Sports stats



WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

T-Birds Defuse the Rockets

December 8, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


Kent, WA. - Mekai Sanders scored the only goal of the shootout, and the Seattle Thunderbirds edged the Kelowna Rockets, 2-1, Tuesday at the accesso ShoWare Center. The Thunderbirds now take to the road for their next three games beginning this Friday with a stop in Kamloops, British Columbia to face the Kamloops Blazers. It will be Seattle's first game in Canada since early March of 2020.

Thunderbirds Head Coach Matt O'Dette wasn't surprised that, against Kelowna, it was a hard-fought game on both sides. "Doing our prescout, it was pretty clear that they played pretty hard, and they worked hard and were very structured. We knew it was going to be a tough battle and it was."

The first period was scoreless, and as the game moved along, it became a goaltending battle between Seattle's Thomas Milic and Kelowna's Talyn Boyko. In the end the 6'0" Milic stood just a little taller then his 6'7" counterpart, turning aside 31 shots through regulation and overtime and stopping all three Rockets shooters in the shootout. "I love games like that. I've had some good battles with Boyko, when he was with the (Tri-City) Americans earlier in the season. I think that battle carried on to this game. Those are the best games to play."

The T-birds (14-6-3-0) broke the scoreless deadlock at 14:25 of the second period on a Reid Schaefer goal, assisted by Jared Davidson and Tyrel Bauer. "It was a good play by Bausy. I think he just kind of lob passed it, put me and Davy kind of on a breakaway, Davy found it, slid it over to me, and I went backhand forehand."

For Schaefer, who didn't score a goal in last spring's 23-game season, this was already his tenth goal through 23-games this season, tying him with Jordan Gustafson for the team lead. "I feel like I just have more confidence. Things are going my way and I'm just finding the back of the net."

Kelowna (11-6-0-3) was able to tie it midway through the third period on a Mark Liwiski goal. After a scoreless overtime period, it was off to the shootout. Sanders, the T-birds third shooter, was the only one to find the back of the net, snapping it under the bar on the glove side. "I saw on the previous shootout attempts he was covering the bottom of the net, so I knew I was going to go shelf either way. "

After losing their last two games in overtime, O'Dette was glad to get the two points, instead of settling for one. "It was a rugged game with some tight checking, good goaltending. It came down to the wire and we're happy to come out on top."

The Thunderbirds next home game is Friday, December 17th when they host the Everett Silvertips at 7:05 p.m. It's the last home game before the ten-day Christmas break. Tickets are available online at seattlethunderbirds.com

T-BIRDS EXTRAS

The Thunderbirds have the first overall selection in Wednesday's, two-round, U.S. Prospects Draft. They also own the ninth overall pick in Thursday's 2021, 12-round, WHL Prospects Draft.

With has assist on the Schaefer goal, Davidson now has points in five straight games. Henrik Rybinski, who returned to the lineup after missing the last seven with an upper body injury, was held off the scoresheet, snapping his ten-game point streak.

In addition to the game Friday in Kamloops, Seattle will visit the Rockets in Kelowna Saturday and make a stop next Tuesday in Kennewick to battle the Tri-City Americans.

Check out the Seattle Thunderbirds Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 8, 2021


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