their championship. They have a great combination of an explosive offense and a stifling defense. While the T-Birds have scored a whopping 37 more goals than they've allowed (67-30), that goal differential is only second best in the league. Who's first? The Hat, scoring 57 more goals then they've given up (87-31) while playing just one more game than the Thunderbirds. While it is just one game on a 72-game schedule it will provide the T-Birds with a chance to see how they measure up against the best.

DID YOU KNOW: Win or lose against Medicine Hat, don't read too much into the outcome. It's still too early in the season. Remember a season ago the ‘Birds beat the Tigers 5-2 on the tail end of their five-game eastern swing. That game also was played in November. By the time the season was over though the T-Birds had missed the playoffs and Medicine Hat went on to win the league title.

PROGRESS REPORT: When the T-Birds finish up their current six-game home stand Friday, December 3rd against Kootenay it will be Seattle's 24th game of the season, exactly one-third of the way through the schedule. While most consider the Christmas break the midway point of the campaign, the T-Birds don't reach the half way mark (36-games) until January 1st when they play at Everett.

This season Seattle Thunderbirds play-by-play voice Thom Beuning is writing a weekly column for Thunderbirds E-News. Each week Thom will take an in-depth look at the T-Birds. He will wrap up the previous week's games and preview upcoming T-Bird opponents. Thom will also spotlight T-Birds who are making contributions that you won't see on the score sheet. You can listen to the game on KKNW, 1150-AM or on the webcast at www.seattlethunderbirds.com. The broadcast begins with the T-birds pregame show, "Crash the Net" 25-minutes before the first period face-off.

Check out the Seattle Thunderbirds Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from November 24, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central