T-Birds tame Cougars 5-2 Sunday

The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Prince George Cougars 5-2 Sunday night at ShoWare Center.

The T-Birds took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Jim O’Brien at 7:28 of the first period. Greg Scott sent the puck from the high slot to Thomas Hickey at the left point. Hickey skated the puck down the left boards and passed to Jim O’Brien along the goal line. O’Brien skated in on Prince George goalie Kevin Armstrong and beat him with a quick shot high.

Seattle (18-21-1-3) took a 2-0 lead at 13:44 of the first on a goal by Jeremy Boyer. Hickey took a slap shot from the point that Armstrong stopped. Boyer was to the right of the goal and pounded the rebound past Armstrong for his 10th goal of the year. Chris Cloud had the second assist on the goal.

Boyer set up the T-Birds third goal of the game at 16:49 of the first. Cloud sent Boyer up ice on a two-on- two break with Lindsay Nielsen on his left. Boyer put a shot on goal that Armstrong stopped. The puck lay to Armstrong’s left where he did not see it. Nielsen was crashing the net and was able to poke the puck into the back of the net.

Seattle outshot Prince George 21-4 in the first period.

The T-Birds went up 4-0 on a nifty shorthanded goal by Nielsen at 1:02 of the second period. Scott and Nielsen came up ice from the Seattle zone on a two- on-one break. Scott, on the right, and Nielsen, on the left, weaved just inside the Cougars blue line. Scott dropped the puck for Nielsen in the slot. Nielsen, from the top of the right circle sent the puck right back to Scott in the left circle, drawing Armstrong out to his right. Scott quickly sent the puck back to Nielsen at the bottom of the right circle and Nielsen sent the puck into an empty net.

Prince George (16-27-0-2) got on the board at 14:14 of the second when Justin Maylan scored. Alex Poulter and Cameron Cepek had assists on the goal.

Seattle went in front 5-1 at 16:41 of the second on the first career WHL goal from Erik Fleming. Luke Lockhart passed the puck up the right boards to Stefan Warg at the right point. Warg crossed the puck along the blue line to Fleming at the left point. Fleming put a wrist shot on goal with traffic in front of the Cougars net. The shot beat Armstrong through his legs.

Both teams had seven shots on goal in the second period and Seattle led in total shots, 28-11, through two periods.

The Cougars second goal came at 1:50 of the third period when Cody Hobbs scored. Brett Connolly and Marek Viedensky had the assists.

The Cougars outshot the T-Birds 9-7 in the third period but the T-Birds held a 35-20 advantage in the game.

Seattle goalie Jacob DeSerres made 18 saves on 20 shots and his record is now 8-12-0-0.

Armstrong stopped 30 of 35 shots and his record is now 13-21-0-0.

The T-Birds next play on Friday, January 17, at 7:35 at Comcast Arena against the Everett Silvertips. They face the Silvertips on Saturday, January 18, at ShoWare Center at 7:05 p.m. in the annual Teddy Bear Toss game.

T-Bird fans are encouraged to throw teddy bears on the ice after the T-Birds first goal. The bears are collected by the WARM 106.9 Teddy Bear Patrol and given to police and fire departments who distribute them to children in times of emergency.

Tickets to the Teddy Bear Toss can be purchased online at the T-Birds website or at the ShoWare Center box office.

T-Birds season tickets are currently on sale. Season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – 1, Seattle, O’Brien 12 (Hickey, Scott), 7:28 (pp). 2, Seattle, Boyer 10 (Hickey, Cloud) 13:44. 3, Seattle, Nielsen 9 (Boyer, Cloud), 16:49. Penalties – Ciolfi, PG (hooking), 6:56. Tyrell, PG (interference), 11:42. Lund, Sea (high-sticking), 17:30.

Second period – 4, Seattle, Nielsen 10 (Scott), 1:02 (sh). 5, Prince George, Maylan 12 (Poulter, Matte), 14:14. 6, Seattle, Fleming 1 (Warg, Lockhart), 16:41. Penalties – Rai, Sea (hooking): 33. Stanfield, PG (hooking), 4:16. Warg, Sea (high-sticking), 5:09. Chaffin, Sea (cross checking), 6:55. Stanfield, PG (tripping), 17:29.

Third period – 7, Prince George, Hobbs 2 (Connolly, Viedensky), 1:50. Penalties – Warg, Sea (hooking), 5:22. Jackson, PG (high-sticking), 10:29.

Shots on goal – Seattle 21-7-7 35. Prince George 4-7-9 18. Goalies – Seattle, DeSerres 20 shots-18 saves (8-12-0-0); Prince George, Armstrong 35-30 (13-21-0-0). Power plays – Seattle 1-5; Prince George 0-5. A – 3,026. Referee – Brett Iverson, Carl Poole. Linesmen – Trevor Boudreau, Chris Dehaan.