Stankowski stands tall as Thunderbirds steal Game 3 in Kelowna 2-1

The Kelowna Police Department may want to have a few words with Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Carl Stankowski after he stole Game 3 on Tuesday night.

The rookie netminder was sensational in stopping 34 Kelowna Rockets shots to backstop the Thunderbirds to a thrilling 2-1 win at Prospera Place in Kelowna.

“He was good, no doubt about it,” Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk said simply.

While Stankowski was stopping the puck, Keegan Kolesar was scoring it.

The big winger won the game on a wrist shot with just 20 seconds left in the third period of a tie game. It was Kolesar’s second goal of the night as he gave Seattle just enough offense to win.

Kolesar’s two goals were big but the story was the young goaltender.

The Rockets limited Seattle’s offense and heavily outshot the Thunderbirds to a tune of 35-14 on the evening. Stankowski had an answer to the Rockets all night.

He stopped shooters who were in alone, he fought for pucks in crowds and he controlled the rebounds while any he didn’t were swept away by his defensemen in front of him.

“He’s a confident kid, he’s a quiet kid and he stays even keel for the most part,” Konowalchuk said. “When we were in our end we were in some shot lanes that made it hard for them to get clean shots. (Nolan)Volcan was blocking shots and that helped and then, just protecting that house.”

The only shot that beat Stankowski came late in the game while Kelowna was on a 5-on-3 power play when a Nick Merkley shot rebounded off the glass and off the top of the net where Calvin Thurkauf knocked it in. Even that goal was contested as the officials took a long look to see if Thurkauf’s stick was too high. The replays showed that it was close but the goal would ultimately stand.

“They said that it was right at the cross bar,” Konowalchuk said of the play. “It seems in the three games, we’re not getting any calls. Two goals last game, there were plays on the goals that could have been called and we’re just not getting the calls right now. We have to persevere and control what we can control.”

The Thurkauf goal tied the game at one and as the clock wore down it looked like the two teams would be playing a second straight overtime affair. However, Kolesar would strike after a Turner Ottenbreit shot from the point was blocked in front. Kolesar found it and snapped a shot past Kelowna goalie Michael Herringer to give Seattle the win.

“It was real good for our guys to step up,” Konowalchuk said. “We just had to realize that it’s still just a one-one game and our guys did and they went and persevered.”

On a night where Seattle’s offense was bottled up by the Rockets, Kolesar got the first goal when Ryan Gropp fed him a perfect pass on a two-on-one in the second period. He had the entire net to shoot at and didn’t miss.

That came during a middle frame where Seattle was outshot 15-6 and the Rockets had the better chances.

“I thought we were bad at their blue line,” Konowalchuk said about the offense. “That led to some penalties too. We’ve got to be better at the lines, it’s pretty simple. But you know what, at the end of the day, we persevered and found a way to win a game on the road.”

Kolesar was Seattle’s best offensive player on the evening as he came close on two other occasions, hitting the cross bar on each attempt.

With the win, Seattle steals home ice back from the Rockets and will look to take a commanding 3-games-to-1 series lead on Wednesday night. While they got the win, there are plenty of things Konowalchuk will want to work on.

The Thunderbirds committed seven penalties on the night and while they killed off six of them, they will want to clean that up moving forward. Seattle also struggled to maintain any puck possession and offensive pressure on the night.

“We got a win on the road,” Konowalchuk said. “Let’s be happy about it, guys stepped up and got a win. We’ll try to correct things and try to get better and keep doing the things we thought we did well.”

They found the goals when they needed to as the veteran squad continues to find a way to win close games.

“It was a grind and that’s what playoffs are,” Konowalchuk said. “I think every game in a playoff series is a different kind of game and now we just have to get ready for the next game.”

Notes

• The T-Birds move to an impressive 10-1 in the postseason and have yet to lose a road playoff game.

• As good as Stankowski has been, Tuesday night was his best performance to date. The win moves his record to 10-0-1 in the post season with a goals-against of 2.43 and a save percentage of .912.

• Kolesar’s two goals move him to 22 points in the post season, which is fourth best in the WHL.

• Tuesday was the third straight post season win for Seattle at Prospera Place in Kelowna. In last year’s conference final, they were 2-0.

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