Moose Jaw drops Thunderbirds 6-2

The Seattle Thunderbirds welcomed back Shea Theodore Wednesday night but his return to the lineup wasn’t enough to get them a win.

Despite the high-scoring defenseman’s presence, the T-Birds dropped a 6-2 decision to the Moose Jaw Warriors at Mosaic Place. The Warriors picked up goals from six different players and backup goalie Justin Paulic was big, making 31 saves to keep the T-Birds at bay.

Seattle’s goalies did not fare as well as they allowed six goals on only 20 shots. Seattle got goals from Alexander True and Nick Holowko but once again made too many mistakes and couldn’t capitalize on its chances.

The T-Birds have now dropped two straight on their Eastern swing and face an uphill battle this weekend with three games in three nights.

“We’ve got to make sure we regroup here,” head coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “Take the positive out, correct some of the mistakes and go from there. There were some good things. I think every individual has to put the pressure on themselves and make sure they’re not the guy making the mistakes.”

The T-Birds started this game strong and it looked like they were going to have a good night. They got on the board first when Alexander True knocked home a pass from Ryan Gropp for his fifth goal of the year. It was a power-play goal and a much needed one for Seattle’s ailing power-play unit.

The T-Birds had a one-goal lead and were controlling play, but they then got into penalty trouble. Moose Jaw had three consecutive power plays, and while they didn’t score on any of them, Seattle was on its heels. Shortly after the last power play had ended the Warriors tied the game when Jiri Smejkal picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Taran Kozun.

“I liked our start. We took a couple of penalties there that gave them some momentum,” Konowalchuk said. “But most of (Moose Jaw’s goals) came from individual breakdowns. It can’t happen, it’s basic hockey.”

Those breakdowns were prevalent in a disastrous second period.

The T-Birds outshot Moose Jaw 16-8 in the second period, but it may have ended up being the most frustrating 20-minutes the team has played all year. Moose Jaw took the lead after Seattle coughed up the puck in the neutral zone, which allowed Kolten Olynek to break in the zone alone for a goal.

Four minutes later Seattle allowed an odd-man rush and Jack Rodewald scored his 11th goal of the year to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead. Shortly after that the Seattle defense allowed Brayden Point – one of the top scorers in the WHL – to get behind the defense, and he was able to beat Kozun for his ninth goal of the year. That ended the night for Seattle’s starting goalie, who gave up four goals on only 11 shots before being replaced by Danny Mumaugh.

“They were definitely quality chances that were scored on him,” Konowalchuk said of Kozun’s night. “I wasn’t faulting him but at the same time Kozun didn’t look his best, so it was a combination of shaking the team up and getting Mumaugh in there to see if he could shut the door.”

The second period was only half over and the T-Birds found themselves down four goals.

If they were going to stage a comeback they were going to have to cash in on chances of their own. Seattle got extended power-play time late in the second, which included nearly a minute of 5-on-3, yet couldn’t score. With Theodore quarterbacking the top power-play unit in his return, it was able to move the puck and get shots, but it just couldn’t score.

On some shots Paulic would make a good save, on others they would get some bad puck luck. Theodore hit two posts during the power-play time, which added to the T-Birds frustration. When the period ended Seattle had surrendered three goals, failed on three power plays and hit two posts.

More importantly, they had dug a huge hole for themselves.

There was a glimmer of hope early in the third period when Holowko scored to cut the lead back to two goals. That hope disappeared quickly, however, as nine seconds later Moose Jaw broke in on a two-on-one and Brett Howden scored to put the game away.

“That’s a tough one,” Konowalchuk said. “Our fourth line goes out there and gets a goal and the next shift we make a mental error and let them come back and score. That’s a huge mistake and a big part of the game.”

The Warriors would add an insurance score a couple of minutes later from Dustin Perillat, making the rest of the game academic.

The T-Birds will now regroup and prepare for a grueling weekend, which starts with the tough challenge of taking on the high-scoring Brandon Wheat Kings Friday night.

Notes

• Seattle was without defenseman Evan Wardley, as earlier in the day the WHL handed down a five-game suspension for his checking from behind penalty Saturday night in Saskatoon. It’s the second multiple-game suspension Wardley has served this year, as earlier he was suspended seven games.

• The T-Birds were again without Mathew Barzal as he continues to suffer from a lower-body injury. The Shaw television crew that televised the game Wednesday night reported that Barzal was going to be out for two months.

• Alexander True has been playing well of late and his goal Wednesday night gives him a modest three-game scoring streak. He has two goals and an assist over that span.

• The T-Birds power play continues to struggle. They were 1-for-6 on the evening and missed a chance to get back in the game during the second period. With Theodore’s return they did look better. There was good puck movement and they generated several good scoring chances.

Follow Andrew Eide on Twitter @andyeide.

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