Thunderbirds don’t show Americans any love in 6-1 blowout beatdown
By Charles Hamaker
Kent, WA – Due to a late shipment, the Seattle Thunderbirds did not receive their Valentine’s Day themed jerseys until after the holiday had passed. Their special “love letter” them jerseys that play off the stamp and letter theme that the team is using this season did arrive in time for February 24th's battle with the Tri-City Americans, and perhaps Tri-City is wishing that Seattle had been a little sweeter. The Americans were blown out by a five-goal margin, all kicked off by a Brad Lambert goal just 16 seconds after the puck had dropped. The Thunderbirds moved to 3-1-0-0 on the season against Tri-City, as the teams face off three more times before seasons end. The two points also extended the Thunderbirds lead atop the Western Conference and leaves them three points behind Kamloops for the most points in all the WHL.
The Thunderbirds come out for pregame festitivities in their Valentine’s Day jerseys (Photos by Liz Wolters)
Reid revs my heart up
Edmonton Oilers prospect and top line winger Reid Schaefer had a heart pounding performance tonight, totaling four points as he potted two goals and tacked on two assists. Not only did he fill that stat sheet and tie for the team best in plus minus in the game (Jeremy Hanzel was the other), but Schaefer’s goals also came in key segments of the contest that kept the momentum swinging in the favor of Seattle. His first of the night was a response to Tri-City's response goal, retaking the lead that the Thunderbirds had jumped out to just 16 seconds into the game and then lost just 33 seconds later. Schaefer’s second of the night was a shorthanded goal that took the life out of the Americans power play and began the third period (39 seconds into the frame) in comeback-crushing fashion.
It seems that over the course of the season, this Seattle team has rotated which forward shows off a display of their NHL potential and talent, and Schaefer was that skater tonight. He’s tallied a point in six of the last eight games that he’s appeared in, racking up eleven points total in that span. Every game that the Thunderbirds play can be viewed as a gallery of NHL talent putting their artistry on display, and tonight Schaefer painted a picture of the playmaking, goal scoring ability that Edmonton drafted him for.
Reid Schaefer celebrates his two goals with his teammates (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Starting fast, ending fast
The Brad Lambert goal within less than thirty seconds of the contest starting is a clear indication of how the Thunderbirds began this battle with their divisional rival, but on the other side of things Seattle finished strong as well. Closing out games has been something that the Thunderbirds do, while getting started properly has been a difficult task at points in this second half of the season. Seattle gave Tri-City a taste of the best of both worlds, as the home side tallied three goals in the first and third frames to bookend a quality victory.
Thunderbirds forward Brad Lambert brings the puck up the ice (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Quick notes
Seattle played with eleven forwards and seven defensemen as Jared Davidson sat out with an injury and Kyle Crnkovic is serving a suspension.
Thunderbirds forward Colton Dach appeared to injure his leg in the latter stages of the second period.
Fourth time this season Seattle has reached the 40 shot mark against Tri-City.
3,016 were in attendance at the Showare Center for the Thunderbirds victory.
Seattle and Tri-City get into a scuffle (Photos by Liz Wolter)
What’s next?
Seattle will play the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow when they host bitter rivals Portland. The Winterhawks and Thunderbirds will commence aerial battle on February 25th inside of the Showare Center with a puck drop at 6:05PM PST. Since the last time that these teams met back on February 11th as Seattle impressively shut out Portland, the Winterhawks are on a 0-6-1-0 losing streak and have only won two of their last ten. Seattle continues to stomp their way towards the WHL playoffs, but perhaps the most important thing to look at is this team staying healthy. Keeping your team in one piece will be critical, albeit obvious, as the regular season is winding down.