T-Birds Vanquish Vancouver
WHL Seattle Thunderbirds

T-Birds Vanquish Vancouver

Published on February 17, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release


LANGLEY, B.C. - Simon Lovsin scored twice, including the game winner, and the Seattle Thunderbirds skated past the Vancouver Giants, 3-1, Monday at the Langley Events Centre. The win was the T-Birds fourth straight. The Thunderbirds return home Friday against the Portland Winterhawks. Game time at the accesso ShoWare Center is 7:05 p.m.

The win completed a sweep of three games in four days for the Thunderbirds. "It felt at times like a 3-in-3 kind of game," said head coach Matt O'Dette. "It wasn't necessarily our best, but we got to our path the latter part of the second and into the third. At this time of year, they don't ask how, but how many and you just need to get it done and we were able to do that."

After a scoreless first period the two teams traded goals in the middle frame. Vancouver struck first, getting their lone goal at 9:39. Seattle (22-23-4-3) answered at 17:49 with Lovsin scoring the first of his two. Noah Kosick and Sawyer Mayes picked up the assist on the tying goal.

The Thunderbirds broke the tie with Lovsin scoring on the power play at 8:02 of the third period, set up by Coster Dunn and Matthew Gard. "It was nice to contribute a couple of goals today," said Lovsin of his two-goal effort. "But obviously it was a team win and a good weekend."

The T-Bird maintained the lead with Grayson Malinoski turning aside 24 of the 25 shots he faced as Seattle outscored their opponents 8-3 on the weekend and pushing within three points of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. "The goalies are playing great," stated O'Dette. "And the team is playing better in front of them, playing team defense, blocking shots and killing penalties."

Late in the game The Thunderbirds got the cushion they needed with Mayes scoring his fourteenth of the season into an empty net. The goal with 46 seconds remaining came with Seattle skating with the man advantage. Joe Gramer had the lone assist.

T-BIRD EXTRAS

Early in the day Grayson Malinoski was announced as the WHL Goalie of the Week for the week ending February 15th. In two starts Malinoski was 2-0-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .960 SVPCT.

Seattle has held each of their last four opponents to one goal in winning four in a row. The T-Birds also have points in five straight.

In addition, Seattle has won three straight on the road and has points in each of their last four away games (3-0-1-0). This was Seattle's first win in Langley since October 8th, 2022.

Check out the Seattle Thunderbirds Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2026


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