Two third-period goals carry Thunderbirds in crucial win against the Kamloops Blazers

In the biggest game of the year to date, the Seattle Thunderbirds leaned on their best players Friday night in Kamloops.

Captain Nolan Volcan was one of those players. With the Thunderbirds clinging to a 5-4 lead ten minutes into the third period he raced up ice and ripped a wrist shot that beat Blazers goalie Dylan Ferguson clean. It gave Seattle all the goals it needed as the Thunderbirds picked up a critical 6-4 win at the Sandman Centre against the Blazers.

“That was big,” Seattle head coach Matt O’Dette said of Volcan’s goal. “We needed that; in junior hockey no lead is safe. That was a nice insurance goal for us.”

With the win, Seattle (25-28-5-2) extended its lead over the Blazers for the Western Conference’s final wild card slot to five points, with eight games left on the schedule. Volcan also added an assist on the night but wasn’t alone in the goal scoring. Matthew Wedman scored twice and the Thunderbirds got goals from Andrej Kukuca, Noah Philp and Henrik Rybinski in a game they never trailed but that was tied twice.

Wedman extended his point streak to 11 games while Philp – who also added two assists — pushed his to 10 straight. Seattle’s top four scorers were responsible for five of the six goals.

“Those are the guys that have the experience that you rely on,” O’Dette said. “Your top guys have to be your top guys and they were. Philper, Weds, Volcs, they all had great games. This time of year you need those guys to step up.”

While the big guns were firing for the Thunderbirds, goalie Roddy Ross was stellar in stopping 42 shots to push his record to 12-4-0-2 on the season. He was facing an NHL drafted goalie at the other end in Ferguson, but didn’t flinch and made a number of key saves.

As has been the case since joining the Thunderbirds, the weight of the game or the opponent didn’t faze Ross.

“I think that’s one of his biggest strengths,” O’Dette said about his goalie. “Being calm and not being fazed at any moment of the game, he’s even keel. He’s got the right demeanor for a goaltender.”

Kamloops (23-30-4-2) fought back to tie the game twice in the second period but the Thunderbirds kept them at bay thanks to a strong penalty kill. The Seattle penalty kill wiped out four of the Blazers five attempts on the man advantage, including three in the first period, and managed to score a short-handed goal in the process.

Special teams were a positive for the Thunderbirds Friday night.

“It allowed us to get our feet under us,” O’Dette added about the penalty kill. “The penalty kill stepped up for us, I think we had (three) in the first period, and to escape that and not have any damage was huge. I think we got two power-play goals and a shortie so pretty good night for our special teams.”

Wedman opened the scoring at 8:02 of the first when he took an outlet pass from Tyrel Bauer and ripped his first of the night while on the penalty kill. Philp would give the Thunderbirds a 2-0 first-period lead with his 22^nd of the season but the Blazers would cut the lead in half on a goal from Kobe Mohr before the first period ended.

Volcan set up Wedman for his second and team leading 34^th of the season, 3:25 into the second period when he drew three defenders to him. The Thunderbirds got into puck management trouble after that and the Blazers would tie the game at 3-3 with goals from Josh Pillar and Orrin Centazzo in less than a minute span.

Kukuca would give Seattle the lead back three minutes later when he fired a shot from the circle on the power play for his 24^th of the year. The Thunderbirds power play ended the night 2-for-4. That lead wouldn’t last however as Connor Zary would pick up his 19^th of the season with under two minutes left in the second period to knot things up at four.

Seattle had been outshot 31-16 through the first two periods but thanks to the special teams, was tied at 4-4 heading into the third.

“Not our best first 40, we had some defensive lapses there,” O’Dette said. “Same thing we always talk about, shifts after goals, shifts late period. We gave up some goals at inopportune times but credit to the guys. They buckled down in the third and came out well in the first 12 minutes and took the play to them and managed to take the lead.”

It would be Rybinski with what would be the game-winning score. The goal was his sixth and came at 6:46 when he put back a rebound after a Philp shot. Less than four minutes later Volcan would get the insurance goal and Seattle would hold on to win.

After being heavily out-shot to start the game, the Thunderbirds matched Kamloops at 15 shots apiece in the third.

“Bottom line it was the biggest game of the year and the biggest period of the year,” O’Dette said about his dressing room message prior to the third period. “Empty the tanks and give it everything you have. That’s what we needed.”

While the win was a big one for the Thunderbirds, they won’t have much time to revel in it. They will be back in action for the second of three straight games Saturday when they visit the first place Everett Silvertips.

They aren’t secure in their playoff spot quite yet.

“Big win for sure, but less than 24 hours we’re back at it with the opportunity to get more points,” O’Dette said. “Obviously a big test in Everett (Saturday).”

Notes

• Friday night saw the return of defenseman Simon Kubicek who had not played since Feb. 8^th due to injury. His return is timely as Cade McNelly will miss the entire weekend serving a suspension.

• Kukuca’s goal was his third in as many games, a stretch that has seen him pick up five points.

• Kamloops still has a game in hand on the Thunderbirds and will be in action Saturday when they host the B.C. Division leading Vancouver Giants before heading to Vancouver for a rematch on Sunday.

Follow @AndyEide