Thunderbirds provide no push back in blow out loss to Everett
Dec 16, 2018, 8:44 AM
(Brian Liesse/ T-Birds)
EVERETT – Playing a game on the road against your closest rivals, on Teddy Bear Toss Night, with a sold-out arena, you would think that the Seattle Thunderbirds would hit the ice with fire.
That lasted about seven minutes against the Everett Silvertips Saturday night at the Angel Of The Winds Arena.
The Silvertips erupted for four goals in the first period and would go on to rout the Thunderbirds 6-1.
“There was a lack of resiliency which against our rivals, it’s not too good,” Seattle head coach Matt O’Dette said.
Everett (27-7-1-1) out shot Seattle 39-22 and were led by a two-goal performance from Riley Sutter as well as three other players who recorded two points. It was the fourth straight win for the Silvertips in the 10-game season series between the two teams.
For the first seven minutes Saturday, things were even.
Both teams had some chances, both had a power-play chance but neither had scored. Silvertips forwards Martin Fasko-Rudas would then put his own rebound through Seattle goalie Cole Schwebius at 7:57.
That goal brought down a plush cascade of stuffed animals from the 8,133 in attendance and delayed the game for the ensuing clean up.
“I thought our first seven was fine,” O’Dette said. “They got that first goal and we deflated there and not enough push back, that’s for sure. Just a lot of guys feeling sorry for themselves.”
When the bears were off the ice and play resumed, it would be all Everett.
The Silvertips would score three goals over a five-minute stretch to put the game away and spark the celebration among the home faithful. Bryce Kindopp would start the barrage with his 17th of the year and that would be followed up by scores from Gianni Fairbrother and Sutter.
Seattle (11-16-3-0) had no response.
“You’ve got to respond,” O’Dette added. “You’re playing for each other, you’re playing for the guy in the net, you’re playing for the T-Bird jersey. It’s a disappointing response. Some guys play with their hearts on their sleeve and they bleed for the T-Birds and there’s some guys who don’t care enough.”
The rest of the game felt academic as the Silvertips added two more markers, one from Jackson Berezowski and another from Sutter.
Schwebius appeared to be one of the players who did care. He made his fifth start of the season and stopped 33 shots while battling all night. Even with the score out of hand he made several Grade-A saves in the third period to keep the score from getting completely embarrassing.
It was a disappointing effort for the Thunderbirds who looked like they were starting to turn the corner last week. Saturday night they were playing a bit short-handed as Noah Philp was out of the lineup with an injury, as was defenseman Logan Schaufler. Forward Andrej Kukuca also was a scratch as he is with Team Slovakia’s World Junior Championship camp.
Jaxon Kaluski broke up Everett goalie Dustin Wolf’s shut out bid by scoring his second of the season, in the third period.
The Thunderbirds had a goal to sweep the three-in-three weekend and get back to the .500 mark. That notion is gone after dropping the first two contests. Now, they will head to Spokane to wrap up the first half of the season and hope to hit the holiday break with a better taste in their mouths.
O’Dette’s message for his team was simple and direct.
“It’s not the Christmas break yet,” he said. “Some guys, maybe their heads are there. Are you a hockey player or not? Are you a competitive guy? Do you have any pride? We’ll see what kind of character we have.”
Notes
• Nolan Volcan had his 10-game point streak snapped Saturday after being held off the score sheet.
• Kaluski’s goal was unassisted and the fourth straight such goal scored by Seattle. All three of their goals Friday night against Spokane were also without an assist.
• O’Dette was unsure if Philp would be able to play Sunday.
• Seattle’s power play continues its struggles after an 0-for-6 effort Saturday night.