Flying higher than the rest: Thunderbirds win WHL Championship in five games
By Charles Hamaker
Kent, WA – For the second time in their franchise history, and the first on their home ice at the Showare Center, the Seattle Thunderbirds are Champions of the Western Hockey League. After dropping the first game of the series in Winnipeg, Seattle thundered back in response and rattled off four straight victories to secure the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Despite the amount of firepower on this roster, ten NHL-Drafted players, the three goals scored by Seattle tonight were by undrafted players. It was a whole team effort, as the Thunderbirds played selflessly and as a complete unit to withstand the pressure from the Ice. Seattle lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup now as WHL Champions, but they have more hardware to pursue as their next goal is the Memorial Cup.
The Seattle Thunderbirds head out onto the ice from their locker room (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Selfless in Seattle (or, Kent)
Even though Winnipeg took game one of this series and looked good in doing so, Seattle had managed to adjust and nearly clawed back into that game. The Thunderbirds had adjusted to the Ice style of play after those first 40 minutes of the WHL Championship series, and knew what they needed to do as they took the next three games in a row. Given that their season was on the line, it made total sense that Winnipeg came into this game needing to put on a strong push to send this series back to Winnipeg. From the initial puck drop, Seattle was ready and up to the task, doing whatever they needed to prevent Winnipeg from getting anything going. Active sticks from the Thunderbirds defenseman blocked several pass and shot attempts, while numerous Seattle skaters put their bodies on the line to prevent shots on net. When you’ve got that sort of play plus the excellent goaltending of Thomas Milic, good things are going to happen.
Winnipeg got into the high danger area and even the crease of Seattle numerous times, but failed to get on the board through the first 40 minutes thanks to the effort and focus shown by the Thunderbirds. Seattle’s defenseman and skaters are already talented enough, but considering that they were playing winning team hockey, the Thunderbirds were ensuring that they controlled the controllable variables and smothering the Ice as much as they could. “Close chances” were nothing more than a puck that got into the high danger area without a shot ever being taken, and if one was taken then Thomas Milic was up to the task all night long.
“An absolute rock in the World Juniors. Absolute rock last year in the playoffs. And even this year, just outstanding. I don’t know how those 32 NHL teams passed on him last year and I’m hoping that changes this draft.”
“It’s a note to all the NHL scouts and GMs out there. I don’t give a crap about his size. If he can stop the puck, he can stop the puck and he deservingly should get an NHL contract and he’ll be playing there in a few years.”
Seattle Thunderbirds goaltender Thomas Milic was rock solid once again between the pipes (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Popowich pounces on a golden opportunity
On Monday, ahead of game three of this series, Thunderbirds general manager Bil La Forge mentioned forward Sam Popowich’s name when asked about the “unheralded” players on this loaded roster. La Forge mentioned that despite not getting the attention or praise that some of his teammates do, Popowich gets whatever job done that he’s assigned. That quote rang true tonight, considering that it was Popowich who broke down the door and got the scoring going in this historic game five. He hasn’t gotten the glitz and glamour, but Popowich produced when needed, and came through in the biggest game of his WHL career.
“It’s kind of an unreal feeling you know, there’s been so many of us who’ve been here for so long and you know, last year we got so close and we couldn’t do it and we kind of said that we’ll be back and you know, at the end of the day we did it, we did it.”
In the midst of a second period that witnessed Seattle apply the best pressure they had in the game, Popowich was able to get crafty to beat Winnipeg goaltender Daniel Houser, who had been rock solid. The defenseman pairing of Nolan Allan and Jeremy Hanzel were looking to strike against the Ice, passing from Allan to Hanzel at the blue line before Hanzel ripped a shot towards the traffic in front of the Winnipeg net. As he was skating, almost as if a moving screen, Popowich stuck his stick out in an effort to deflect the puck. He was successful, redirecting it past Houser who never had a chance.
“You know it’s funny, Popi came up to me, right when I came on the ice, and he said you told me when I was 14 we were doing this when I was 19. So it’s, it’s been a long journey and something I’ll never forget. But yeah, it’s special. It’s really special.”
The Seattle Thunderbirds celebrate Sam Popowich’s goal in the second period that got the scoring started (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Myatovic makes his mark
Seattle forward Nico Myatovic is another name that doesn’t get a ton of attention for the Thunderbirds, but continues to make quality plays and did so tonight to draw a penalty shot for himself early into the third period. A player that positions himself well offensively and is a good skater, Myatovic helps to complete this Seattle team's offensive forward depth, and he was able to secure what was the game winning goal thanks to his speed that got him behind the Winnipeg skaters. Ice forward Graham Sward dove through the air and took Myatovic out trying to prevent a breakaway shot from the Thunderbirds forward, sending Nico sliding into Winnipeg goaltender Daniel Hauser and knocking the goal off its supports to set up the penalty shot. A little forehand-backhand, as if Myatovic was a composer, beat Hauser to score Seattle’s second of the game and send the Showare Center into frenzy.
