Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Calvin Pickard made 54 saves Dec. 11 to lead the T-Birds to a 5-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans at ShoWare Center in Kent.
Pickard has faced the Americans three times on ShoWare Center ice this year. He has stopped 147 of 153 shots from Tri-City in those three games. Pickard shut out the Americans 1-0 with a 57-save performance on October 3. He made 36 saves on 41 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss to Tri-City on October 11.
Pickard stopped 22 shots in the first period, 18 shots in the second period and 15 shots in the third period to get the win. His record is now 10-13-1-3.
Tri-City (22-9-0-0) went in front 1-0 at 4:39 of the first period on a goal by Neal Prokop. Mason Wilgosh and Justin Feser had the assists.
Seattle (12-17-1-3) tied the game 1-1 at 9:02 of the first. Erik Bonsor crossed the puck from the left point to Erik Fleming at the right point. Fleming skated to center ice just inside the blue line and put a hard wrist shot on goal. Mikhail Sentyurin was in front of Tri-City goalie Drew Owsley and the puck deflected off Sentyurin and into the net. It was Sentyurin’s first goal of the season.
The Americans outshot the T-Birds 22-13 in the first period.
The T-Birds went in front 2-1 on a power-play goal by Prab Rai at 13:05 of the second period. Schappert had the puck at the left point and passed the puck to Charles Wells on the goal line to the left of the goal. Wells carried the puck back up into the left circle and then fired a cross slot pass to Rai at the bottom of the right circle. Rai snapped the puck past a lunging Owsley for his 20th goal of the year.
Scott Ramsay gave the T-Birds a 3-1 lead at 17:05 of the second on his first goal of the year. Tyler Alos sent the puck form the goal line to Ramsay at the left point. Ramsay held the puck and then put a slap shot on goal that beat Owsley over the glove. Schappert had the second assist on the goal.
Tri-City outshot Seattle 18-9 in the second period and led 40-22 in total shots after two periods.
Seattle went in front 4-1 at 8:49 of the third period on a goal by Alos. Just after a Seattle penalty ended, Schappert and Alos headed up ice on a two-on-two rush. Schappert made a quick pass to Alos who beat the defender in front of him and came in alone on Owsley. Alos made a move left and beat Owsley with a backhand shot over the blocker.
The T-Birds went in front 5-1 at 11:11 of the third on the seventh goal of the year by Lindsay Nielsen. Rai and Wells had a two-on-one break from the neutral zone. Wells carried the puck down the right side. The Americans defender forced Wells wide and he put the puck behind the Tri-City net to Rai. Rai came around the net and centered the puck to Nielsen. Nielsen beat Owsley with a quick snap shot over the blocker.
Tri-City replaced Owsley with Brent Martyniuk after Nielsen’s goal. Owsley stopped 22 of 27 shots and he was credited with loss dropping his record to 21-8-0- 0. Martyniuk faced only one shot, which he saved.
Tri-City outshot Seattle 15-6 in the third period and finished with a 55-28 advantage in total shots.
SCORING SUMMARY
First period – 1, Tri-City, Prokop 6 (Wilgosh, Feser), 4:39. 2, Seattle, Sentyurin 1 (Fleming, Bonsor) 9:02. Penalties – Ramsay, Sea (cross checking), 6:28.
Second period – 3, Seattle, Rai 20 (Wells, Schappert), 13:05 (pp). 4, Seattle, Ramsay 1 (Alos, Schappert), 17:05. Penalties – Jacobs, Sea (interference), 4:33. McIntosh, Tri (holding), 10:57. Schmidt, Tri (hooking), 12:50. Dillon, Sea (roughing), 18:35.
Third period – 5, Seattle, Alos 3 (Schappert), 8:49. 6, Seattle, Nielsen 7 (Rai, Wells), 11:11. Penalties – Acolatse, Sea (hooking), 4:50. Dillon, Sea (holding), 6:34. Messier, Tri (clipping), 12:22. Rouse, Sea (major-fighting), 12:22. Yuen, Tri (major-fighting), 12:22. Acolatse, Sea (major-fighting, game misconduct), 12:22. Castro, Tri (major-fighting, game misconduct), 12:22.
Shots on goal – Seattle 13-9-6 28. Tri-City 22- 18-15 55. Goalies – Seattle, Pickard 55 shots- 54 saves (10-13-1-3); Tri-City, Owsley 27-22 (21-8-0- 0), Martyniuk 1-1. Power plays – Seattle 1-3; Tri-City 0-5. A – 3,642. Referee – Steve Papp, Ryan Benbow. Linesmen – Chris Carlson, Chris Dehaan
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