Game 3: Inability to find the back of the net leads to Raiders blanking of Seattle
Oct 7, 2011, 10:15 PM | Updated: Oct 8, 2011, 1:36 am
(2-4-0-1) Prince Albert 5, (0-3) Seattle Thunderbirds 0
“We totally got away from our game plan and tried to do it individually and some guys didn’t continue to work as hard the rest of the game”… Steve Konowalchuk
KENT- Early domination by the Thunderbirds, who were up 16-7 in shots more than halfway through the first period and 21-11 after 20 minutes would turn to disappointment as subpar second and third periods lead to a 5-0 shutout at the hands of Prince Albert.
The Birds got the games first power play chance when Antoine Corbin went off for Interference at 12:45. The Birds would get chance after chance but some good saves by Raiders goalie Eric Williams (1-2-0-1) and a couple of shots hitting the post would cost them a power play goal.
Connor Sanvido’s Interference penalty would lead to the Raiders taking a 1-0 lead on Tyler Vanscourt’s (1) power play tally at 18:13.
Despite out shooting Prince Albert 21-11 the Birds found themselves down 1-0 after the first.
The Raiders came out strong to start the second period and it would lead to their second power play chance when Luke Lockhart was called for Tripping.
Prince Albert nearly went up 2-0 but a stunning pad save by Calvin Pickard (0-3) kept the Birds within one.
The Raiders had the first 11 shots on net in the period.
The Raiders continued to pressure and that allowed Vanscourt (2) to net his second goal of the game at 11:04 to put the Raiders up 2-0.
Seattle went to the power play when James Bettauer was called for Slashing. The Birds had another golden opportunity to get on the board with a flurry in front of the Raiders’ net but simply could not find the back of the net.
The Raiders would go up 3-0 at 16:27 on Todd Fiddler’s second goal of the season.
After putting up 21 shots in the first period the Birds only managed eight shots in the second as they were out shot 18-8.
After matching minors to begin the third period the Raiders would get a four on three opportunity when Brad Deagle went off for Tripping.
Prince Albert cashed in and took a commanding 4-0 lead when Vanscourt (3) completed the hat trick at 1:57.
Another Seattle power play chance would go for naught when they couldn’t cash in on a Tyler Yaworski Slashing penalty.
After killing off Austin Frank’s Interference penalty the Birds would go down 5-0 when Corbin scored his first goal of the season at 9:44.
Daniel Cotton would relieve Pickard in net.
The Birds are out shot 45-36 and lose 5-0.
A very disappointing result after a strong start by the Birds. It was almost a tale of two games. There was the first period which was arguably the Birds best period of the season even though the Raiders scored on the power play late in the period. Then there was the rest of the game which was dominated by the Raiders.
“The Raiders weathered a storm in the first period. We totally got away from our game plan and tried to do it individually and some guys didn’t continue to work as hard the rest of the game,” said Head Coach Steve Konowalchuk .
“It’s a matter of lack of success in the past, the here we go again mentality that we have to change,” Konowalchuk said in response to being asked why things changed so dramatically and if it had to do with not being able to score in the first period.
When it was brought up that the team is missing it’s 20 year old d-men, along with having a couple of recent additions, Konowalchuk offered no excuses.”Everybody that’s in the lineup we expect to play. You want to be in this league..play.”
Branden Troock was playing for the first time since March of 2010 and Konowalchuk saw some good things from the 17 year old forward. “As the game went on I got him more and more involved. He’s got a good talent level.”
When talking about a new system taking time and the inability to get lines straight with injuries Konowalchuk said simply and succinctly, “No excuses tonight. We played a great first period and sucked the last two periods. No excuses.”
In the first few games the Birds have had problems on the PK as witnessed tonight giving up two power play goals. “We have to get more in sync, we have to get better five on five as well in our own end,” said Konowalchuk. “When you are clicking together five on five the penalty kill will get better also.”
When asked about what the team needs to do to get a win Konowalchuk made it simple. “You get back on the horse. The great thing about sports is you always get a chance to redeem yourself and that’s what we’re going to do.”
On the plus side:
– The Birds came out strong in the first period and really controlled play
– Troock is back in the lineup and was right in the middle of several plays making some very nice passes
– The Birds got some shots (36) even though none hit the back of the net.
On the minus side:
– After a strong first period the Birds looked bad for the final 40 minutes allowing the Raiders to take over
– There are several guys in the lineup who were no shows for a good portion of the game
– Once again the Birds give up a ton of shots (45)
– The penalty kill was ineffective in giving up two goals on just four chances
– The power play was ineffective going 0 for 4.
Game Notes:
– D Jared Hauf returned from injury
– D Cason Machacek was serving the first game of a two game suspension.
– D Kyle Verdino is out with an upper body injury.D Erik Fleming is out with a lower body injury. D Evan Wardley is out with a lower body injury. F Colin Jacobs is out with an upper body injury.
MyNorthwest.com 3 stars:
1st star: Tyler Vanscourt (hat trick)
2nd star: Eric Williams (36 save SO)
3rd star: Justin Maylan (3 assists)
Game Summary can be found on the WHL website
The Thunderbirds play Saturday night at the ShoWare Center at 7 pm against the Victoria Royals. The game can be heard live at MyNorthwest.com
