T-Birds powerless in 3-2 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings

With over 20 different players on the two rosters, Friday night’s game between the Thunderbirds and the Brandon Wheat Kings wasn’t quite a full rematch of last year’s WHL Final.

While there were a lot of new faces on both sides, the result at Westman Place in Brandon was familiar for the T-Birds.

Seattle couldn’t capitalize on 10 power-play chances and would end up losing by the same 3-2 score as Game’s 1 and 2 last spring. Like those games in the finals, the T-Birds had a lead in the third period but couldn’t hold it.

Brandon’s Kale Clague would score the game-winning goal for the Wheat Kings midway through the third period this time as Seattle had blown a 2-1 lead. The T-Birds got goals from Nolan Volcan and Turner Ottenbreit while goalie Rylan Toth made 27 saves in the loss that snapped a two-game win streak.

The story for the T-Birds was the missed opportunities on the power play. Seattle converted on one power play in the third period but failed on nine others throughout the evening.

“We had some shots on the power play,” head coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “It wasn’t that we couldn’t get set up but we didn’t find a way to score. We’ve just got to execute.”

Seattle couldn’t cash in on two stretches where they played five-on-three and two late power plays in the game’s final five minutes.

Defenseman Ethan Bear is a mainstay on Seattle’s power play and often will stay on the ice for the full two minutes. Unfortuantely for the T-Birds, they lost Bear for the night early in the first period.

“It changes things,” Konowalchuk said of Bear. “He’s a big part of that power play. But we have other guys who can definently step up. Especially with that many power plays.”

Bear was given the gate eight minutes into the contest when he was assessed a match penalty for spearing Brandon’s Tyler Coulter. That put the Wheat Kings on an extended power play and cost Seattle their top defenseman.

“Supposedly he hooked him or something, in the midsection,” Konowalchuk said. “I didn’t get a chance to look at it yet, I just know what they called on the scoresheet.”

When the penalty occurred the T-Birds were on the power play and during the brief seconds of four-on-four play that followed the Wheat Kings would strike. Ty Lewis picked the puck up in the neutral zone and was off on a two-on-one break. He faked the pass, cut into the zone and fired a wrist shot past Toth.

The Wheat Kings would then have over four minutes of a major power-play that included a prolonged stretch of playing up two men after another Seattle penalty. The T-Birds and Toth held off the Brandon attack and appeared to pick up a boost from it.

The penalties kept coming after that. The two teams ended the night with a combined 14 power-play attempts which hampered the flow of the game. It also didn’t allow Konowalchuk to get a look at some new lines he had put together.

“The whole game was a mix-match with the lines,” Konowalchuk said. “Losing Bear, I had to put (Anthony) Bishop back on D so then you have to mix them up. With all the special teams we didn’t really get a chance to see the lines together.”

Bishop, a defenseman by trade, has been playing on the wing for Seattle’s fourth line as it continues to be thin in the forward corps.

Trailing by a goal in the third period, the T-Birds would strike quickly to take a lead. Sami Moilanen made a nice pass to Volcan who converted to tie the game just 28 seconds into the frame. Just over a minute later Seattle would get its one power-play conversion as Ottenbreit’s wrist shot from the point made its way through traffic and beat goalie Jordan Papirny.

It was looking like the T-Birds might be in for a repeat of Wednesday’s game in Prince Albert when they erupted for quick goals in the third period. This time however, the Wheat Kings would grab the momentum back.

Stelio Mattheos deflected a point shot past Toth to tie the game back up and then just before the ten minute mark Clague would get the winner after pinching in from the point.

The loss dropped Seattle’s record on its six-game road swing to 3-2 with one more contest to go Saturday night in Moose Jaw. It will be the fourth game in five nights so managing fatigue will be an issue.

“We’ve got to take care of ourselves tonight, get a good meal,” Konowalchuk said. “Get there as quick as we can and be mentally tough and ready to play.”

Notes

• Ryan Gropp had an assist on the Ottenbreit goal to extend his point-streak to five straight games.

• Moilanen’s assist was his 11^th point on the year to lead the T-Birds in scoring.

• The nine power-play chances is the most for the T-Birds this season. They had eight power-plays back on October 15^th at Everett.

• Seattle’s penalty kill struggled to start the season but has rounded into form of late. They killed off all four Wheat King chances Friday and have only allowed two power-play goals over their last 22 chances

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