Charles Wells had a hat trick Saturday night to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars at ShoWare Center.
The T-Birds took a 1-0 lead at 10:48 of the first period on a goal by Prab Rai. Sena Acolatse carried the puck down the right wing and cut behind the Prince George net. Acolatse came into the left circle and put a spin- around wrist shot on goal. Rai was in front of Prince George goalie James Priestner and redirected Acolatse’s shot into the net.
Seattle (3-7-0-1) took a 2-0 lead 11:36 of the first. Rai got the puck to Stefan Warg at the right point. Warg put a slap shot on goal with Priestner coming out to cut down the angle. The puck rebounded to Priestner’s right where Charles Wells got to it. Wells put the rebound quickly back on goal and beat a sprawling Priestner for his first goal of the year.
Prince George (2-9-0-0) got on the board at 13:54 of the first on a power-play goal by Tyler Halliday. Brock Hirsche and Taylor Makin had the assists.
Seattle outshot Prince George 13-8 in the first period.
Wells extended the T-Birds lead to 3-1 with a power- play goal at 6:32 of the second period. Jeremy Schappert had the puck in the middle of the ice just inside the Cougars blue line. Schappert moved the puck to Rai on the left wall. Rai quickly centered the puck to Wells in the high slot. Wells beat Priestner under the blocker for his second goal of the night.
The T-Birds led 29-13 in shots after the second period by outshooting the Cougars 16-5 in the second.
Del Cowen scored at 18:50 of the third period to get the Cougars second goal of the game. Jaroslav Vlach and Jesse Forsberg had assists on the goal.
Wells got his third goal of the game when he scored an unassisted empty-net power-play goal with 10 seconds left in the game. Wells intercepted a Cougars crossing pass at the Prince George blue line. He had no Cougars defenders in front of him and easily slid the puck into the empty net.
Seattle outshot Prince George 11-7 in the third period and 40-20 in the game.
Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard made stopped 18 of 20 shots to get the win and improve his record to 3-3-0-1.
Priestner made 36 saves on 39 shots and his record falls to 2-7-0-0.
SCORING SUMMARY
First period – 1, Seattle, Rai 4 (Acolatse), 10:48. 2, Seattle, Wells 1 (Warg, Rai), 11:36. 3, Prince George, Halliday 2 (Hirsche, Makin) 13:54 (pp). Penalties – Sentyurin, Sea (unsportsmanlike conduct), 12:30.
Second period – 4, Seattle, Wells 2 (Rai, Schappert), 6:32 (pp). Penalties – Rodgers, PG (tripping), 5:33. Hirsche, PG (tripping), 9:15. Jacobs, Sea (cross checking), 13:52. Torbom, PG (interference), 15:52.
Third period – 5, Prince George, Cowan 2 (Vlach, Forsberg), 18:50. 6, Seattle, Wells 3, 19:50 (pp/en). Penalties – Makin, PG (boarding), 3:21. Schappert, Sea (hooking), 9:27. Rodgers, PG (holding), 18:36.
Shots on goal – Seattle 13-16-11 40. Prince George 8-5-7 20. Goalies – Seattle, Pickard 20 shots-18 saves (3-4-0-1); Prince George, Priestner 39-36 (2-7-0-0). Power plays – Seattle 2-5; Prince George 1-3. A – 3,066. Referee – Derek Herman, Ryan Thompson. Linesmen – Jason Cramer, Bevan Mills.
T-Birds single game tickets for the 2009-10 season are available online at the T-Birds website and at the ShoWare Center box office. The ShoWare Center Box Office is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday game days at 10 a.m. and Sunday game days at noon.
T-Birds season tickets are currently on sale. Season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.
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