Sports stats



WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

T-Birds Can't Catch Quebec

May 30, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Nolan Allan's late goal was not enough, and the Seattle Thunderbirds fell to the Quebec Remparts, 3-1, in the second game of 2023 Memorial Cup for both teams. The loss drops Seattle's record to 1-1 while the Remparts are 2-0, earning a spot in Sunday's championship game. Seattle is back on the ice at the Sandman Centre for their third and final game of round robin play Wednesday when they face the host Kamloops Blazers. Game time is 6:00 p.m.

"I thought, generally we played a good game," commented Thunderbirds head coach Matt O'Dette. "We controlled the play for the majority of the game." O'Dette said it was not ideal to give up a goal in the first minute of the game as Quebec took the lead just fifty-four seconds in on a Theo Rochette goal. But the coach felt they responded well.

"There are things we could have done better on that goal," he said. "But we got on our path, started playing the way we need to play. We spent a lot of time in their end."

Seattle ended the night outshooting the Remparts 36-22, including 25-14 over the last two periods. O'Dette did say they could have put more bodies in front of the Quebec goaltender. "Probably could have gotten more traffic around the net. Their goalie played well."

It remained a one goal game until the late stages of the third period. At 16:56 Rochette struck again. Seattle then pulled goalie Thomas Milic and less than a minute later Nolan Allan put back a rebound to pull the Thunderbirds back to within one.

Allan, who scored in the Thunderbirds win last Saturday over Peterborough, said it was a frustrating loss but there is more hockey to be played. "I thought we outplayed them for the most part," said the Chicago Blackhawks prospect. "We had a lot of zone time against them. We just have to do a better job of getting to the net and burying our chances."

The T-birds pulled Milic again, but Charle Ruchon gathered a puck behind the Quebec net and flung it down ice into the empty net with just eighteen seconds remaining to stifle the Seattle comeback bid.

O'Dette said they'll look at the video to see what they can do better and prepare for the next game. "It's a tournament. We're right in the thick of it. You can't dwell on this game. Win the next one and we're right back in a pretty good spot."

If a tiebreaker is necessary, that game would be played Thursday. The semifinal will take place Friday.

T-BIRDS EXTRAS

For the second straight game in the tournament, Seattle was 0-for-2 on the power play. "We need to find a way to cash in on the power play," remarked O'Dette. "We just need to execute. We've been shooting ourselves in the foot. We need to take advantage of those opportunities."

Seattle did kill off all three Remparts power plays in the second period, including a thirty-seven second 5-on-3.

In the WHL playoffs, Seattle responded with a win after each of their three losses.

Check out the Seattle Thunderbirds Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...

Western Hockey League Stories from May 30, 2023


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.

Other Recent Seattle Thunderbirds Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central