Seattle Thunderbirds forward Nico Myatovic celebrates his penalty-shot goal (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Closing out a championship
After Myatovic’s penalty shot goal, Winnipeg realized that time was ticking out on their season and they needed to press even further. Although the Thunderbirds were able to take advantage of that aggressiveness, the Ice continued to push forward with their attack trying to leave everything out on the ice. Winnipeg was able to stay composed in their offensive aggression, finding passing lanes through the Seattle zone before forward Evan Friesen skated into the slot to power a shot past Milic for the first Ice goal of the game. Winnipeg’s passing was the best it had been all game, getting past Seattle without the resistance they had experienced until that point. The lead had been cut in half, but it was still going to be a tall task to get a second goal against the Thunderbirds. Despite the desperation and press of the Ice, the rest of the game after the goal five minutes into the period failed to generate a dangerous-enough chance to warrant worry. Even the empty-net effort with the extra skater wasn’t enough, and Thunderbirds forward Kyle Crnkovic tapped home a third goal to put the final stamp on game five.
“I think there was a little bit of unfinished business from last year. So we’re super happy to do it at home and definitely shout out to our fans. They’re the best in the league.”
“For me personally, it’s been crazy. I didn’t think I was gonna be here at the start of the year, be back in junior hockey, and it just ended up that way. I was fortunate enough to get traded to a great organization you know, good high aspirations this year knowing what they did last year. I had high props to them last year, they were such a good team but I think you know, they were just a little too young. They built around the ‘03 age group and you know, that was this year and you know, they brought me along and I’m just ecstatic that I can be here in this position with the trophy with them.”
The Seattle Thunderbirds celebrate their 2023 WHL Championship victory (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Whole team effort
This team was seen throughout the season for its big names of Guenther, Lambert, Davidson, Dach, etc. They’ve been a whole unit for the majority of the year, having younger players fill in when needed and play their roles to perfection. The goalie tandem of Thomas Milic and Scott Ratzlaff has dominated all year long. The defensemen have been rock solid on the back end while also showing the ability to jump into the play and contribute offensively. And, like the NHL team that plays a bit North, they’ve had four lines of forward depth that have made it hard to defend against them. The Seattle Thunderbirds did this as a whole team, and they simply were not going to be denied from making history tonight. It’s hard to look at this game and find periods of time where Winnipeg looked like they were going to win it, as the Thunderbirds were just that locked in and prepared for this moment. While they still have a few games to play, they reached the mountain top and are soaring on.
“That’s how you win a championship. You know, it takes every guy pulling in the same direction. When guys numbers are called upon, they’re ready to step up and do a job, that was the case tonight, obviously, big goal by Popowich, Gus (Jordan Gustafson) came in and gave us a nice boost as well. I mean, it took everybody, it really did.”
“There’s the preparation that they do and the hard work that they put in is, it’s countless hours and, you know, I feel we go into every game with an advantage because of the coaching staff that we have.”
“They’re a highly skilled offensive team but I mean, you’ve got to play like it’s game seven when the trophy is on the line. You put your body in front of it and you know, that’s what hockey players do. We’re warriors and you know, we’re not afraid to get dirty. Sweat, blood, and tears so hell of an effort by our guys tonight.”
“I think you know; we’ve had a lot of guys on this team who’ve been here a long time but we also added a lot of new guys this year and everybody fit in so seamlessly. At the end of the day, it came down to everybody wanted to do it for one another and no there is no individuality, nothing like that. Everybody just wanted to get this thing done for the fans, and for the city, and we did it.”
“You know it’s been awesome just being here practicing with the team, not playing, I was fine just being here and being able to develop and just enjoy the whole experience, once in a lifetime for sure. ”
The rest of tonight’s gallery of game five of the WHL Championship series (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Quick notes
Tonight’s attendance was 6,202
Seattle goaltender Thomas Milic was named the MVP of the 2023 WHL Playoffs
This is the first time that an American team has won the Ed Chynoweth Cup on American soil since Portland in 1982 (outlasted Regina in five games).
The Thunderbirds allowed zero goals to Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie in the five games.
The pair had combined for 17 through the first three rounds.
The Thunderbirds outshot the ICE 38-31 on the night, including 10-7 in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
This marks the second WHL Championship in Seattle Thunderbirds franchise history.
The Club last raised the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2017.
What’s next? (Yes, there’s more!)
Normally when a team wins a championship, their season has ended in the best way possible and they get to ride into the offseason with more hardware in the trophy case. Following their Ed Chynoweth Cup as champions of the WHL, the Thunderbirds move on to compete for the CHL’s (Canadian Hockey League) memorial cup, which is a four-team round-robin tournament. In this year's competition, there will be participants from the OHL (Ontario Hockey League), QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) and two WHL participants, one being your Thunderbirds and the other the hosting Kamloops Blazers who Seattle defeated in the Western Conference Finals. There’s already a schedule for this tournament, even though the OHL and QMJHL representatives are still to be determined. The Thunderbirds will play on May 27th vs the OHL team, May 29th vs with QMJHL team, and May 31st against the hosting Kamloops Blazers.