Thunderbirds survive Hurricanes in 4-3 overtime win

The Thunderbirds took advantage of a lack of discipline from the Lethbridge Hurricanes to squeeze out a 4-3 overtime win Friday night at the ShoWare Center.

BY ANDY EIDE

Feb 21, 2015, 7:39 AM Updated: 12:00 pm

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Mathew Barzal assisted on all four Seattle goals during its 4-3 overtime victory on Friday night. (T-Birds photo)

(T-Birds photo)

KENT – The Thunderbirds took advantage of a lack of discipline from the Lethbridge Hurricanes to squeeze out a 4-3 overtime win Friday night at the ShoWare Center.

With time running out and the score tied, the T-Birds were killing off a crucial penalty. Halfway through the Lethbridge power play, Hurricanes center Mike Winther speared Evan Wardley during a stoppage of play. That caused a scrum and cost the Hurricanes, with Winther given a five-minute major to put Seattle on the power play for the remainder of regulation and overtime.

In overtime Cory Millette dug the puck out of the corner and found defenseman Jerret Smith all alone in front of the Hurricanes’ net. Smith waited out goalie Stuart Skinner and won the game with a top-shelf score.

“There were two guys in the corner and one was mirroring Shea (Theodore),” Smith said of the play. “I was looking for Millsey and hoping he was going to make a big play there. He saw me, I don’t know how he saw me, made a good pass and I went roof. It was a nice goal.”

Seattle had been searching for consistency in its game over the last week. And while the T-Birds got the win on Friday night, their head coach thought they were still casual at times.

“It’s a good bounce back,” coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “At times I thought we had it going pretty good. There were a few casual moments that could have cost us the game. We got the win. This time of year you’ve got to get the win any way you can get the win.”

Seattle (30-21-3-4) never led during the game and despite winning the possession game – and the shot clock – those casual moments put it behind on three different occasions. All three Lethbridge goals came off of T-Birds mistakes.

It started with a power-play goal from Johnny Wesley to open the scoring. It was the third straight home game in which the T-Birds have surrendered the game’s opening score. In the second period the Seattle defense parted like the Red Sea and allowed Hurricanes’ defenseman Kord Pankewicz to skate right down the middle of the zone to beat a helpless Taran Kozun.

Lethbridge (18-33-4-3) got its third goal in the third period on a crazy short-handed tally after Jamal Watson raced down the ice alone and Kozun came out to meet him. The Seattle goalie stopped Watson and the puck deflected high into the air, only to land in the Seattle net.

“They’re a good team but we kind of underestimated them coming in,” Smith said. “I don’t think all the boys were ready to go but we got the outcome we wanted so that’s all we can ask for.”

Lethbridge is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and the T-Birds have struggled against teams with losing records of late. Konowalchuk feels it has to do with a lack of respect.

“Again, we could have been sharper and not give them that little half break away,” he said of Watson’s goal. “A few things like that that. I thought we didn’t respect our opponent quite enough.”

The good news for Seattle was that every time the Hurricane’s scored, the T-Birds would fight right back.

After Wesley’s power-play goal in the first, Smith helped set up the equalizer a few minutes later. He deked a Lethbridge player at the blue line and broke in on goal. His backhand shot was stopped by Skinner but the rebound went to Nick Holowko, who potted his fourth of the year.

“I just kind of saw the middle and I cut and just hoped something would happen,” Smith said of the play. “I got a backhand off quick and lucky Holowoko was there to whack it in.”

In the second period, after Pankewicz’ goal, Seattle would tie it up four minutes later when Shea Theodore’s booming slap shot on the power play would beat Skinner – it was Theodore’s ninth goal of the season.

Millette would tie it up in the third, only 24 seconds after Watson’s short-handed tally. He banged home a rebound from right in front of the Lethbridge net for his eighth goal of the year since joining the T-Birds at the trade deadline. He’s been a strong net presence and if you added up all the distance his goals have traveled you wouldn’t get past ten feet.

“The majority of my goals have been from just right in front of the net,” Millette said. “It’s definitely fun being on the power play, getting lucky with good bounces.”

Millette played on Barzal’s line Friday night and his ‘greasy’ goals are similar to the type of goals his head coach scored during his NHL career.

“This time of year, that’s the kind of goal you’re going to get,” Konowalchuk said of Millette. “The greasy, grind it out, pay a price to win the battle type of goals. Since he’s been here, he’s been winning battles in front of the net … It should rub off on guys.”

Seattle struggled last weekend to shoot the puck. Often it would pass up good shooting chances in favor of making a perfect pass. Friday night they managed 38 shots on Skinner – who was impressive in net – but still left some good shots on the ice.

“I thought there were still some that we passed up,” Konowalchuk said. “It’s still a work in progress, especially from certain areas we want to pass them up and kick them to the point.”

Mathew Barzal made passing work for him as he assisted on all four Seattle scores. It was the third time in his career he’s picked up four helpers and the second time he’s done so against Lethbridge. In the two teams’ lone meeting last season Barzal assisted on four goals in a 6-2 Seattle win.

Even with a big point night, Barzal agreed with his coach about passing up shots.

“I think even tonight we could have got a few more pucks to the net,” he said. “We’re still passing up a few chances right in the slot, so it’s something we need to work on for tomorrow.”

The T-Birds will be back in action Saturday evening when they host the Everett Silvertips. The game starts at 6 P.M.

Notes

• Seattle’s power play was clicking on Friday night. It went 3-for-5 and moved the puck. Lethbridge scored once while on the power play in three chances.

• Luke Osterman was a scratch Friday night after being injured in last Sunday’s game against Victoria. He suffered a pretty brutal head shot in that game and Konowalchuk says that he is listed day-to-day.

• With the win, Konowalchuk moves to within two victories of Dean Chynoweth for fifth place for wins in franchise history. Konowalchuk has now won 120 games in his three-plus years with the T-Birds. Current Lethbridge coach Peter Anholt is next on the list with 127 wins for the T-Birds. He coached Seattle from 1989-1992.

• Defenseman Jared Hauf returned to the lineup Friday night after missing three games with an upper body injury.

Follow Andrew Eide on Twitter @andyeide.