By Charles Hamaker

Tukwila, WA – The new look Seattle Thunderbirds are on a strong run to begin the season, sans a rough home opening loss to the Portland Winterhawks, as their grit and resilience remained on display in their tight victory over the Wenatchee Wild. The Thunderbirds, being led so far this season by veteran forward Sam Popowich, have shown that they can hang in games and may surprise some people around the WHL as the season progresses. Seattle was already at a disadvantage of sorts for tonight’s game coming into puck drop, as they were only rolling out five defensemen for this contest against a Wenatchee, but that didn’t stop them from mounting a three-goal lead. That lead evaporated, but the Thunderbirds held on and secured their first home win of the season and their second victory on the year over Wenatchee.

Pre-game sights and scenes as the Seattle Thunderbirds went on to defeat the Wenatchee Wild at the accesso ShoWare Center by a score of 4-2 on Friday, October 13th, 2023 (Photos by Liz Wolter)

Seattle builds a sizeable lead

Returning home to the Sho after their victory in Spokane against their Chiefs a week ago, the Thunderbirds wasted no time kicking into high gear once the first period began. The Thunderbirds were able to get their first two goals in a quick burst, just twenty seconds apart and a few minutes after the halfway mark of the first period. Defenseman and alternate captain Jeremy Hanzel got on the board first to beat Wild goaltender Daniel Hauser, off the assist from winger Kazden Mathies. It was a big punch for the Seattle defenseman to get on the board and help get his team out in front, but the Thunderbirds weren’t done there. Just twenty seconds later, before the team's social admin could get that first goal out, Seattle added a second goal as winger Luca Hauf potted the second of the night for the Thunderbirds. Off the assists from Nico Myatovic and Sam Popowich, Seattle seemed like it was rolling ahead and were seemingly clicking in all facets. Popowich, continuing his hot play to start the season and continuing to step into a bigger veteran role this season, potted Seattle’s third goal of the night to really get his group out in front assertively.

The Seattle Thunderbirds scored four goals in their Friday, October 13th, 2023 win over the Wenatchee Wild, as defenseman Jeremy Hanzel tallied a goal and two assists to help the cause. (Photos by Liz Wolter)

In a blink, the lead shrinks, but the Thunderbirds hold tight

Seattle added their third goal of the game in the second period, and it looked like they were on their way to a rout. The Thunderbirds were well in control and with goaltender Scott Ratzlaff between the pipes, it seemed unlikely that the Wild were going to be able to mount the comeback that they needed to get back in this game. The second period was coming to a close, as it appeared that the Wild were going to go into the second break of the game being down by three goals, but instead forward Briley Wood was able to hammer a one-timer from the high danger area in transition to beat Ratzlaff, and all the sudden Wenatchee was awake. The Wild, with the clock ticking down, Seattle’s Ratzlaff was unable to clear a puck behind the net and was left to retreat to his crease. Wenatchee kept the puck alive in the Thunderbirds soon, and a backhanded flick beat Ratzlaff to bring the Wild within one.

As mentioned, Seattle was already down to five defensemen coming into this game. So, given the fact that now they were only leading by one goal at this point, things didn’t look too positive for the Thunderbirds as they were clinging to that narrow advantage. With Ratzlaff in the net, and their five mighty defensemen sticking to their game to hold on to that advantage, Seattle was able to prevail and even saw forward Gracyn Sawchyn tack on an empty net goal to give them a bit of breathing room. The Thunderbirds, much different than their 2022-23 roster loaded with NHL talent, have proven resilient early on and have a 3-1 record to begin the year.

The Seattle Thunderbirds were down to five defenseman on the night, and they were able to do their job on the night, outside of the two goals at the end of the second period. (Photos by Liz Wolter)

Quick notes

Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette reached 200 career wins in this game
The Thunderbirds were down to 5 defensemen in this game
Thunderbirds forward Luca Hauf scored his first goal of the season tonight
Thunderbirds forward Sam Popowich is on a four-game goal streak

What’s next?

Following the thrilling victory in front of their home fans at the Accesso ShoWare Center to push their record to 3-1 on the season, the Seattle Thunderbirds will get to stay at home for a few days before their next contest. Seattle will be hosting the Brandon Wheat Kings for a battle on Tuesday, October 17th, with a puck drop of 7:05PM PST at the ShoWare Center. It’s hard to compare the Wheat Kings and Thunderbirds, as Brandon has already played nine games on their season at this point in time while Seattle has only played four. Through those nine games, the Wheat Kings have amassed a 5-3-1 record and have won their past two games. It’s another big test for the Thunderbirds early on, and they’ll be able to do that in front of their home crowd.

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