T-Birds notebook: The unsung step up, Game 5 odds and ends
Mar 29, 2019, 10:35 AM | Updated: 10:39 am
Seattle's Keltie Jeri-Leon sparked a big comeback for the Thunderbirds in Game 4 against Vancouver. (Brian Liesse/Thunderbirds)
(Brian Liesse/Thunderbirds)
When the Seattle Thunderbirds posted the lineup for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series with the Vancouver Giants, 19-year-old Keltie Jeri-Leon was not on it.
He was a healthy scratch, which is never easy on a player, but rather than pout he stayed prepared in the event his number would be called. That call came in Game 2 of the series and he’s played in every game since. Jeri-Leon’s biggest moment came in the second period of Game 4, with his club down 3-0 and in danger of having their backs put against the wall.
Jeri-Leon would light the charge for a Seattle comeback with a goal at the end of a power play. His first career playoff goal would give the Thunderbirds a jolt of momentum which he would add to on his next couple of shifts when he hit a post and then forced Vancouver goalie David Tendeck to make a tough save.
“That’s got to be one of (the more) important goals,” Jeri-Leon said about where his goal ranked in his WHL career.
The Thunderbirds would go on to score three more times, in the third period, to complete the comeback that Jeri-Leon got started. With the win the series is tied at 2-2, setting up a pivotal Game 5 taking place in Langley on Friday night.
Come playoffs, every team needs guys like Jeri-Leon, guys that maybe aren’t the big stars or have the spotlight shining on them at all times. Winning teams need the unsung players to step up and have a moment.
“I really thought Keltie did a great job in the second to providing us with some momentum,” Seattle head coach Matt O’Dette said of Jeri-Leon after Game 4. “That was a big goal. He stays positive the whole time regardless of the amount of ice time he’s getting. He started to get some momentum and confidence going there.”
Ashton steps in and steps up
Like Jeri-Leon, Zachary Ashton was also a healthy scratch for the Thunderbirds when the series started last Friday. Relegated to being Seattle’s seventh defenseman since coming over in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades, Ashton’s been forced into action and has responded.
He stepped in for the suspended Jake Lee in Game 2 and stood tall in a road game where he had to face Vancouver’s top line on several occasions. With Cade McNelly suspended for Game 4, Ashton stayed in the lineup and continued to play well on the back end.
“It’s not easy to step in like that, into high pressure situations like that,” O’Dette said of Ashton, who had never played in the playoffs prior to last Saturday. “He’s keeping it simple and using his skill set which he can move the puck and do some nice things on the blue line and he’s kind of relied on that.”
Not only has Ashton held his own on the blue line but he earned trust in O’Dette, who deployed him on the power play during Game 4.
“He’s had a lot of time on the power play coming up, before his junior career,” O’Dette added. “He hasn’t had quite the opportunity to do it thus far in junior. He’s got a knack for having poise on the blue line and he got rewarded for some of his nice play.”
Ashton will be in the line up for Friday’s Game 5.
Game 5 odds and ends
Seattle forward Sean Richards was handed an indefinite suspension by the WHL on Thursday for his Game 4 checking-from-behind major and game misconduct. While the league didn’t offer any details as to what ‘indefinite’ might mean in terms of games missed, it is safe to assume that the 20-year-old will not play any of the remaining games in the series with Vancouver.
Vancouver head coach Michael Dyck was fined $1000 by the WHL for comments he made to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province earlier in the week. Dyck was not happy with Seattle’s Jake Lee’s suspension for a cross-check on Justin Sourdiff in Game 1. Dyck felt that two games wasn’t a long enough suspension and pulled no punches in saying so. Sourdiff has not returned to the lineup since the play occurred.
When Nolan Volcan takes his first shift Friday night, he will establish a new Seattle franchise mark for games played in the postseason. Friday will be Volcan’s 54th playoff game with the Thunderbirds, one more than his former linemate, Scott Eansor, played in from 2013 through 2017. Volcan has a goal and four assists in the series with Vancouver and in his 53 postseason games has recorded 10 goals, 17 assists for 27 points.
As they have all season, the Giants have used both goaltenders in this series. Trent Miner got the starts in Game’s 1 and 2 while David Tendeck got the nod in both games at the accesso ShoWare Center this week. Who will Dyck turn to in Game 5? We will have to wait to see. Both goalies are tough to beat so the Seattle game plan won’t change too drastically. It will stay simple. Get traffic and shots on net.
