The Tri-City Americans defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2 in a Western Hockey League shootout Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
The Thunderbirds, off to a 2-4-7-1 start, are on a four-game winless streak.
Conner Bruggen-Cate scored his first goal as a T-Bird to give his team a 1-0 lead after one period.
Michael Horon got to the rebound of a Keltie Jeri-Leon shot along the left boards and quickly sent the puck behind the net to Jared Davidson at the right post. Tri-City goalie Beck Warm tracked the puck as it was going behind the net, and Davidson quickly sent it back to Bruggen-Cate just outside the left post. Bruggen-Cate tucked the puck under Warm’s right pad as the goalie tried to get over and make the save.
Booker Daniel tied the game 1-1 for Tri-City at 15:19 of the second period.
Tri-City went in front 2-1 at 14:21 of the third on a goal from Connor Bouchard.
Bruggen-Cate came right back and tied the game 2-2 eight seconds later. Henrik Rybinski drove the net and got a off a shot. The puck rebounded off Warm to the low slot where Bruggen-Cate quickly slapped it past the goalie. Payton Mount had the second assist.
Seattle ended regulation on the penalty kill and battled hard to get the game to overtime and earn a point.
In the shootout, the first two shooters for each team, Mount and Matthew Wedman for the T-Birds, and Kyle Olson and Sasha Mutala for the Americans, were unable to score.
Krystof Hrabik scored for the Americans in the third round, forcing the T-Birds to score to extend the shootout. Andrej Kukuca did just that, beating Warm, to force a sudden-death shootout.
In the fourth round, the T-Birds’ Michael Horon and the Americans’ Samuel Huo each shot wide on their attempts.
Bouchard scored for the Americans in the fifth round, forcing the T-Birds again to score to extend the shootout. Zach Ashton was up for the T-Birds, and he beat Warm with a quick shot.
Daniel, the sixth Americans’ shooter, scored, bringing up Alex Morozoff, who needed to score to keep the T-Birds in the shootout. Morozoff came down on Warm and made a move to his backhand, but the goalie slid over to make the save and secure the win.
Next?
The T-Birds are back on Kent ice Tuesday against Prince Albert. Face-off is 7:05 p.m.
It’s a Chick-fil-A 2-for-Tuesday game. All single-game tickets are two-for one and are on sale online and at the ShoWare box office.
Fans who purchase the 24-flex ticket package will be able to select any available premium seat for any game, in any ticket combination, during the 2019-20 season.
SCORING SUMMARY
First period – 1, Seattle, Bruggen-Cate 1 (Davidson, Horon), 10:31. Penalties – Bjorklund, Tri (hooking), 8:22. Olson, Tri (double minor-high sticking), 12:20. Wedman, Sea (charging), 19:58.
Second period – 2, Tri-City, Daniel 1 (Platz, Bell), 15:19. Penalties – No penalties.
Third period – 3, Tri-City, Bouchard 2 (Krivokrasov, Mutala), 14:21. 4, Seattle, Bruggen-Cate 2 (Rybinski, Mount), 14:20. Penalties – Kukuca, Sea (hooking), 4:47. Hrabik, Tri (cross checking), 16:19. Kubicek, Sea (roughing), 16:19. Wedman, Sea (tripping), 18:20.
Overtime – No scoring. Penalties – No penalties.
Shootout – Seattle 2 (Mount NG, Wedman NG, Kukuca G, Horon NG, Ashton G, Morozoff NG). Tri-City 3 (Olson G, Mutala NG, Hrabik G, Huo NG, Bouchard G, Daniel G).
Shots on goal – Seattle 15-13-7-2 37, Tri-City 10-16-13-2 41. Goalies – Seattle, Ross 40 shots-38 saves (2-3-2-1); Tri-City, Warm 37-35 (5-4-0-0). Power plays – Seattle 0-3; Tri-City 0-3. Referees – Adam Griffiths, Ryan O’Keeffe. Linesmen – Steve Fleming, Brett Mackey.
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