That’s 2 in a row: T-Birds weather Hurricanes in shootout

The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes 6-5 in a shootout Sunday night at the ShoWare Center.

Seattle (18-26-2-1) won the for the second consecutive night. The T-Birds snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over Portland on Saturday.

The T-Birds’ next game is 7:05 p.m. Tuesday against the Tri-City Americans at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

The Hurricanes tied the game up 5-5 late in the game to send the game to overtime. The T-Birds had a power-play in overtime and had several good chances but could not get the puck past Lethbridge goalie Ty Rimmer, who finished with 54 saves on 59 shots.

The T-Birds shot first in the shootout and sent out Luke Lockhart. Lockhart beat Rimmer with a move to the backhand and then lifted the puck over the goalie’s blocker. Remi Laurencelle was the first shooter for Lethbridge and he was stopped by Seattle goalie Brandon Glover who closed his five hold to deny the shooter.

Alexander Delnov was the second shooter for Seattle and Rimmer stopped him when he tried to make the same move as Lockhart, but on the glove side. Glover denied Sam McKechnie, the Hurricanes second shooter, when he tried to drag the puck through the crease with Glover going the wrong way.

Seth Swenson had a chance to win the game but Rimmer stopped him on his move right. Graham Hood needed to score to give Lethbridge a chance in a sudden death shootout, but his shot went wide right.

Connor Sanvido opened the scoring at 6:03 of the first period. Jerret Smith banked the puck off the right boards to Riley Sheen in the neutral zone. Sheen carried the puck into the Lethbridge zone and then crossed the puck to Sanvido coming down the slot. Sanvido snapped the puck on goal and hit the left post. The puck deflected off the post into the back Rimmer and then trickled across the goal line.

Lethbridge (22-21-1-6) tied the game 1-1 at 7:19 of the first on a goal from Michael Sofillas. Axel Blomqvist and Macoy Erkamps had the assists.

The T-Birds outshot the Hurricanes 16-11 in the first period.

The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal by McKechnie at 3:03 of the second period. Erkamps and Adam Henry were credited with the assists.

Lethbridge extended the lead to 3-1 39 seconds after their second goal when Jamal Watson scored. Laurencelle and Ryan Pilon had the assists.

Seattle cut the Hurricanes lead to one goal at 9:19 of the second just as a four-on-three power play ended. Glover controlled the puck behind his net for Shea Theodore. Theodore carried the puck up the ice into the Hurricanes’ zone. Theodore stopped at the top of the right circle, held the puck and t hen crossed it to Honey just inside the top of the left circle. Honey blasted the pass over Rimmer’s glove for his 12th goal of the season.

Andrew Johnson tied the game 3-3 at 11:52 of the second. Justin Hickman took a shot from the left circle that missed the net and ringed around the boards to Smith at the right point. Smith carried the puck from the point down the wall, around the Lethbridge net and curled into the left circle. Smith wristed the puck at the net with Johnson parked at the right post. Johnson redirected Smith’s shot past Rimmer for his seventh goal of the season.

Seattle outshot Lethbridge 12-10 in the second period and led 29-2 in shots after two periods.

The T-Birds went in front 4-3 at 2:01 of the third period. Lockhart sent the puck from the right corner to Evan Wardley at the right point. Wardley wristed the puck towards the Lethbridge net with Hickman screening Rimmer. Hickman tipped the shot past Rimmer on the glove side for the go-ahead goal.

Roberts Lipsbergs gave the T-Birds a two-goal lead with a power-play goal at 5:10 of the third. Honey moved the puck from the top of the left circle to Theodore at center ice beneath the blue line. Theodore took a slap shot that rebounded to Lipsbergs in the high slot. Lipsbergs moved left with the puck and snapped it past Rimmer for his 19th goal of the season.

Lethbridge cut the T-Birds lead to one goal at 6:45 of the third on a goal from Henry. Laurencelle and Tyler Wong got the assists for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes tied the game 5-5 at 16:18 of the third on Jaimen Yakubowski’s 26th goal of the year. Erkamps and Pilon had the assist on the game-tying goal.

Seattle outshot Lethbridge 22-12 in the third period and led 50-33 in shots after regulation play.

The T-Birds outshot the Hurricanes 8-2 in overtime and 60-36 in the game.

Glover finished with 31 saves on 36 shots and his record is now 17-19-2-1.

Rimmer made 54 saves on 59 shots and his record falls to 19-19-1-6.

For T-Birds tickets, visit tickets.seattlethunderbirds.com or the ShoWare Center box office. The box office is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday game days at 10 a.m. and Sunday game days at noon.

T-Birds season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – 1, Seattle, Sanvido 11 (Sheen, Smith), 6:03. 2, Lethbridge, Sofillas 2 (Blomqvist, Erkamps), 7:19. Penalties – Troock, Sea (unsportsmanlike conduct) 2:13. Pilon, Let (unsportsmanlike conduct), 2:13. Kambeitz, Sea (slashing), 13:07.

Second period – 3, Lethbridge, McKechnie 21 (Erkamps, Henry), 3:03 (pp). 4, Lethbridge, Watson 11 (Laurencelle, Pilon), 3:42. 5, Seattle, Honey 12 (Theodore, Glover), 9:19. 6, Seattle, Johnson 7 (Smith, Hickman), 11:52. Penalties – Delnov, Sea (hooking), 2:54. Wong, Let (checking from behind), 4:13. Simpson, Let (roughing), 7:16. Troock, Sea (goaltender interference), 7:42. Ramsay, Let (tripping), 8:06.

Third period – 7, Seattle, Hickman 11 (Wardley, Lockhart), 2:01. 8, Seattle, Lipsbergs 19 (Theodore, Honey), 5:10 (pp). 9, Lethbridge, Henry 3 (Laurencelle, Wong), 6:45. 10, Lethbridge, Yakubowski 26 (Erkamps, Pilon), 16:18. Penalties – Simpson, Let (slashing, major-fighting), 4:22. Hickman, Sea (major-fighting), 4:22. Delnov, Sea (checking from behind), 16:43. Henry, Let (interference), 18:32.

Overtime – No scoring. Penalties – Ramsay, Let (high-sticking), 4:59.

Shootout – Seattle 1 (Lockhart G, Delnov NG, Swenson NG). Lethbridge 0 (Laurencelle NG, McKechnie NG, Hood NG).

Shots on goal – Seattle 16-12-22-8-1 60, Lethbridge 11-10-12-1-0 36. Goalies – Seattle, Glover 36 shots-31 saves (17-19-2-1); Lethbridge, Rimmer 59-54 (19-19-1-6). Power plays – Seattle 1-5; Lethbridge 1-3. A – 3,375. Referees – Pat Smith, Curtis Marouelli. Linesmen – Ryan Gibbons, Nathan Van Oosten.