Shorthanded T-Birds scratch out point in 5-4 overtime loss to Spokane
Dec 28, 2016, 10:35 PM
It doesn’t happen often in hockey but sometimes a loss can feel like a win.
That was the case for the Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday night in Spokane as they picked up a big point in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Chiefs.
The odds were stacked against Seattle as they were already playing shorthanded and then lost captain Scott Eansor to an injury before the game even began. With Mathew Barzal and Alexander True out of the lineup for the World Junior Championships the T-Birds were without their top three centers.
As a result, Spokane (15-14-5-1) blitzed Seattle (18-13-3-1) and threw 52 shots at goalie Matthew Berlin, who was making his first start against his former club. Spokane was led offensively by two goals from Hudson Elynuik and four points from Kailer Yamamoto. The T-Birds went 0-for-4 on the power play while giving up a short-handed goal and yet still managed to get the game to overtime.
“It was a fun game to watch and coach and that’s the way we have to play,” Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “Against a desperate hockey team, guys beared down and were playing for the guy next to them.”
After erasing a two-goal deficit in the second period, the Chiefs took a third period lead when Yamamoto took advantage of a Seattle turnover and made it 4-3. As they had all night, Seattle fought back and would even the score with just over five minutes left as Jaret Tyszka potted a loose puck in the Spokane zone.
The game went into overtime where rookie defenseman Ty Smith would win it for the Chiefs. Yamamoto found him alone at the side of the net and there was nothing Berlin could do to stop it.
It goes down as a loss, but it sure felt like a win.
“They were down,” Konowalchuk said of his team’s demeanor after the game. “We have high standards and they wanted to win. I tried to pick them up a little but they wanted to win. I’m proud of the way they were resilient. You could see the enthusiasm on the bench, they wanted to win and play for each other.”
Just before the game began, Eansor was listed as a surprise scratch. Konowalchuk said that he got banged up during Tuesday’s game and the injury didn’t heal in time for Wednesday’s faceoff.
“Losing Eansor was a blow and we could have let that sink us,” Konowalchuk said. “Guys stepped up and played minutes they don’t normally play, they were sacrificing and blocking shots. You could see guys getting dinged up, they paid the price. I’m proud of the way they hung in there and competed.”
In what was perhaps a harbinger of how the night would go, the T-Birds managed to get on the board first, despite being out played early. Keegan Kolesar was parked to the left of Spokane goalie Jayden Sittler and easily converted a Donovan Neuls pass for his fifth goal of the year.
The Chiefs would then score three straight goals to take what appeared to be a commanding 3-1 lead. Tyson Helgesen got the game even in the first period when he flung a shot at Berlin that somehow snuck behind the goalie.
Spokane then scored twice in the first five minutes of the second period on two markers by Elynuik, the first of which came during a Seattle power play. The Chiefs would fire 23 shots at Berlin in the second period but the young goaltender stood his ground and kept the T-Birds at bay. He ended the night with a career-high 47 saves.
“You could tell he got stronger as the game went on,” Konowalchuk said about his goalie.
Seattle would start the comeback on a goal by Nolan Volcan who crashed the net and took a feed from Elijah Brown to score his 13th. Seattle’s fourth line then got in the action and tied the game at three when Tyler Brown found Zack Andrusiak alone on the Spokane doorstep. Andrusiak scored easily to record his third goal of the year.
After the game, Konowalchuk was as upbeat as a coach can be after an overtime loss. He stressed that it was still a loss and one that stung, considering the way his team battled against some heavy odds.
“I hope they learn from this about how desperate we have to be,” the coach said. “We’ve got guys out and they’ll be out for a while but that’s the way we need to play, even when those guys get back. Getting three out of the four points this week against a desperate hockey team. I’ll take it and we have a quick rebound here.”
Seattle only has one day to recover before a home-and-home with the Portland Winterhawks this weekend. Friday night they will host their rivals from the south before heading down to the Rose City for the traditional new year’s eve match up.
Notes
• The T-Birds gave up a season-high 51 shots on Wednesday and 95 over the last two games. In that stretch, their two goalies, Berlin on Wednesday and Rylan Toth on Tuesday, only allowed seven goals which is good for a .926 save percentage.
• Konowalchuk listed Eansor as day-to-day and wasn’t sure if he’d be able to go Friday night against Portland.
• Seattle’s power play continues to struggle and only has one goal in its last 33 attempts. On the season they are 18th in the WHL with a 16.4 percent success rate.
• Volcan’s goal gave him 31 points on the season which ties his career high set last year in 59 games.
