Thunderbirds come up short in Kamloops, lose 4-3

The Thunderbirds were in Kamloops Wednesday night and found a way to lose a game that was winnable.

Seattle’s penalty kill allowed the Blazers to score three power-play goals and come back to beat the T-Birds 4-3. Cole Ully had three points – including two power-play markers – to lead the Blazers to the win. The T-Birds got goals from three different players and made life difficult on themselves with too many penalties.

“It’s a frustrating loss with our mind set,” head coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “There were guys that definitely decided they can do it their way. The mindset wasn’t right from the start.”

Early on, and throughout large stretches of the game, the T-Birds were the better team while playing five-on-five. They would get Kamloops hemmed into their own zone and were generating numerous scoring chances on goalie Connor Ingram. That should have led to the T-Birds wearing down the Blazers but Seattle took undisciplined penalties that let the Blazers hang around.

Ully made Seattle pay for the first penalty when he fired a shot from the faceoff circle past Taran Kozun to give Kamloops the lead mid-way through the first period. The T-Birds would answer right back less than a minute later when Nick Holowko scored his third goal of the year on a rebound.

The T-Birds would then take another penalty and again Ully cashed in for the Blazers’ second power-play goal of the period. Despite controlling the flow of play, the T-Birds were down a goal. The penalties were frustrating because they were plays that Seattle could have easily avoided. The first was an after-the-whistle roughing call and the second was a too-many-men-on-the-ice call thanks to a sloppy line change.

“Not controlling ourselves and crossing the line,” Konowalchuk said of the penalties. “You’ve got to control yourself and think out there. You have to be smart hockey players and we weren’t.”

In the second it looked like the T-Birds had regained their composure and their gameplan. They would tie the game up 3 minutes into it when Roberts Lipsbergs struck on a wrap-around attempt for his second goal of the year. Late in the period, the T-Birds would pick up a power-play goal of their own as Cory Millette scored.

Things were looking up as Seattle headed into the final frame with a 3-2 lead.

Seattle unraveled a bit in the third. The T-Birds started to play sloppy and took another undisciplined penalty early on, which would lead to another power-play goal, this time from the Blazers’ Dawson Davidson. It was the third power-play goal in as many chances for Kamloops as Seattle’s penalty kill was not effective.

“We were soft on the puck about five times so didn’t clear it,” Konowalchuk said. “Other than that we weren’t blocking shots, letting them get loose pucks in front … they were quicker on the power play and we didn’t get it done.”

The T-Birds were unable to control the puck and flow of play the way they had in the second period and could not get the go-ahead goal. With overtime looming they surrendered the lead at the 14:38 mark when Brady Gaudet faked a shot to get past a defender and fire a wrist shot over Kozun’s shoulder.

Afterwards, Konowalchuk lamented the team’s mindset.

“We didn’t play as well as we could,” he said. “We had guys whose job is to get the puck deep and go in and forecheck and they’re trying to make plays. That leads to losing momentum and it leads to penalties. Our mindset wasn’t good for the most part. Going into that third period we started getting cute with the puck and didn’t work hard away from the puck.”

Seattle will now move up north to Prince George for two games against the Cougars this weekend.

Notes

• Shea Theodore picked up two assists on Wednesday and is only two points behind Craig Channell as Seattle’s all-time leader in points from a defenseman.

• The Blazers have struggled over the past two season but don’t tell that to the T-Birds. Kamloops has given Seattle fits, winning three out of four games last season and taking the first two of the season series this year.

• The loss resulted in Seattle losing ground on second-place Portland, which beat Victoria on Wednesday night. The T-Birds also were not able to separate themselves from idle Spokane and Tri-City, which both trail the T-Birds by two points in the U.S. Division.

• Seattle will be taking on a desperate Prince George club. There was a lot of promise for the Cougars this year but they have fallen on hard times, losing their last 10 games.

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