Thunderbirds fall 5-3 to Tri City Americans in 2nd preseason game

EVERETT – There was some good and bad in Seattle’s second preseason game on Saturday afternoon at the Everett Holiday Preseason Tournament. Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, there was more that would be considered bad.

The T-Birds outshot the Tri City Americans at the Xfinity Center but failed to capitalize on their chances and dropped a 5-3 decision. Seattle got goals from Nolan Volcan, Alexander True and MacKenzie Wight while goalie Logan Flodell made 24 saves in the loss.

For Wight, a 2014 seventh-round bantam pick, his goal was huge as he is trying to crack the Seattle roster. The 17 year old has had a strong camp and is hoping it’s enough for him to stick.

“Each year I find new things I need to do to improve,” the Burnaby native said on Saturday. “I’ve tried the last couple of years to make the team and my goal is to make this team and be one of the top players in the future.”

After trailing by two goals early, Wight’s goal tied it up. The play started at the point, where rookie Tyson Terretta was able to keep the puck in the Tri City zone. He flung it to Wight who was parked on the door step of the Americans’ goal.

He made one quick move and slid it past Americans goalie Beck Warm.

“It chipped towards the net and put it on my forehand and the goalie slid with it,” Wight said of the play.

Wight plays a 200-foot game with a lot of energy and, now in his second try to make the club, is hopeful he’ll make the roster.

“He’s had improvements over last year, no doubt about it,” head coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “For him it’s about consistency, shift from shift and day to day.”

While Wight tied the game at two in the second period it wouldn’t be enough as the T-Birds couldn’t find the net enough against Warm and the Americans.

Seattle’s veteran forwards caused havoc on the forecheck and forced a number of turnovers. The T-Birds couldn’t turn those chances into goals, though, as they either missed the net or passed up a shot.

“A little bit inconsistent with some shifts with some of our details,” Konowalchuk said of the game. “We’ve got to work on some of our defensive assignments. I thought some of our vets at times pushed the pace and were good. It was just man to man we had a couple of vets who weren’t quite up to the speed they need to be and some of our young guys we expect to step up a little bit more.”

Seattle’s 2016 first-round pick, Jake Lee, got his first taste of WHL hockey on Saturday. The 15 year old defenseman looked comfortable and like he belonged despite playing against older players. There were times when he joined the rush, made some smart pinches and didn’t look rattled in his own end.

Konowalchuk liked what he saw in his young blue liner.

“For a young kid, he made some plays, was poised,” Konowalchuk said of Lee. “We’re excited, He’s going to be a big part of our future.”

Despite carrying the play, the T-Birds fell behind in the first period when Juuso Valimaki threw a puck towards the Seattle net and it deflected off a T-Bird skate and past Flodell. In the second period, again against the flow of play, Tri City extended its lead on a goal by Parker AuCoin.

The T-Birds would get right back in the game however. First, Ethan Bear made a nice pass through the neutral zone that found Volcan. The speedy winger got in deep and beat Warm with a wrist shot. A few minutes later, Wight would score to even it up.

The tie game was short-lived as three minutes after the Wight tally, Kelte Jeri-Leon scored for Tri City when he picked up a rebound in the slot for a power-play marker.

The T-Birds made things interesting in the third when Alexander True flung a shot through traffic to cut the lead to 4-3. That’s as close as Seattle would get as the Americans added an empty net goal late to ice it.

Notes

• Seattle outshot the Americans 36-29 on the game but also missed the net on several occasions. For the most part, the T-Birds were the better team in terms of puck possession.

• Konowalchuk said that goalie Ryan Gilchrist would get the start in net for Seattle on Sunday when they will play the Spokane Chiefs at 11:30 at Xfinity Center.

• There was a scary moment in Saturday’s early game between Spokane and Portland. Highly regarded Chiefs prospect Koby Morrisseau was hit from behind and driven into the end boards. The former first-round bantam pick was motionless for several minutes but eventually was stabilized and taken off the ice on a stretcher. There was no update on his condition after the game.

• Saturday saw the preseason debuts of several of Seattle regulars as Keegan Kolesar, Ethan Bear, Volcan and True got on the ice.

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