T-Birds hold on to beat Medicine Hat 5-2 and snap losing streak

It was almost a case of deja vu for the Thunderbirds at Medicine Hat’s Canalta Centre on Saturday night.

For the third time on their road trip they would enter the third period with a 3-1 lead. After blowing the lead in the previous two attempts there was a certain ‘not again’ vibe in the air. When Medicine Hat’s Max Gerlach scored 55 seconds into the third period to make it 3-2, it looked like the T-Birds might be headed for another night of heartbreak.

This night would be different. The T-Birds held on behind strong goaltending from Logan Flodell and a late power-play goal from Ethan Bear to win 5-2 and snap their four-game losing streak.

Seattle got a big night from its top line of Mathew Barzal, Keegan Kolesar and Ryan Gropp, something that had been missing so far on the road trip.

“They needed (a big night),” Steve Konowalchuk said. “One thing on this trip was that a lot of our top guys were inconsistent… We needed those guys to work hard and that’s what they did, the guys stepped up.”

The top guys were good on this night and combined for three goals and three assists, as well as going plus-4.

Seattle also wasted no time to show this was a different night by scoring nine seconds into the game. On the opening faceoff, Jerret Smith chipped a bouncing puck into the Tigers zone where Gropp took a wild swing at it. He connected and deposited it behind goalie Nick Schneider for his eighth marker of the year.

Seattle led 1-0 but sometimes a goal that quick can have a negative effect, causing everyone to lay off, looking for an easy night.

“That fired us up,” Konowalchuk said. “With the way things have been going I don’t think anybody thought it was going to be easy. Usually when you’re in a rut, it’s not a blowout that gets you out of it, it’s a tough win.”

The T-Birds would add to their first period lead later on when Kolesar banged home a power-play goal from the side of the net. It was his 11th of the season but his first in four games. Barzal picked up his second assist of the night on that goal, but the night would soon turn bizarre for him.

Midway through the second period Barzal knocked into Steven Owre, who fell and slid into the boards. A penalty was called but the officials and linesmen huddled for a lengthy time to discuss it. Their verdict was that the play was worthy of a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for Barzal. That meant the T-Birds would not only have to kill off a long penalty, but would lose their top center for the remainder of the game.

It was a questionable call to say the least.

“They thought the guy was hurt,” Konowalchuk said. “I’ll have to check the rule book but it was a borderline hit and that’s a tough judgment call. We had to stay focused, everyone was upset but we had to stay focused and come up with a big kill.”

Owre initially headed to the Medicine Hat dressing room but was back on the ice during the ensuing power play. On that power play, the Tigers would draw to within a goal when Gerlach banged home a rebound through traffic. With still four minutes to kill, the game was suddenly looking a bit dicey.

Seattle buckled down the rest of the power play, however, and just as it was ending would strike on a fluky goal.

Gropp was in the Tigers zone on a forecheck and disrupted the Medicine Hat rush. Mathew Wedman then swooped in and took a swing at the puck which deflected off of a Tigers stick into the air and over Schneider’s shoulder for a goal.

Seattle had survived the Barzal major and restored its two-goal lead. It was a lucky goal, but luck that was created by some hard work.

“You work hard and good things will happen,” Konowalchuk said. “They got an early one but after that we didn’t really allow any time in the zone and then we came down and got the big goal.”

Seattle would then have to come up big again to avoid a third two-goal meltdown in the final frame. After Gerlach scored early the Tigers had the momentum. They outshot the T-Birds 11-1 at one point in the period but Flodell made some of the best saves he’s made all year. He ended the night with 25 saves and he kept the Tigers at bay.

Two late Medicine Hat penalties gave Seattle a golden opportunity to put the game away. With the two-man advantage the T-Birds were patient and Gropp worked the puck to Smith who fed Bear for the slapper. It was Seattle’s second power-play goal of the night on seven tries.

The T-Birds can now take a big sigh of relief and head back to the ShoWare Center to regroup from a frustrating road trip. They will have a week off before traveling to Victoria for two games against the suddenly hot Royals.

Getting a win before that was big.

“It would have been a long week and a tough mindset going into Victoria,” Konowalchuk said. “We have things to work on, and we haven’t had a lot of practice time, but now we’ll get a week of practice and be able to work on getting better.”

Notes

• After the initial 11-1 shot advantage in the third period, Seattle turned the tide down the stretch and outshot the Tigers 5-1 while scoring twice.

• Wedman had a strong night for Seattle. He scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal but he also stepped in and killed penalties after Barzal was ejected. Wedman is only 16 years old but the rookie has been impressive with eight points in his 16 games.

• He’s quiet off the ice and Bear is quietly having a great offensive season. The blue-liner is scoring at a point-per-game pace with four goals and 17 points. That puts him fifth in the league for scoring by defensemen.

• Despite going 2-4 on the road trip, Seattle still finds itself in first place in the U.S. Division. The T-Birds lead Spokane by two points with a game in hand.

Follow Andy Eide on Twitter @andyeide.

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