Thunderbirds open exhibition schedule with a 2-0 loss to Tri City

Seattle opened the preseason schedule against the Tri City Americans at the Everett Silvertips Holiday Preseason tournament and were shut out 2-0.

BY ANDY EIDE

Sep 4, 2015, 2:36 PM Updated: Sep 7, 2015, 10:13 am

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EVERETT – The Thunderbirds got a chance to play against a team wearing different sweaters Friday morning in Everett, but came away with an empty feeling.

Seattle opened the preseason schedule with a game against the Tri City Americans at the Everett Silvertips Holiday Preseason tournament and were shut out 2-0. The T-Birds showed some rust, were sloppy and could not beat the combination of Evan Sarthou and Beck Warm who combined to make 27 saves in the shut out.

“Sloppy at times,” head coach Steve Konowalchuk said of the game. “I thought we did some good things but it definitely was a preseason game.”

It wasn’t all bad for the T-Birds.

Goalie Taz Burman made his first appearance in a Seattle uniform and played well. The former Red Deer Rebel gave up one goal while making 32 saves.

He is fighting it out with Logan Flodell for the number one goalie spot and got off to a good start.

“It’s good to get out there in a real game and feel the puck,” Burman said after. “It’s nice to get a lot of shots in the first period and it gets you into the game.”

Burman stopped 16 shots in the first period and wasn’t beaten until late in the third period when Vladislav Lukin broke into the Seattle zone on a two-on-one and snapped a tough, top-shelf wrister. The goal was a short-handed tally and came with under three minutes left in the contest. The Americans would add an empty net score late to seal the deal.

After a week of only playing 25 minutes at a time in scrimmages, Burman liked getting a chance to go the full 60 minutes.

“Its always nice to play the full game, it replicates the regular season,” he said. “With the three goalies we have and three games it sets up perfectly.”

Flodell and goalie Ryan Gilchrist are also still in camp with the T-Birds and each will get a full game this weekend according to Konowalchuk.

Offensively the T-Birds managed 27 shots on goal but were not able to convert. Konowalchuk liked the number of chances but thought the team passed up too many shots.

“We didn’t shoot near enough and when we did shoot we missed the net on some point blank chances,” the coach said.

Konowalchuk also thought that some guys on his squad didn’t play with enough passion, something he’d like to see change as the club moves into the regular season.

“I saw a little bit of complacency at times,” he said. “We had a very young team last year and we had some guys come back, not everyone, but some guys who thought ‘oh, now it’s going to be a little bit easier’ but it doesn’t work that way.”

The closest Seattle came to scoring was late in the second period during a delayed penalty call. The T-Birds moved the puck around with the extra skater and Mathew Barzal found Nick Holowko for what appeared to be the game’s first score. Unfortunately for Seattle, Mathew Wedman had interfered with a Tri City player and the goal was waived off.

The T-Birds will back in action Saturday afternoon when they will play Victoria at 3 PM.

Notes

• The T-Birds iced a mixed lineup with both veteran players and young guys. Defensively, rookies Jarret Tyszka, Reece Harsch, and Brandon Schuldhaus all got a chance to play and looked sharp for the most part. “I thought for the first period of the first game they were a little nervous,” Konowalchuk said of his rookies. “I thought they settled in and they weren’t the reason we didn’t win.”

• Alexander True and Gustav Olhaver were on a line again as they have been during training camp. The two European imports generated a number of chances, but like the rest of the team couldn’t bury them. But, the two are showing signs of a growing chemistry. “We find each other pretty well out there,” True said. “I think both being European players, we play the same way and have some good chemistry.”

• After missing all of last week’s scrimmages with a minor injury, forward Keegan Kolesar was back in action on Saturday. Ryan Gropp was a scratch but is expected to play this weekend.

• Other notable scratches from Seattle’s lineup Saturday were Scott Eansor, Jamal Watson and Ethan Bear.

Follow Andy Eide on Twitter @andyeide.