T-Birds Fall Short in Kamloops
June 5, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Shutout for just the second time all season, the Seattle Thunderbirds fell to the Quebec Remparts, 5-0, in the championship game of the 2023 Memorial Cup at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops on Sunday. The loss brings Seattle's record setting 2022-23 season to a close.
"It wasn't our day today, what else can you say," opined Thunderbirds head coach Matt O'Dette after the loss. "We weren't sharp. We fell short."
Seattle fell behind six and a half minutes into the opening period when the Remparts Vsevolod Komarov beat T-Birds goalie Thomas Milic glove side to finish a 2-on-1 rush. The Thunderbirds then spent a good portion of the second half of the first period killing off three Quebec power plays.
Quebec doubled their advantage at 8:50 of the second period when James Malatesta scored his fifth of the tournament while the teams skated four aside. Once again, the goal came on an odd man rush.
The Remparts would add three more goals in the third period to pull away. Kassim Gaudet tallied at 12:21 followed three minutes later by a power play goal from Zachary Bolduc. Charles Savoie completed the scoring at 17:55.
The T-Birds finished the tournament with a 3-2 record but both losses came at the hands of the Remparts. "It's the worst feeling in the world," said a dejected Lucas Ciona, the Thunderbirds team captain. "When you come here and you lose after you've made it so far, there's no feeling that's worse than this."
The Thunderbirds never got the offense on track against the Remparts stifling defense. They were outshot for the first time in their five games in Kamloops, 35-32, as goalie William Rousseau recorded the tournaments only shutout. "You tip your cap to them," said O'Dette of the Quebec effort. "They're a good team, they played really well. We didn't execute well."
O'Dette acknowledged the loss stings but says in no way does it take away from what has been the most successful season in franchise history. "Only one team gets that winning feeling at the end of this tournament and we're disappointed it's not us." he remarked. "It wasn't our best game, but we have a lot to be proud of. We've accomplished a lot this year. It's been an incredible season and I'm thankful for the team and the work they put in this year."
The Thunderbirds set a new franchise record for most wins with fifty-four and won their second WHL Championship. "We're adding three banners to the rafters," commented O'Dette. "It was a great season, an incredible season. We're gonna remember it for a long time."
T-BIRDS EXTRAS
A season ago Seattle played a total of 93 games when you combine their regular season (68) and playoffs (25). This season they played a total of 92 games (68 regular season, 19 playoffs and 5 Memorial Cup games). Over those 185 games they went 131-45-5-4.
Jared Davidson played his entire five-year WHL career as a Thunderbird. Combining his regular season, WHL Playoff and Memorial Cup games, he played in 306 games for Seattle, accumulating 268 points on 124 goals and 144 assists. He finishes his T-Birds career with a plus/minus rating of +76.
Six Thunderbirds made NHL Central Scouting's final rankings ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft. That draft will be held in Nashville June 28th and 29th. "It will be fun to see what some of our guys do next. We'll have a handful of guys going in the draft," said O'Dette. "A lot of exciting things to look forward to."
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