Thunderbirds punch their playoff ticket with exhilarating back and forth win over Silvertips
By Charles Hamaker
Kent, WA – In their seventh meeting of the year and perhaps the most thrilling of all this season, the mighty Seattle Thunderbirds needed the overtime period to beat their bitter rivals to the North, the Everett Silvertips. Everett had been dominated by Seattle in the previous three matches by three goals or more, but the Silvertips put their foot in the ground and gave the Thunderbirds everything that they had in this battle. A Brad Lambert overtime winner secured the victory for Seattle, pushed them to the top of the WHL’s Western Conference, and clinched a playoff berth.
Thunderbirds goaltender Thomas Milic takes a puck to the chestpad (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Slow start, but a shorty pulls Seattle back in
In their home schedule in the first few months of 2023, the Seattle Thunderbirds have had some slow starts to begin their contests. That trend continued when bitter rivals Everett entered the Accesso Showare Center, as the Silvertips threw the first punch. Center Austin Roest was able to take advantage of a juicy rebound off of the right leg pad of Seattle goaltender Thomas Milic, courtesy of a Jackson Berezowski shot. Everett has largely struggled this season and been a relatively middling team throughout the course of this year, but none of that mattered in this game. The Silvertips pushed the Thunderbirds to the brink as if this was a playoff battle between two powerhouses.
Seattle’s Gracyn Sawchyn and Kyle Crynkovic celebrate Kevin Korchinski’s goal (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Seattle tries to pull ahead, but Everett simply will not go away quietly
After giving up the initial score, Seattle was able to hit a rhythm, scoring the next three goals of the game. A Kyle Crnkovic short-handed goal seemed to swing the momentum in favor of the home team, as the Thunderbirds pushed their lead to 3-1 just seven minutes into the second period. Whether it be on purpose or subconsciously, this may have been where Silvertips captain Jackson Berezowski decided to flip the switch. Berezowski scored with a little under seven minutes before the second intermission. Things slowed down heading into the second break, but Berezowski came out of the locker room ready to strike.
Everett celebrates a goal (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Chaotic third period isn’t enough to end it
Everett trailed by just a goal heading into the third period, but the 3-2 score in favor of Seattle did not last for long. The Silvertips found the back of the net just 13 ticks into the final 20 minutes as Jackson Berezowski, Everett’s new all-time leading scorer, took advantage of a two on one opportunity. The pass from teammate Austin Roest hit Berezowski perfectly in stride, and all of the sudden things were tied again.
Silvertips forward Jackson Berezwoski became the teams all-time leading scorer in the loss to Seattle (Photo by Liz Wolter)
The Thunderbirds and Silvertips traded the lead a total of four times in the third period, swapping scores in order of: Kevin Korchinski for Seattle, Roan Woodward of Everett (penalty shot), Brad Lambert of Seattle (Power play), and finally Beau Courtney of Everett to even things up with a little under seven minutes to play. Neither of the I-5 rivals were able to score in those remaining minutes, sending this rivalry game to overtime for the second time this season.
Brad Lambert cuts through the Everett defense (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Lambert lays down the law to close it out
Thunderbirds forward Brad Lambert hasn’t had the easiest route to joining his new Seattle teammates, but thankfully things seem to be turning in his favor as of late. The Thunderbirds second line center has been lighting up the state sheet for the Thunderbirds, and had an impressive performance. With teammate and captain Lucas Ciona out due to injury, a few Thunderbirds stepped up but it was Lambert and Kevin Korchinski who propelled their team to victory.
After Seattle’s would-be game winning goal was waved off due to goaltender interference on Jared Davidson. Davidson had sliced his way through the Everett defense cleanly, but when the alternate captain had gotten in the crease to go backhand for the goal, things got messy. Everett goaltender Tyler Palmer appeared to move forward in an attempt to snag the puck, propelling his motion into Davidson. As the Seattle players went to celebrate the supposed game winner, the goal was waved off. Despite the play that could have derailed some team's mindsets, Brad Lambert rose to the occasion just a few ticks later. Lambert SPED through the neutral zone and the Silvertips skaters just like Davidson had, dangling the puck around defenseman Ty Gibson before hammering a shot that deflected off of Palmer and into the net.
The Thunderbirds head off the ice as victors (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Spirited effort by Silvertips
As mentioned previously, Everett’s record and performance in head-to-head matchups leading into this game against the Thunderbirds did not matter. I am always a proponent of rivalry/divisional games being tough no matter how bad or good one of the two teams may be that season. Obviously wanting a better result, the Silvertips should be able to find some small victories in the way that they challenged the Thunderbirds and brought the fight to the now Western Conference leading team.
The Everett Silvertips put up a hell of a fight (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Quick notes
Attendance for the match was 4,409
With their win and a Victoria Royals loss, the Seattle Thunderbirds became the first time in all of the WHL to clinch a postseason berth this year.
Seattle’s Ashton McNelly has three points in his last four games
1 goal, 2 assists
Prior to tonight’s game, Thunderbirds forward Brad Lambert only had one full practice with the team.
Kyle Crnkovic scored his 273rd point while playing in his 255th career WHL game
With his goal in the second period, Everett’s Jackson Berezowski became the Silvertips all-time leading scorer
What’s next?
Both of these teams will meet again tomorrow, but the location changes up to Everett. The second game of this rivalry back-to-back takes place on Saturday, January 4th with a puck drop time of 6:05PM PST at Angel of the Winds Arena. The I-5 rivals will battle it out following this absolute classic chapter in their rivalry's history, as Everett is still looking for its first victory over Seattle this season.