Jim O’Brien scored the only goal in the shootout and Calvin Pickard stopped all three shooters he faced to help lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 3-2 shootout win Saturday night over the Chilliwack Bruins at Prospera Centre.
In the first round of the shootout Chilliwack goalie Mark Friesen stopped Prab Rai, while Pickard denied Kevin Sundher.
Greg Scott was the second T-Birds shooter and Friesen made the save. Pickard stopped the second Chilliwack shooter, Randy McNaught.
In the third round, O’Brien faked a backhand shot, brought the puck back to his forehand and beat a sprawling Friesen at the right post. Pickard secured the win by thwarting the last Bruins shooter, Ryan Howse.
The T-Birds have now won three games in a row and won the first game of a seven-game road trip.
Lindsay Nielsen gave the T-Birds a 1-0 lead at 12:03 of the first period. Devon LeBlanc sent the puck from behind the Chilliwack to Nielsen in the right circle. Nielsen beat Bruins goalie Mark Friesen on the blocker side for his fourth goal of the year.
The T-Birds outshot the Bruins 20-7 in the first period.
The Bruins tied the game 1-1 at 11:50 of the second period on a goal by David Robinson. Alexander Wicklund and Randy McNaught had the assists.
Chilliwack (6-11-1-2) went ahead 2-1 at 14:06 of the second when Mark Einhorn scored. Tanner Exner and Liam Darragh assisted on the goal.
Seattle led 32-16 in total shots after two periods by outshooting Chilliwack 12-9 in the second period.
Seattle (7-10-1-1-) tied the game 2-2 29 seconds into the third period with a power-play goal. Jim O’Brien fed the puck to Sena Acolatse at the left point. Acolatse put a slap shot on goal with Prab Rai stationed in front of Friesen. Rai tipped Acolatse’s shot past Friesen for his team leading 13th goal of the year.
O’Brien increased his point streak to 13 games with the assist on Seattle’s second goal. This is the second longest point streak in the WHL this season.
The T-Birds outshot the Bruins 16-5 in the third period and had a 48-21 advantage in total shots after 60 minutes.
Chilliwack outshot Seattle 3-1 in overtime.
The T-Bird outshot the Bruins 50-24 in the game. The 50 shots was a season high for the T-Birds.
Pickard stopped 22 of 24 shots to get the win and improve his record to 5-6-1-1.
Friesen made 47 saves on 50 shots and his record is now 3-4-0-2.
The game against Chilliwack was the first game of a seven game road trip for the T-Birds. They head to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The T-Birds also will face the Saskatoon Blades, Regina Pats, Brandon Wheat Kings, Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos on the road trip.
T-Birds’ season tickets are currently on sale. Season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825. Purchasing a season ticket will ensure fans can attend the T-Birds first game in their new home, the Kent Events Center. Single game tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster.
SCORING SUMMARY
First period – 1, Seattle, Nielsen 4 (LeBlanc), 12:13. 2, Penalties – Dillon, Sea (holding), 12:37. Bench, Sea (too many men-served by Lockhart), 14:48. McKinlay, Cwk (tripping), 17:32.
Second period – 2, Chilliwack, Robinson 5 (Wicklund, McNaught), 11:50. 3, Chilliwack, Einhorn 1 (Exner, Darragh), 14:06. Penalties – LeBlanc, Sea (tripping), 1:40. Howse, Cwk (elbowing), 5:27. Meropoulis, Cwk (interference), 7:19. Exner, Cwk (hooking), 19:57.
Third period – 4, Seattle, Rai 13 (Acolatse, O’Brien), :29 (pp). Penalties – No penalties.
Overtime – No scoring. Penalties – No penalties.
Shootout – Seattle 1 (Prab Rai NG, Greg Scott NG, Jim O’Brien G); Chilliwack 0 (Kevin Sundher NG, Randy McNaught NG, Ryan Howse NG).
Shots on goal – Seattle 20-12-16-1-1 50. Chilliwack 7-9-5-3-0 24. Goalies – Seattle, Pickard 24 shots-22 saves (5-6-1-1); Chilliwack, Friesen 50-47 (3-4-0-2). Power plays – Seattle 1-4; Chilliwack 0-3. A – 4,108. Referee – Colby Smith, Ryan Thompson. Linesmen – Justin Hull, Clayton Richardson.
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