T-Birds Double-up Chiefs
WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

T-Birds Double-up Chiefs

March 2, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


SPOKANE, Wash. - Nathan Pilling tallied four goals and Antonio Martorana added four assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Spokane Chiefs, 6-3, Saturday at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The T-Birds finish off a three-game weekend when they return home Sunday to host the Tri-City Americans at the accesso ShoWare Center. Game time is 5:05 p.m.

"That was a big win for our group," said Pilling of the Thunderbirds tenth win in their last 15 games. "If we show up, we can compete with any other team. I'm excited to see where this takes us down the stretch."

Head coach Matt O'Dette agreed with his leading goal scorer. "Everyone made a contribution to this win," he remarked. "Tough assignment, playing a really good team on the road. We stuck with it. It wasn't always pretty but we stuck to our game plan and scored opportunistic goals at the right time."

Spokane struck first, scoring at 5:10 of the first period. Seattle (24-30-3-1) responded when Pilling scored twice before the period was over to give the T-Birds their first lead. His first goal came at 16:51, assisted by Martorana and Coster Dunn. His second goal came just under two minutes later, assisted once again by Martorana.

The T-Birds added to their lead with a Simon Lovsin power play goal at 8:06 of period two, redirecting a point shot from Hyde Davidson. Martorana earned assist number thee. Spokane fought back to forge a 3-3 tie with goals at 11:54 and 16:23.

The Thunderbirds had a quick response. Braeden Cootes scored what turned out to be the game winner, an unassisted breakaway goal at 17:57. Pilling picked up his third goal of the night under a minute later with the lone assist coming from Martorana.

The T-Birds were outshot, 22-6 in the second stanza but goaltender Grayson Malinoski stood tall in the crease. "Our defense did a really good job of just boxing out," said the rookie goalie of the team in front of him. "They blocked a lot of shots, and our forwards capitalized on some odd man rushes. It was a good win."

O'Dette like what he saw from his rookie netminder. "Some ten bell saves for sure, but also smart, controlled play in the net, killing plays, smothering pucks, a really good game from him for sure."

Seattle held their two-goal lead through the third period by killing off two Chiefs power plays. Pilling finished his four-goal game with an empty netter at 19:54 with Cootes and Ashton Cumby assisting.

T-BIRDS EXTRAS

Spokane came into the game with both the top power play and penalty kill in the WHL. They have scored a league high 68 power play goals. Seattle stayed out of the box until the third period but were able to kill off both Chiefs power play chances. The T-Birds meanwhile were 1-for-2 on the man advantage.

This was the second time this season Pilling has scored three or more goals in a game. He had a hat trick at home back in October against Tri-City.

The four point game for Martorana was a new career best. He had a three-point game last season against Wenatchee (1g, 2a).

Check out the Seattle Thunderbirds Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2025


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