T-Birds Defeat Wenatchee in a Shootout
WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

T-Birds Defeat Wenatchee in a Shootout

Published on January 19, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


WENATCHEE, Wash. - Cameron Schmidt scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Wenatchee Wild, 3-2, Sunday at the Town Toyota Center. Seattle finished the three game weekend earning five of six points. The Thunderbirds return home to the accesso ShoWare Center Friday at 7 p.m. to host the Kelowna Rockets.

It didn't start off well for Seattle (17-19-3-2) as they fell behind 2-0 seven minutes into the first period. "Not the start that we wanted," said head coach Matt O'Dette. "You have to be ready for a hard working game. It's like that every time we come in here. They were really hard and if you're not ready to match that, you're in trouble."

But O'Dette had praise for his goaltender, Grayson Malinoski, who kept it to just a two goal deficit with 15 saves in the opening period. "He was really good. Two tipped goals. There was nothing he could do any either one of them. He really put his foot in the ground. He dug deeper for the team and slammed the door the rest of the way."

The Thunderbirds cut the deficit in half with a goal at 16:31 of the second period from Simon Lovsin, assisted by Brock England and Antonio Martorana. The goal came shortly after a T-Birds power play expired. "We didn't score on the power play," remarked O'Dette. "But we built momentum off it and scored on the following shift. Our special teams were good this weekend."

Schmidt's tied it with his 32nd goal of the season just six seconds into the third period. Matthew Gard and Metaj Pekar earned the assists as Schmidt stretched his point streak to 26 games. "He's a game breaker," expressed O'Dette of Schmidt's offensive prowess. "We talked about the fact we were one shot away from tying it and he took care of it six seconds in."

Tied after sixty minutes and five minutes of overtime, Schmidt was the only shooter to convert in the shootout, providing Seattle with the winning margin. Malinoski came up with 32 saves and three more in the shootout to earn his fifth win of the season.

T-BIRD EXTRAS

This was the final game this season between the T-Birds and Wenatchee. Seattle wins the series 4-2-0-0.

Joe Gramer, injured in the second period at home Saturday against Portland, cleared all tests and scans and was released from the hospital last night. He is with family, resting and recuperating.

Coster Dunn and Marcus Laraque each missed their fourth game. Both are listed as day-to-day with upper body injuries.

Check out the Seattle Thunderbirds Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2026


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