T-Birds Win 4-2; Johner Scores 16th
Published on January 17, 2004 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release
PORTLAND, ORE. January 16, 2004 â The Seattle Thunderbirds gained two points on the rest of the Western Hockey League's U.S. Division tonight as they defeated the Portland Winter Hawks by a score of 4-2 in front of 9,771 in the Rose Garden.
In tonight's game, the winning goal was scored in the third period by a hustling Kyle Fecho. After being knocked down at the Portland blue line, he quickly got on his skates and was in position to knock down a Portland clearing attemptâhe immediately shot the puck surprising Winter Hawk goalie Krister Toews beating him in the five hole. It was Fecho's first goal of the year.
Coming into the game, the series was tied 2-2-1. But, Seattle's win gave the T-Birds the two-point advantage with six games left this season between the two rivals. The last time the two teams met, Seattle let a 3-1 lead slip away and the game went into overtime. In their 12th overtime game, Seattle's Mathew Hansen gave his team the victory with his third goal of the year at 3:16 (the T-Birds won that game 5-4).
After tonight's win Seattle, currently fifth in the U.S., improves to 13-21-8-2; good for 34 points. With the loss, Portland falls to an even 19-19-4-1 and stays stagnant at 43 points after suffering its fourth consecutive loss.
The Thunderbirds take Saturday off, but are back in action Sunday at 5:05 p.m. in KeyArena.
The first period saw Seattle rookie, Chris Durand, make back-to-back outstanding plays. In the eighth minute, the Johner-Durand-Metcalfe line found itself on a fast break. Dustin Johner made a perfect pass seemingly to Durandâwho at the last second pulled his stick back and allowed the puck to go right past him and onto Tyler Metcalfe's stick. His subsequent blast ricocheted off of the left post. Thanks to aggressive hustle, Durand found himself in position to register another shot on goalâthis one was effective. It gave Seattle the game's first lead at 7:23. For Durand, it marked the second time in 2004 that he opened the scoring for his team. Fecho, who substituted into the game for Johner after the pass, was credited with an assist.
Inspired by the 16-year-old's goal, the Seattle's defense would not allow a single Portland shot on goal until the final 33 seconds of the period. In the first period the Thunderbirds out shot the Winter Hawks 10-1.
In the second period, Portland was on a power play that originated in the first period, (Clayton Barthel was called for cross checking at 19:46 of the first). Seattle defenseman, Hansen, tried to clear the puck; but in doing so, he hit the pads of his own goalieâBryan Bridges. The puck wound up in the back of the Seattle net and Portland's Dan Da Silva was gifted with the goal; his 21st at the 39 second mark.
Just over five minutes later Brian Woolger gave Portland its first lead of the game. His 13th of the year beat Bridges above the glove at 5:45.
Just after the Thunderbirds completed their fourth power play opportunity without scoring, Metcalfe evened the game. His 15th goal of the year (scored at 8:36) placed Metcalfe at the top of the goal-scoring list for the T-Birds; he wouldn't share the title with Johner for long. The second period would end for the T-Birds as the first did for the Winter Hawksâon the power play.
Starting the third with the one-man advantage, Seattle had its chance. A surge of offensive fire had the puck bouncing around the Portland net. The puck came to rest on the goal line but Toews managed to fall backwards and push the puck out of the crease keeping the game locked at 2-2.
Fecho had been hit and knocked off his skates at the blue line but refused to quit. He made tremendous effort to get back on his skates and rush toward the Portland goal. He created an opportunity shortly after and took full advantage when he knocked down a Portland clearing attempt. He shot the puck and beat Toews in the five hole; the unassisted goal was his first this season at 10:56.
Giving his team an insurance goal, Johner regained the title as Team Leading Scorer when he scored an empty net goal with only 28 seconds left to play in the game. The final favored Seattle 4-2. This goal placed Johner, once again, alone atop the scoring list of all the T-Birds.
Seattle goalie, Bridges, improved to 8-9-2, while Portland Winter Hawk goalie Toews fell to 15-17-4.
THREE STARS:
1âTyler Metcalfe, Settle
2âDan Da Silva, Portland
3â Dustin Johner, Seattle
Western Hockey League Stories from January 17, 2004
- Winter Hawks Lose Fourth in A Row, 4-2 - Portland Winterhawks
- Americans Shutout Silvertips 2-0 - Everett Silvertips
- T-Birds Win 4-2; Johner Scores 16th - Seattle Thunderbirds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
