T-Birds Headed to Western Conference Championship Series
May 18, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release
PORTLAND. Ore - Jeremy Hanzel scored twice and added an assist, and the Seattle Thunderbirds are moving on to the Western Conference Championship Series after taking down the Portland Winterhawks, 6-3, in Game Seven of their second round playoff series Tuesday at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Seattle will face the Kamloops Blazers in the next round. The series begins Friday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops.
In winning the series against Portland the T-birds three times had to fight off elimination. After falling behind to the Winterhawks three games to one, Seattle won the final three games, including two on the road. Head Coach Matt O'Dette had nothing but praise for his players. "We're super proud of the guys. We know there's character in our room and they show it time and time again."
O'Dette said the team overcame adversity throughout the season, especially a second half beset by injuries. "It's prepared us for this moment, and we've grown from those situations, and we know we can overcome it and this series win was a prime example of that and now we're moving on to the next challenge."
For the sixth time in the seven games against Portland, Seattle scored first. The goal came late in the first period when Nico Myatovic scored his second of the playoffs, shorthanded. He intercepted a puck from Winterhawks goalie Taylor Gauthier just outside the Portland zone. "He was trying to put the puck up north and I thought I could get to it before their guy did. I picked it off and was able to find the back of the net."
O'Dette said getting the fist goal in a do or die seventh game was critical. "It was good to get that one to kind of break our nerves a little bit and get us off on the right foot."
Seattle would score three quick goals, two minutes, eleven seconds apart, in the second period to build a four-goal lead. Two of them came from Hanzel, his first two of the postseason. The first goal came at 5:48 and the next at 7:20.
O'Dette said Hanzel has had a good postseason thus far and has been doing more then just scoring goals. "He's doing the little things well that on the outside, you may not notice. He's playing good hockey, blocking shots and has an offensive flair to him."
Just 39-seconds after his second goal, Hanzel assisted on what turned out to be the game winner. The goal was scored by Lucas Ciona, his fifth of the playoffs with Conner Roulette getting an assist as well. "We pressured them, and they turned it over, said Ciona. "I passed it to Rou, and he made a nice pass back and I just finished it. Luckily it was the game winner."
Portland cut Seattle's lead in half before the end of the second period with a pair of power play goals. But just past the midway point of the third period the T-birds pushed the lead back to three on Lukas Svejkovsky's team leading seventh postseason marker, assisted by Henrik Rybinski at 11:51. The Winterhawks struck back with another power play goal at 14:50 but Reid Schaefer sealed the win for Seattle scoring into the empty net at 17:22.
T-BIRD EXTRAS
The T-birds will host Games Three and Four of the next round next Tuesday and Wednesday at the accesso ShoWare Center. Game time both nights will be 7:05 p.m. Tickets go on sale this Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. at seattlethunderbirds.com or the ShoWare Center box office.
This was Seattle's first playoff series win over Portland since 2002, another series they won in seven games with the fourth win coming on the road.
Three of Seattle's four wins in the series against Portland were road wins and they are now 4-2 on the road in the postseason.
The last time Seattle and Kamloops met in the postseason was a first round matchup in the spring of 2000 when the T-birds swept the Blazers in four games.
Western Hockey League Stories from May 18, 2022
- WHL DRAFT: Silvertips Grab Kevan, McSharry in U.S. Priority Draft - Everett Silvertips
- Hitmen Select Two in 2022 WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Calgary Hitmen
- Winterhawks Welcome Two New Prospects During 2022 WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Portland Winterhawks
- Pair Of Rockets Prospects Compete At 2022 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships - Kelowna Rockets
- Royals Select Forwards Rui Han and Zach Spagnuolo in WHL US Priority Draft - Victoria Royals
- Warriors Set for 2022 WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Western Hockey League Completes 2022 WHL U.S. Priority Draft - WHL
- Kaddoura Brings Edge to Backend and Personality to Locker Room - Moose Jaw Warriors
- ICE Select Steinhoff & Kvasnicka in WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Winnipeg Ice
- Cougars Select Two Forwards in WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Prince George Cougars
- Blazers Select Two Players in the US Prospects Draft - Kamloops Blazers
- Americans Select Turner, Rodriguez in 2022 WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Tri-City Americans
- Warriors Select Defenceman and Goalie in WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Chiefs Select Forward Hafele, Goaltender Denes in WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Spokane Chiefs
- Giants Select Masun Fleece and Cooper Simpson in 2022 U.S. Priority Draft - Vancouver Giants
- Oil Kings Select Blake Fiddler First-Overall in U.S. Priority Draft - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Pats Select Pair of Defencemen in U.S. Priority Draft - Regina Pats
- Hurricanes Select Pair from Shattuck St. Mary's in US Priority Draft - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- Rockets Select Teammates in US Priority Draft - Kelowna Rockets
- T-Birds Headed to Western Conference Championship Series - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Winterhawks Season Comes to a Close in Game 7 - Portland Winterhawks
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