Kent, Wa. The Tri-City Americans (27-17-7-1, 62 pts.) were looking to avoid a second straight loss after winning four straight. The Seattle Thunderbirds (27-18-5-2, 61 pts.) were coming off of two straight losses and would have loved to get back in the win column against their U.S. Division rivals. This game featured 92 shots on net, but only four goals through regulation and overtime as both goalies made some spectacular saves. It was Seattle who would come away with the win in the 5th round of the shootout.
Playing against the Thunderbirds always seems to give the Americans problems. Despite losing a lot of their top-end talent from last year, including Matt Barzal who is currently playing for the New York Islanders and who is a front runner to win the Calder trophy, Seattle is still one of the hardest working teams in the league. They battle hard for the puck at every turn and limit teams quality chances. The Americans brought the pressure tonight, however, and it paid off as Tri-City got on the board first. Forward Nolan Yaremko carried the puck through the slot and then threw a backhand shot on Seattle goaltender Liam Hughes. Hughes was able to make the initial save, but defenseman Juuso Välimäki collected the rebound and sent the puck back to Yaremko who put it in past the sprawled out Thunderbirds netminder. It was Yaremko’s 17th of the season. Forward Isaac Johnson collected an assist on the play to extend his scoring streak to eight games. Seattle would find the equalizer a few minutes later with a scrum in front of the net. After stopping an initial shot, Tri-City goaltender Beck Warm gave up a rebound that went high right in front of his crease. Donovan Neuls was there to collect it for the Thunderbirds and put it in a wide open net for his 19th of the season. Seattle was keeping right in it, but a late penalty with under twenty seconds to play would mean Tri-City’s potent power play would start the second period with its second chance of the night. The Americans outshot the Thunderbirds 17-10 in the opening frame.
The Americans failed to convert on their second man advantage of the night to open the middle frame. Seattle continued to keep the middle of the ice locked down, and they continued winning the puck battles. The Americans were getting shots on net, but none from in close which made most of Hughes’ saves routine. Tri-City would get the third straight power play of the night after Seattle’s Zack Andrusiak was called for hooking at the 12:05 mark. Instead of retaking the lead, however, the Americans would find themselves down by one as they gave up their fifth short handed goal against of the season. Americans defenseman Jake Bean was knocked down just inside the Seattle blue line. A foot race ensued to the other end of the ice where Seattle forward Nolan Volcan crossed in front of Warm and put in the backhand shot just between Warm’s skate and the pipe. Despite being outshot, Seattle took the 2-1 lead into intermission. Shots on net in the second were 14-11 in favor of Tri-City.
The defensive battle continued into the third period with both teams getting their fair share of chances. Each side had a power play opportunity in the third that they couldn’t convert on and both had a plethora of shots on net. The Thunderbirds held the lead late into the period, but the Americans were able to get the equalizer. Forward Jordan Topping made a great move behind the Seattle net and fed the puck into the slot to Morgan Geekie who beat Hughes over the shoulder to tie it. That was all the scoring that would happen in regulation. Seattle outshot the Americans 19-17 in the third.
In overtime, Tri-City was given a golden opportunity with under two minutes left as forward Matthew Wedman took a tripping penalty against Välimäki. Once again, however, Tri-City was unable to convert and the game headed to a shootout. Noah Philp scored for Seattle and Parker AuCoin for Tri-City in the first three rounds. Both team’s shooters missed in round four. Volcano was able to shelf one over Warm and Vålimåki missed in round five to give Seattle the win. Tri-City won the shot on net battle 50-41 for the game. The Americans power play, which has struggled lately, went 0-for-5. Seattle was 0-for-2 on the man-advantage. Tri-City will travel to Portland on Friday while Seattle will travel to Vancouver.
