Thunderbirds
Game 7: Battle in Vancouver ends with another shootout victory as the Thunderbirds win their fourth straight
(5-2) Seattle Thunderbirds 4, (5-4-1-1) Vancouver Giants 3 (shootout)
Gallimore scores twice…Lockhart with shootout winner
VANCOUVER– If the Birds were going to be successful in Vancouver against the Giants they knew they would have to limit the scoring chances by Brendan Gallagher and Craig Cunningham. They didn’t have much success early on as Gallagher put the Giants up 1-0 at 5:14 of the first period as he beat Calvin Pickard (5-2) high glove side on a goal that Pickard would want back. However just 50 seconds later Burke Gallimore tied the game at one with a power play goal with assists from Luke Lockhart and Brenden Dillon. After successfully killing a Giants man advantage it was once again Gallimore on the second Birds power play to put them up 2-1 at 14:16 of the first, once again assisted by Dillon and Lockhart. With 3:11 left in the period Greg Lamoureux got the Giants even with his first goal of the season. It was off a two on one that was created by a giveaway in the Birds zone.
Some good, some bad in the first period for the Birds. Obviously their power play was clicking but the area where the Birds have been so strong so far, the five on five play, is where the Giants had the noticeable edge as the Birds were a minus two in the period. Shots were 15-13 Vancouver.
The two teams traded power plays for the first half of the second period with the Giants getting two opportunities to the Birds one. Neither team was able to take advantage though and the game remained tied at 2-2. Lockhart then drew a penalty as he gained the zone cutting through two Giants and was hooked to give the Birds their fourth power play opportunity. The Birds weren’t able to capitalize though and right after the penalty expired Jacob Doty and Wes Vannieuwenhuizen got into a heavyweight fight with Doty drawing blood from Vannieuwenhuizen’s nose. Doty then turned towards the Birds bench as to say “Let’s get going” to his teammates. Lockhart then took a penalty to give the Giants a power play opportunity late in the period. The Birds were able to kill it off but just seconds later the Giants took back the lead at 3-2 when Gallagher scored his second goal of the game and 10th of the season. After Pickard made a spectacular save the Birds were not able to clear the puck out and Gallagher was there to put it in. The Giants drew another penalty with just seconds remaining in the second that would carry over to the third period.
The Giants weren’t able to convert on their fifth power play opportunity as the game remained 3-2 Giants. Colin Jacobs would get the Birds their first five on five goal of the game and a 3-3 tie at 5:22 of the third as he put one past Vancouver goalie Mark Segal (4-1-1-1). There was an assist from Tyler Alos. The Thunderbirds had a chance to take the lead on their fifth power play chance but could not convert. While the game was tied 3-3 at the halfway point of the third, it looked as though the Birds were gaining some momentum as they attained the edge in shots for the first time in the game at 26-23. With just 1:12 remaining in the third the Giants drew a penalty as Dillon was called for interference. The Birds were able to kill off the first 1:12 to get the game to overtime but the Giants would have a four on three advantage for the first 48 seconds of OT. The Birds killed it off and then were able to draw a penalty of their own. The Birds got a few shots off but weren’t able to put one in the net. Neither team would score in OT and the Birds would go to their third shootout in their last four games. The Birds out shot the Giants 37-30.
The Birds would go on to win in the shootout once again. It’s their fourth straight win with three coming in the shootout. Three of the four wins were on the road. Lockhart scored the game winning goal.
Once again the Thunderbirds got stronger as the game went on. “I didn’t think we played particularly well in the first 40 minutes.” said Rob Sumner. “We were better in the third but the two power play goals in the first period certainly helped our cause.” After not winning a shootout last season the Birds are now 3-0 in that category so far this season. “We are gaining confidence, you start winning them instead of losing and you get more confident.”
In his first game of the season after recovering from a concussion D Scott Ramsay was a minus 3 but Sumner is not concerned. “He is fine, it was his first game back and he might be a little behind everyone else but Scott is ready to play.” The Birds sat D Austin Baecker and D Austin Frank as well as F Connor Sanvido. Seattle has played five of their first seven games on the road. “We are learning how to win these games, and that builds more confidence as well”, said Sumner. The Birds improved to 3-2 on the road.
The Thunderbirds now head home to take on the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday night as they try to win their fifth straight.
Game Notes
-It only took Seattle seven games to get to five wins, last season they didn’t get win number five until the 21st game.
-Lockhart and Dillon each had two assists.
– In the shootout Gallimore and Lockhart scored for the Birds, Noebels missed. Cunningham scored for the Giants while Henry and Gallagher missed.
-Attendance in Vancouver was announced as 5,828.
Scoring Summary
1st Period-1, Vancouver, Gallagher 9 (Cunningham, Manning), 5:14. 2, Seattle, Gallimore 5 (Lockhart, Dillon), 6:06 (PP). 3, Seattle, Gallimore 6 (Dillon, Lockhart), 14:16 (PP). 4, Vancouver, Lamoureux 1 (Henry, Reum), 16:49. Penalties-Martinook Van (inter. on goaltender), 5:35; Toomey Sea (roughing), 7:32; Henry Van (roughing), 7:32; Bobbee Sea (hooking), 9:12; Musil Van (cross checking), 12:49.
2nd Period-5, Vancouver, Gallagher 10 (Sohn, Cunningham), 18:58. Penalties-Sutter Sea (holding), 1:50; served by MacKay Van (too many men), 5:48; Sutter Sea (interference), 7:30; Reum Van (hooking), 11:35; Doty Sea (major-fighting), 13:37; Vannieuwenhuizen Van (major-fighting), 13:37; Lockhart Sea (tripping), 16:31; Jacobs Sea (roughing), 19:24.
3rd Period-6, Seattle, Jacobs 3 (Alos), 5:22. Penalties-Henry Van (tripping), 5:52; Dillon Sea (interference), 18:48.
OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Cunningham Van (hooking), 0:59.
Shootout – Seattle 2 (Gallimore G, Noebels NG, Lockhart G), Vancouver 1 (Cunningham G, Henry NG, Gallagher NG).
Shots on Goal-Seattle 13-5-13-6-1-38. Vancouver 15-8-2-5-0-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Seattle 2 / 6; Vancouver 0 / 6.
Goalies-Seattle, Pickard 5-2-0-0 (30 shots-27 saves). Vancouver, Segal 4-1-1-1 (37 shots-34 saves).
A-5,828
Referees-Jason Nissen (91), Andy Thiessen (11).
Linesmen-Jason Cramer (122), Clayton Richardson (104).
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