T-Birds Race Past Rockets
December 12, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release
Kelowna, B.C. - Kevin Korchinski scored twice and assisted on the game winning goal as the Seattle Thunderbirds came from behind twice to post a, 5-4, win Saturday over the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place. The win was the T-birds third straight and second in the last five days against the Rockets. The T-birds finish up three straight games on the road Tuesday when they travel to Kennewick to play the Tri-City Americans at the Toyota Center.
Seattle(16-6-3-0) fell behind by two goals in the first period. Kelowna scored twice 53-seconds apart. The first came at 14:17 off the stick of Gabriel Szturc. The second, at 15:10 came from Pavel Novak.
Thunderbirds Head Coach Matt O'Dette said there was no panic from his team despite the early deficit, and playing with a roster depleted by injuries to three defensemen. "Tons of character shown tonight. The resiliency obviously was there. I knew if we stuck to our formula over the course of the game we could break through." He said the credit goes to the players for sticking to the game plan, especially the five healthy defensemen he had left. "They really stepped their game up. Great leadership from Gottfried and Van Impe."
The Thunderbirds mounted their initial comeback with a two-goal second period. It started with a Henrik Rybinski power play goal at 6:13, assisted by Jared Davidson and Jordan Gustafson. Six minutes later they tied the game at 2-2 with Korchinski's first of two on the night. Conner Roulette was credited with one assist and Jordan Gustafson, with the second of his three on the night had the other. Gustafson said they kept their focus to get back in the game. "I think throughout the whole game we just played a consistent game. We started out the game down two, but we didn't let that phase us. We just had that hardworking mind set and it went our way."
The T-birds took their first lead of the game at 4:06 of the third period when Niko Tsakumis wired home a shot from the point that snuck in under the cross bar. It was the first goal for Tsakumis in the WHL, coming in just his second game. He said it felt good to contribute to a winning effort "It's incredible to get the first one. I got a lot of minutes too. The boys really hyped me up for that one. It felt great." Gustafson had the lone assist on the goal.
Kelowna (11-9-0-3) jumped back on top later in the period. They tied it on the power play with a goal from Andrew Cristall at 8:27, then took the lead on a shot from Tyson Feist with six minutes remaining. O'Dette challenged the goal for offside but there wasn't enough conclusive video evidence to overturn it. Instead the T-birds went back to work and Korchinski's second goal tied the game at 4-4 just 17-seconds later.
The game winning goal came less than a minute after that on a 2-on-1 rush between Conner Roulette and Mekai Sanders, with Sanders blasting home his eighth of the season to put Seattle up for good with just under five minutes left on the clock. Korchinski was credited with the second assist. It was the second time in five days Sanders provided the T-birds with the game winning goal against the Rockets. He scored the only goal of the shootout in last Tuesday's 2-1 win at home. Sanders said the goals were similar. "Not exactly the same. One was a direct shot, and one was a few moves and a shot, but it was the same spot, pretty much."
The Thunderbirds next home game is Friday at the accesso ShoWare Center. They are set to host the Everett Silvertips at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available at seattlethunderbirds.com.
T-BIRDS EXTRAS
Seattle has points in seven straight games compiling a 5-0-2-0 mark over that span.
Defensemen Tyrel Bauer and Sawyer Mynio were unavailable after being hurt the night before in Kamloops. Seattle then lost defenseman Sam Knazko to injury in the first period. Tsakumis was added to the roster earlier in the day.
Several Thunderbirds recently hit milestones. Henrik Rybinski played in his 200th WHL game this past Tuesday. Ryan Gottfried reached 150 games played on the same night while Lucas Ciona hit the 100-game plateau in that game. Eric Van Impe played his 175th WHL game tonight against Kelowna.
Western Hockey League Stories from December 12, 2021
- Hockey Canada Names 12 WHL Players to National Junior Team Roster for 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship - WHL
- Four Oil Kings Named to Canada's National Junior Team - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Raiders Earn Point in Overtime Loss to Broncos - Prince Albert Raiders
- Bedard Named to Team Canada for 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship - Regina Pats
- Justin Sourdif Named to Canada's National Junior Team - Vancouver Giants
- Carson Lambos to Play for Team Canada at World Junior Hockey Championship - Winnipeg Ice
- Dexter Whittle Scores First WHL Goal as Tips Drop Two in Tri-City - Everett Silvertips
- Chiefs Boast Strong Power Play, But Fall to Portland 7-3 - Spokane Chiefs
- Tigers Win 4-3 in a Shootout - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Americans Trade Cole Tisdale to Prince Albert - Tri-City Americans
- Broncos Drop Physical Game in Moose Jaw - Swift Current Broncos
- Raiders Acquire Cole Tisdale from Tri-City - Prince Albert Raiders
- T-Birds Race Past Rockets - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Americans Earn Third Straight Victory, Sweep Weekend against Everett - Tri-City Americans
- Rebels Blow Late Lead, Lose Shootout Decision to Tigers - Red Deer Rebels
- Samson Triggers Bears, Scores Pair in 3-2 Victory - Prince George Cougars
- Rough Stretch Continues for Rockets - Kelowna Rockets
- Teddies Fly in Win over Regina - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Royals Claim Lighthouse Island Bowl Trophy in Win against Giants - Victoria Royals
- Giants Drop Second Half of a Back-To-Back with Victoria - Vancouver Giants
- 7,531 Bears Fly in the VMC as Portland Rolls Spokane 7-3 - Portland Winterhawks
- ICE Conclude Homestand with 5-2 Win over Edmonton - Winnipeg Ice
- Chiefs Boast Strong Power Play, But Fall to Portland 7-3 - Spokane Chiefs
- Sanders Sends the Toques Flying in Shootout Win Over Hitmen - Prince Albert Raiders
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