T-Birds light up Giants 5-3 to stay unbeaten at home

After a 23-minute delay to the start of the second period due to the ShoWare Center lights not coming back on, the T-Birds would score three unanswered goals and go on to beat the Giants 5-3.

BY ANDY EIDE

Nov 28, 2015, 7:17 AM Updated: 6:34 pm

Follow on Google News

Mathew Barzal set up four goals as the Thunderbirds beat Vancouver 5-3 on Friday. (T-Birds photo)

(T-Birds photo)

KENT â€“ The Thunderbirds bounced back Friday night with a lights out performance against the Vancouver Giants.

Instead of Black Friday it was a black-out Friday, as after a 23-minute delay to the start of the second period due to the ShoWare Center lights not coming back on, the T-Birds scored three unanswered goals and go on to beat the Giants 5-3. The win was Seattle’s ninth straight at home this year as it maintained its perfect home record.

Two nights after being held off the score sheet completely, the T-Birds’ top line responded in a big way. Mathew Barzal picked up four assists while Ryan Gropp scored a goal and added two assists of his own.

“I don’t think we played a full 60,” Barzal said after. “But I thought for the most part we set the tone and got back to basics after the Kelowna game.”

Perhaps the biggest positive to come out of Friday’s win was that Seattle got back to playing its game, the game that had won six straight before Wednesday’s loss in Kelowna.

With the score tied at one, the two clubs came out to start the second period. Both clubs waited as the house lights were still out and had weren’t coming on. The delay continued for a while before the officials sent both teams back to their respective dressing rooms.

The event could have sucked the life out of the building, but the 4,193 in attendance turned it into a party. Many in the crowd turned on the lights on their cell phones and sang along to the music being played. The atmosphere went from hockey game to concert in an instant.

“It was crazy,” Barzal said. “The fans stayed pretty hyped up and they didn’t lose any energy so it was actually pretty cool. I’ll be talking about it for a while.”

The delay didn’t cost the T-Birds at all. They came out ready to play, although goalie Taz Burman had to be sharp right from the puck drop as he made a big save to preserve the tie.

“They did (come out strong) other than the first shift,” head coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “First drop of the puck we needed a big save from Tazzy. We talk about timely save, it’s a 1-1 game there, that’s a timely save as we go down and get the next goal.”

Seattle took the lead on a power-play goal five minutes into the second when Barzal and Gropp worked the puck over to Ethan Bear who blasted a slap shot past Vancouver goalie Ryan Kubic. Three minutes later, rookie Mathew Wedman tipped a Jared Hauf shot past Kubic to extend the lead.

Gropp would complete the outburst when he walked in and fired a deadly wrist shot past the goaltender for his 14th goal of the season.

Seattle’s top line has been a huge part of the team’s success this year and when it doesn’t generate offense the T-Birds struggle. Friday night, they got back to working hard.

“Any time you get held off the score sheet it’s frustrating as an offensive player,” Gropp said. “I thought we really pushed forward and just forgot about last one to have a strong one tonight.”

The Giants would cut into the Seattle lead before the period was over on an Alec Baer goal with just over three minutes left but Barzal would make a great pass to a pinching Jerret Smith early in the third period for a goal to get the three-goal lead back.

Late in the period, Vancouver made a big push and picked up another goal late but was unable to get closer than 5-3.

“Probably the biggest problem we had was when we got a couple goal lead there and guys got excited and thought they could make pretty plays,” Konowalchuk said. “Again the other team got some life there. We were able to buckle back down and go after them when we needed to. Still, we’d like to learn to stick with it every shift and you’ll get more done in the long run.”

Special teams were good for the T-Birds on Friday as they picked up two power-play goals starting with a Jarret Tyszka point shot in the first period. The T-Birds took a number of penalties but their penalty kill was strong as Vancouver ended the night 1 for 7 with the man advantage.

“A little bit careless,” Konowalchuk said about the penalties. “Hard working penalties but careless at the same time. You’ve got to be smart with your stick.”

The game got a little out of hand late as the Giants frustration grew and they began to take liberties that didn’t sit well with Seattle’s players. Both clubs combined for 52 minutes in penalties called during the last two minutes of the game.

“We’re one big family here and everybody sticks up for everybody,” Gropp said. “You see guys in the rough stuff who aren’t normally there so it was good to see from the bench.”

In the end the T-Birds bounced back from a less than stellar effort in Kelowna and got back on track. They will hope to carry Friday’s momentum into Saturday evening when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors.

“I thought for the most part all of our guys bounced back and had a pretty strong game,” Konowalchuk said. “We all need to take that game as a challenge. It was a little bit of a slap in the face. Nothing gets done if you don’t put the work in.”

Notes

â€¢ Barzal was originally only credited with three assists but a post-game review of the scoring plays determined he should get an assist on Bear’s power-play goal. It’s Barzal’s 13th multi-assist game of the year and the second time he’s had four or more â€“ he picked up five assists on October 27th against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

â€¢ Burman made 21 saves on the night to pick up his sixth win of the year for Seattle.

â€¢ Barzal grew up a fan of the Giants and has scored a goal and five assists in the two games he’s played against his hometown team this season. “It’s fun (playing them),” he said. “I grew up watching them. I’ve got a few buddies on that team so its nice to go out there and compete and get a win.”

â€¢ Saturday’s opponents, the Moose Jaw Warriors, were in Everett Friday night and were blanked by the Silvertips 5-0.

Follow Andy Eide on Twitter @andyeide.