T-Birds Edged Out in Everett
WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

T-Birds Edged Out in Everett

March 1, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


EVERETT, Wash. - Brayden Schuurman had the lone goal as the Seattle Thunderbirds lost a tight game, 2-1, to the Everett Silvertips Friday at Angel of the Winds Arena. Despite the setback, Seattle maintains their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The second of the three games the Thunderbirds will play this weekend is Saturday when they travel to Spokane to face the Chiefs. The T-Birds return home Sunday to the accesso ShoWare Center to host the Tri-City Americans at 5:05 p.m.

"In this building, the margin for error is quite small," said head coach Matt O'Dette. "You have to manage momentum the right way. I just felt we left some efficiency on the table. We were missing about 15-20 percent of our puck management. You have to be close to perfect in that category to have a chance to win in this building."

After a scoreless first period, all the scoring took place in period two. Seattle (23-30-3-1) started the period with a three-minute power play but failed to convert. Everett scored, not long after, at 4:15, then added a penalty shot goal at 5:30

"Power plays are an opportunity to get the momentum," explained O'Dette. "The shifts after special teams play are important as well. We didn't score on the power play and we didn't have a good shift after that rep and the penalty shot goal ended up being the difference."

The Thunderbirds cut their deficit in half with a goal in the final minute of the period. Schuurman won an offensive zone face off and sent the puck back to Radim Mrtka at the point. Mrtka passed the puck down the wall to Braeden Cootes who fed a perfect pass to Schuurman at the left faceoff dot. Schuurman's one time beat Everett's goalie through his five hole.

The third period, like the first, was scoreless and the Silvertips held on for the win.

Even with the loss, O'Dette liked a lot of what he got from his team. "That was maybe the most competitive game we played in this building this season," he remarked. "We did get some good forechecks going. We created some turnovers and got behind their D. We just needed a few more of those. We'll take the positives and move forward."

T-BIRDS EXTRAS

Scott Ratzlaff turned in another solid effort in goal, turning aside 42 shots. In his last two starts, both against Everett, he has stopped 78 of 81 shots. "He kept the game close," said O'Dette. "We were one shot away from tying it as a result."

Seattle finished the eight game regular season series versus Everett with a record of 2-6-0-0, but were 2-2 the second half of the season

The T-Birds finished the month of February with a record of 6-3-1-0. It was their second consecutive winning month after going 6-5-0-0 in January.

Nathan Pilling returned to the lineup after serving out his two-game suspension.

Check out the Seattle Thunderbirds Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2025


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