THUNDERBIRDS

Self inflicted mistakes sink Thunderbirds in Game 1 rout

Mar 22, 2019, 11:18 PM

Vancouver's Tristen Nielsen tries to score on Seattle's Roddy Ross during Game 1 of the WHL Playoff...

Vancouver's Tristen Nielsen tries to score on Seattle's Roddy Ross during Game 1 of the WHL Playoffs (Rik Fedyk/Giants)

(Rik Fedyk/Giants)

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The old saying is that everything is heightened during the playoffs, and that includes mistakes.

Mistakes plagued the Seattle Thunderbirds during Game 1 of their first-round playoff series with the Vancouver Giants. It started late in the first period with a retaliatory penalty that resulted in a Vancouver power play that was cashed in on to start the second period. Later in the period, with the Giants up 2-0 the Thunderbirds had a power play and hoped it would get them back into the game. Instead, they turned it over five feet in front of goalie Roddy Ross which resulted in a short-handed goal that sent the Giants on their way.

The mistakes led to four goals for Vancouver in the second period to dig a hole that the Thunderbirds weren’t able to get out of as they lost 7-1.

“We didn’t really bring the work ethic,” Seattle’s Nolan Volcan said. “One of our keys is trying to avoid big plays and we probably had seven that ended up in our net. It was embarrassing and guys have to look in the mirror, but the good thing is that it only counts as one win and we’ll try to bounce back tomorrow.”

The Giants got a big night from two of their defensemen as Dylan Plouffe scored twice while adding an assist and Bowen Byram scored a goal to go with a helper. Vancouver started goalie Trent Miner and he stopped 27 Seattle shots. The Thunderbirds lone goal game off the stick of Andrej Kukuca.

A late penalty for cross checking was called on Seattle’s Jaret Tyszka after a teammate was taken hard to the boards. Tyszka got the only penalty and the ensuing power play carried over into the second period. Milos Roman would cash in for the Giants 1:20 into the period to give Vancouver the lead.

It also gave them the momentum as Lukas Svejkovsky would circle the Seattle zone 23 seconds later and fire a shot past a screened Roddy Ross.

“We took an undisciplined penalty and they score,” Seattle head coach Matt O’Dette said. “Sometimes it’s hard to kill off those undisciplined ones. That got the ball rolling for them, they scored on the next shift. Shifts after goals, we talk about game management all the time. We were chasing the game from there and making some mistakes, forcing things a little bit too much, which led to opportunities to them.”

The Thunderbirds had a chance to get back in the game, down just 2-0, when they got a power play of their own five minutes later. Jake Lee fumbled the puck right in front of his own net. It was picked up by Vancouver’s Jadon Joseph and he moved in Ross. The Seattle goalie made a great pad save but had no support for the rebound, which Joseph easily tapped in to make it 3-0.

With that goal, the flood gates opened.

Plouffe would pot his first on a slapper later in the period to make it 4-0 before Kukuca scored late in the second to stop the bleeding. The third period would feature more of the same as the Thunderbirds struggled to manage the puck and allowed three more goals off the sticks of Dawson Holt, Plouffe and Byram.

“Puck management wasn’t where it needed to be,” O’Dette added. “In a playoff game those mistakes are magnified. In order for us to be successful we need to get it deep in their end. Our grit and our usual battle level wasn’t where it needed to be.”

Seattle had chances in the first period when it had two power plays. The Thunderbirds had some good looks but couldn’t cash in to grab the early momentum.

Special teams were a factor Friday as the Thunderbirds went 0-for-7 on the power play, while allowing a short-handed goal, and Vancouver converted on two of its seven looks.

“They’ve got a top five power play in the league,” O’Dette said. “It’s not a recipe to win by parading to the box. Undisciplined play will not get rewarded in the playoffs.”

Down 1-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Thunderbirds will have to regroup for Game 2 at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday night.

While the final score was ugly, there is still a lot of hockey to be played in this series. That was the Thunderbirds message after Friday’s loss.

“Despite the score, were down 1-0,” O’Dette said. “We lost a game on the road, whether its 7-1 or 2-1 in overtime we’re still in the same boat going into tomorrow. I expect a better effort.”

Notes

• Effort and discipline were the key words from the Seattle dressing room after the game. “We obviously didn’t play our best game,” Volcan said. “It wasn’t like we gave it our all and ended up losing 7-1. They’re a great team and to compete with them you have to bring it every night. We didn’t and that’s the result you get.”

• Ross made 25 saves for Seattle but was pulled after allowing six of the seven goals. It’s hard to fault him on any of the scores as he wasn’t given much support from his mates in front of him. “Some of those goals were legit goals,” O’Dette said about his goalie. “They go to the net hard and there was some traffic on some of those. You can’t fault him for that game, we took him out to save him for tomorrow night.”

• O’Dette said that he and his staff would review the film and assess whether any adjustments to the lineup needed to be made for Game 2 on Saturday.

• Lee was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for a cross check with six seconds left in the contest. The league reviews all such penalties to determine what, if any, additional discipline is in order.

Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds GM Bil La Forge has some moves to make this offseason. (Brian Liesse/T-Birds photo)...

Andy Eide

Thunderbirds GM Bil La Forge dishes on the upcoming offseason

Thunderbirds general manager Bil La Forge will make some moves this summer to improve his club. Will they be big ones?

3 years ago

Seattle’s Keltie Jeri-Leon celebrates his final WHL goal Sunday against Spokane. (Brian Liess...

Andy Eide

Thunderbirds end strange and hard season on a high note with dominating win over Spokane

The Seattle Thunderbirds dealt with a lot of adversity this season but end on a high note.

3 years ago

Keltie Jeri-Leon plays his final WHL game for the Thunderbirds Sunday night. (Brian Liesse)...

Andy Eide

Keltie Jeri-Leon set to play his final WHL game as Thunderbirds face Spokane Sunday

After five seasons, Seattle's lone over-aged player, Keltie Jeri-Leon will play his final junior game Sunday night.

3 years ago

Seattle rookie Scott Ratzlaff won his first WHL game in his first start. (Judy Simpson/TC Americans...

Andy Eide

Scott Ratzlaff earns first WHL win as Thunderbirds beat Tri-City

Behind a rookie goalie, the Thunderbirds kicked off the season's final weekend with a 5-2 win in Kennewick against the Tri-City Americans.

3 years ago

The Seattle Thunderbirds celebrate after snapping a six-game losing streak Sunday night. (Brian Lie...

Andy Eide

Thunderbirds enjoy winning again after snapping six-game losing streak

The Seattle Thunderbirds have been scuffling but battled against a good Portland Winterhawks club to snap a six-game losing streak.

3 years ago

Thunderbirds forward Reid Schaefer fights for position Sunday in Portland. (Megan Connelly/Winterha...

Andy Eide

Dealing with adversity, young Thunderbirds drop pair of games in Portland

Injuries and penalties have thrown a ton of adversity at the young Thunderbirds which showed up in a pair of losses at Portland this weekend.

3 years ago

Self inflicted mistakes sink Thunderbirds in Game 1 rout