Slow start costly as Winterhawks snap Seattle’s three-game win streak

KENT – Tyson Kozak scored the winning goal during the second period in Portland’s 4-1 triumph against the Thunderbirds Saturday night but the Winterhawks won the game in the first period.

Specifically, it was the first half of the first period, when Portland outshot Seattle 15-1. It set the tone on the night as the Thunderbirds were on their heels and never able to produce a sustained offensive attack.

In the end, Seattle (13-18-2-1) would see it’s three-game win streak snapped.

“They had the jump on us off the start,” Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette said. “We didn’t quite have the same jump or energy that we had last night. They were fired up to beat us and we didn’t match their intensity off the bat.”

Despite losing the puck possession battle early, the Thunderbirds took a lead, on their first shot at 8:17 of the first, when Conner Bruggen-Cate scored his sixth of the year on the power play. The goal went against the flow of play and it didn’t take long for Portland (24-6-1-3) to answer and take all the momentum back.

Jack O’Brien evened the game at 1-1 just over a minute later with his fourth goal of the season as he found a rebound and deposited it past goalie Roddy Ross.

When the period ended, the Winterhawks had a commanding 23-3 advantage on the shot clock.

It was a first period that was a stark contrast from Seattle’s opening 20 minutes Friday where they scored five times.

“We wanted to mimic what we started with last game, but we couldn’t quite do that tonight,” Seattle defenseman Tyrel Bauer said. “We know the feeling, this feeling sucks and we get a chance for revenge on Tuesday and we’ll be up for that.”

Ross kept the Thunderbirds in the game, making 22 saves in the first period and 46 overall but his teammates were unable to generate any offense and Portland eventually took command of the game.

Portland was able to keep Seattle’s potent top line quiet.

Henrik Rybinski picked up an assist on Bruggen-Cate’s goal but otherwise, he and his linemates Keltie Jeri-Leon and Conner Roulette were kept off the scoresheet and only managed four shots at Portland goalie Isaiah DiLaura.

The rest of the Thunderbirds were unable to contribute as well and Seattle was held to the lone score.

“We just weren’t executing and efficient with our puck movement,” O’Dette said. “Their speed, I think, accounts for some of that. They were on us pretty quick and we didn’t have as much time to make plays and just fighting the puck a little bit, we were, tonight.

“(We) just couldn’t move the puck well enough to create enough in their end and get in their end to do what we do. I thought we had a few spurts.”

Kozak put Portland up for good late in the second and the Winterhawks added a dagger when Mason Mannek intercepted a clearing pass and made it 3-1 at 12:56 of the third period.

The Thunderbirds tried to push late and appeared to cut the lead to one when they crashed the net and DiLaura fell into the goal with the puck under him. The officials waved the goal off saying the Portland goalie was pushed into the net even though replays appeared to show that may not have been the case.

“I saw the puck between his legs and we kind of poked it in,” O’Dette said of the play. “It went under is legs and into the back of the net…I don’t know if they reviewed that, but we haven’t been getting those calls going our way, with the disallowed goals. It is what it is.”

The loss didn’t cost the Thunderbirds in the standings and they remain tied with the Tri-City Americans for the last playoff spot in the conference.

Saturday was a lesson for the young Thunderbirds as they were not able to duplicate Friday’s effort, against a quality opponent.

“Our last stretch leading into the break was really good hockey,” Bauer said. “We were winning and kind of felt what it was like to win and we knew that we could win and could skate with any team when we play our style. That really helped our confidence going in and there’s going to be road bumps, and this game might have been one of them, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to come out strong next game.”

Seattle will get a chance to come out strong during a rematch on Tuesday night in Portland for the annual New Year’s Eve game against the Winterhawks.

“We’ve had a good stretch, played a lot of good games in a row,” O’Dette said. “It’s been a while that we’ve been disappointed in how we played. They’re a good team. They’re a first-place team for a reason. I’m sure they didn’t like getting beat in their building and they had a response to that. We can’t get too down, we’ve had a good stretch and we had an off night, we have to get back on the horse.”

Game Notes

• Roulette had his modest three-game point streak snapped Saturday night. He had scored four goals and seven points over the stretch.

• Seattle’s record against its archrivals dropped to 2-2-0-0.

• New York Islanders prospect Reece Newkirk finished the scoring for Portland by scoring an empty-netter for his 14^th of the season.

• The Thunderbirds struggling power play has scored twice in the last two games after going 1-for-5 Saturday. They held the potent Portland power play to 0-for-4.

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