THUNDERBIRDS

Third period goals lift Thunderbirds over Portland 5-3

Feb 18, 2017, 10:14 PM | Updated: 11:29 pm

Tyler Adams' third period goal put Seattle ahead for good in a 5-3 win over Portland (Brian Liesse/...

Tyler Adams' third period goal put Seattle ahead for good in a 5-3 win over Portland (Brian Liesse/T-Birds)

(Brian Liesse/T-Birds)

KENT – Tyler Adams isn’t one of the Seattle Thunderbirds biggest goal scorers, but there’s something about Saturday nights.

The big winger put the Thunderbirds ahead in the third period against the Portland Winterhawks Saturday evening as Seattle bounced back from a loss to beat their rivals 5-3. With the game tied at three and six minutes left, Adams knocked in the puck after a cross-crease feed from Donovan Neuls.

“I was the high guy and went down low,” Adams said. “I thought we had a good chance and Donny made a really nice pass to me and it went in the net.”

It was the second weekend in a row that Adams scored a big goal against the Winterhawks and his third on the year.

“I guess Saturday’s with Portland are a good combo for me,” Adams added with a smile.

Adams scored the big goal but he also was a physical presence all night long, even throwing a hit that knocked a Portland player, head first into the bench. Adams was hard pressed to choose between the goal or the hit as his favorite play.

“It’s always nice to get a goal but its always nice to throw hits,” he said with a smile.

The T-Birds had fallen behind 3-2 earlier in the third period when Portland’s Keegan Iverson scored. Ethan Bear, who had already scored twice in the game, would then fling the puck from the point on a Seattle power play. The puck went in the net and the hats rained down as it appeared Bear had completed the hat trick.

“At first I thought I did,” Bear said. “But then I saw Donny (Neuls) re-directed it and put his hands up. If he didn’t tip it, I don’t think it would have gone in.”

The goal was first announced as Bear’s 26th but was changed to Neuls after the game.

“I wish I could give it to Bearsy but that’s what happens,” Neuls said. “All the guys were giving me heck because everyone lost their hats.”

The T-Birds have been relying on their top line to carry the offense while they continue to play short-handed. Getting goals from Neuls and Adams was a key on Saturday night.

“Its huge,” Seattle coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “Every team is going to do everything they can to shut down that top line. They did a pretty good job, making them grind it out. Chip ins from other lines are big.”

That top line still made its presence felt. Ryan Gropp had a goal and an assist, Keegan Kolesar added two points, as did Mathew Barzal.

While Bear lost the hat trick, he ended the night with two goals and a pair of assists. He has 25 goals on the season and is second in WHL defenseman scoring and is playing with a ton of confidence.

“I feel really good,” Bear said. “Just have to shoot the puck more often. I’m just trying to put myself in scoring chances. But at the same time, playing against top lines, you’ve got to play even.”

Seattle (37-17-3-2) started the game with good energy and created several scoring chances on Portland (32-24-1-2) goalie Shane Farkas. As the period wore on however, Farkas stood strong and it was starting to look like the Thunderbirds weren’t going to get rewarded for their play. That ended late in the period when Gropp took off on a rush with Bear. Gropp got it to Bear who potted his 24th of the season.

The goal extended Bear’s point streak to eight and Gropp pushed his streak to 16 games with the assist.

The Winterhawks would pick up a power-play goal by Henri Jokiharju early in the second period to tie the game but Seattle would answer right back.

Bear would score again, just as a Seattle power play ended.  Kolesar got him the puck and he buried it into a wide open net.

The lead would only last five minutes though as Caleb Jones would blast a slap shot from just inside the Seattle blue line to get the game square at two.

Seattle would fall behind for the first time early in the third period when Iverson skated into the zone and fired a wrist shot from the high slot.

“The guys stuck with it,” Konowalchuk said. “That’s the bottom line, it was a tight game as we expect. You’ve got to stick with it, they got up by that goal and we capitalized on the power play. I think that gave us a little bit of extra juice.”

Gropp would add an insurance goal after the Nuels and Adams markers to round out the scoring.

The win allowed Seattle to keep pace with the Everett Silvertips who also won on Saturday night. Seattle remains three points back of Everett in the U.S. Division race.

The Thunderbirds still have some work to do this weekend as they will play their third game in as many nights, Sunday, in Portland. Getting the win after a loss helps with the fatigue factor.

“Good for our guys’ character,” Konowalchuk said. “That was a mentally strong, our guys were mentally strong there that they just kept sticking with it. Certain guys just stepped up. It wasn’t our top line’s best game…but they stuck with it themselves and found a way in the end.”

Notes

• When it appeared Bear had scored his third goal, the ShoWare Center fans threw hats on the ice as is the tradition when a player scores a hat trick. When asked if he felt bad for the fans who lost hats, Bear was all smiles. “I think it’s pretty funny,” he said. “You don’t see that often, the guys had a good laugh about it.”

• The win allowed Seattle to avoid losing back-to-back games since Dec. 13th and 17th.

• Seattle was short-handed again on Saturday as Scott Eansor, Nolan Volcan, Matthew Wedman and Wyatt Bear sat out.

• Neuls had two points on Saturday and continues to play well since filling in for Eansor as the second line center. “I just try to stick to my own game,” he said. “Eansor’s a great player, he’s a lot faster than I am, so I just try to keep it simple and get pucks deep.”

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