T-Birds Lose to Penticton
WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

T-Birds Lose to Penticton

Published on October 6, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


PENTICTON, B.C. - The Seattle Thunderbirds surrendered eight goals in the second period and saw a 2-1 lead turn into a 10-4 loss to the Penticton Vees Saturday at the South Okanogan Events Centre. The Thunderbirds look to bounce back next weekend with a road game in Kelowna on Friday. They return home to the accesso ShoWare Centre next Saturday to host the Spokane Chiefs at 6 p.m.

It was just a 1-1 game after the first period. Penticton scored first with a power play goal just 25 seconds into the contest. Seattle responded when Marcus Laroque scored his first WHL goal at 8:18 assisted by Brendan Rudolph and Colton Gerrior.

The Thunderbirds (2-3-0-0) started the second period by killing off a lengthy penalty and capped it off with a shorthanded goal from Brock England to take their only lead of the game. The tide turned shortly after as the Vees scored the games next four goals in a span of seven minutes.

"We couldn't sustain any momentum in the game," said head coach Matt O'Dette of the team quickly giving the lead back to Penticton. "There were signs of us not playing the way we need to earlier in the game. As the game went along our level of play fell off."

The T-Birds briefly stopped the bleeding with a Matej play goal at 14:05 with Tai Riley and Antonio Martorana earning the assists. But it took the Vees just 14 second to get that goal back. They then scored three more times in less than a minute to end period two up 9-3.

"Shifts after goals are big," remarked O'Dette. "We weren't taking care at key moments of the game and the wheels fell off."

Penticton added a tenth goal at the 16-minute mark of the third period. The T-Birds closed out the scoring with a Rudolph goal at 17:01, assisted by Martorana and Coster Dunn.

T-BIRDS EXTRAS

Matej Pekar and Brendan Rudolph finished the two game weekend with three goals each. Brock England's four goals leads the team after five games.

Seattle has been a Jekyll and Hyde team in the early going. They are 2-0 at home, outscoring their opponents 13-7. They are 0-3 on the road and have been outscored 20-7.

"So far, its been home games with full rest and we've had out best games," commented O'Dette. "We haven't dealt well with the travel yet, but we pride ourselves on being a team that can handle any scenario. So far that hasn't been the case this year. We have to fix that."

The Thunderbirds continue to play with three players still away at NHL or AHL training camps. Braeden Cootes remains with the Vancouver Canucks, Radim Mrtka was loaned to the AHL's Rochester Americans by the Buffalo Sabres and Ashton Cumby was recently assigned by the Chicago Blackhawks to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs.

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Western Hockey League Stories from October 6, 2025


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