In their first meeting of the season, the Seattle Thunderbirds handed the Everett Silvertips their first loss on Wednesday night. The two teams squared off at the accceso ShoWare Center as the Thunderbirds hosted the Silvertips. The next game for both teams is scheduled for Friday, April 2, when the Thunderbirds travel to Everett. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm PDT.
The first frame saw Seattle’s Matthew Rempe and Everett co-captain Gianni Fairbrother drop the gloves. Then, early in the second period, Rempe dropped the gloves once again. This time with Hunter Campbell.
After almost 40 minutes of play, Ethan Regnier breaks the dead-lock for the @WHLSilvertips against the Thunderbirds! pic.twitter.com/XFZnHIGvyU
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 1, 2021
Scoring fun
Late in the middle frame, Ethan Regnier opened the scoring, netting his third of the season. It seemed as though the Silvertips were going to take off.
Just over three minutes into the third period, Connor Roulette tied the game on the power play. The goal came just nine seconds into the man advantage.
Halfway through the third period, Luca Ciona found Jeremy Hanzel for the game’s final goal, securing the win for the Thunderbirds. Hanzel displayed some smooth moves to walk in on Wolf and score five-hole. He and Ciona found some incredible chemistry on the play and were rewarded for their efforts.
Great play by Jeremy Hanzel to collect the puck, get it to Lucas Ciona, take, pass back and muscle past Tip to get in alone on Wolf. Slick move puts us up 2-1. #LetsGoBirds pic.twitter.com/DBzob3yNej
— Seattle Thunderbirds (@SeattleTbirds) April 1, 2021
Everett had just one opportunity on the powerplay and was unable to score on it. However, Seattle had three opportunities, and Roulette’s goal was the only successful opportunity for the team.
A show in goal
There was an outstanding display of goaltending on both sides of the ice, but ultimately someone had to win.
Thomas Milic found himself in net for Seattle; he also found himself facing and defeating the top team in the division. He sees his record improved to 3-2-0-0 this season. Making 32 saves on 33 shots against a powerhouse Everett team, the rookie stood tall. The New Westminster,BC native allowed just one goal in a game that seemed a daunting task to win. Following a 7-4 loss to the Portland Winterhawks, Millic had an exceptional outing, securing the Thunderbirds’ Friday night win.
Across from him, Dustin Wolf allowed more than one goal for the first time this season. Wolf stopped 36 of the 38 shots that came his way Wednesday night. Following his first loss of the season, Wolf finds himself with a 0.59 goals-against average and a .979 save percentage through his first five games of the season. With a 4-1-0-0 record, the Calgary Flames prospect has allowed just three goals since the division’s return.
