T-Birds vanquish Winter Hawks 5-3 in Portland

The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Portland Winter Hawks 5-3 Saturday afternoon at the Rose Garden.

The T-Birds improved their record to 12-13-1-2 and have now won three games in a row.

Portland (7-21-0-0) went ahead 1-0 at 10:43 of the first period on a goal by Ryan Kerr. Riley Boychuk and Jonathan Milhouse had the assists.

Seattle outshot Portland 14-8 in the first period.

The T-Birds tied the game 1-1 at 6:14 of the second period on the first goal of the year from Jeremy Schappert. Greg Scott worked the puck out of the corners and centered the puck to Schappert in the slot. The defenseman beat Portland goalie Kurtis Mucha with a quick snap shot. Chance Lund had the second assist on the goal.

Devon LeBlanc gave the T-Birds a 2-1 lead at 10:54 of the second. David Richard sent the puck to LeBlanc behind the Portland net. LeBlanc attempted to center the puck at the right post. The puck deflected off a Winter Hawk defenseman’s leg and squirted through the crease. LeBlanc came out from behind the Portland net at the left post and poked the loose puck past Mucha. Charles Wells also had an assist on the goal.

The T-Birds led 25-17 in total shots after two periods by outshooting the Winter Hawks 11-9 in the second period.

Portland tied the game 2-2 at 2:03 of the third period on a goal by Killian Hutt. Brad Ross had an assist on the goal.

Brenden Silvester scored at 4:17 of the third to put the T-Birds back in front by a goal. Lund fought for the puck behind the Portland net and was able to get it to Luke Lockhart. Lockhart centered the puck to Silvester who beat Mucha high for his fourth goal of the year.

Seattle took a 4-2 lead at 10:13 of the third on the seventh goal of the year by David Richard. Charles Wells stole the puck at the Portland blue line and carried the puck into the Winter Hawks zone. Wells passed the puck to Richard who snapped a shot past Mucha.

Troy Rutkowski scored a shorthanded goal at 18:48 of the third to cut the Seattle lead to one goal. Luke Walker had an assist on the goal.

Scott added an empty-net goal at 19:33 of the third to ice the game for the T-Birds. Jeremy Boyer had an assist on the fifth Seattle goal.

Portland outshot Seattle 14-13 in the third period but the T-Birds finished with a 38-31 advantage in total shots.

Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard made 28 saves on 31 shots and his record improves to 8-7-1-2.

Mucha stopped 33 of 37 shots and his record falls to 5-15-0-0.

The T-Birds next game is Friday, December 5, at 7:05 p.m. against the Tri-City Americans at the Toyota Center. They face the Winter Hawks on Saturday, December 6, at 7 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum before returning home to take on the Calgary Hitmen at KeyArena at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday, December 6.

T-Birds season tickets are currently on sale. Season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825. Purchasing a season ticket will ensure fans can attend the T-Birds first game in their new home, the Kent Events Center.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – 1, Portland, Kerr 1 (Boychuk, Milhouse) 10:43. Penalties – Acolatse, Sea (delay of game), 17:44.

Second period – 2, Seattle, Schappert 1 (Scott, Lund), 6:14. 3, Seattle, LeBlanc 9 (Wells, Richard), 10:54. Penalties – Ross, Por (slashing), :51. Haber, Sea (holding), 8:27. Kerr, Por (major-fighting), 12:03. Warg, Sea (major-fighting), 12:03. Rai, Sea (hooking), 19:28.

Third period – 4, Portland, Hutt 7 (Ross), 2:03. 5, Seattle, Silvester 4 (Lockhart, Lund), 4:17. 6, Seattle, Richard 7 (Wells), 10:13. 7, Portland, Rutkowski (Walker), 18:48 (sh). 8, Seattle, Scott 7 (Boyer), 19:33 (en). Penalties – Milhouse, Por (interference), 17:01.

Shots on goal – Seattle 14-11-13 38. Portland 8-9-14 31. Goalies – Seattle, Pickard 31 shots-28 saves (8-7-1-2); Portland, Mucha 37-33 (5- 15-0-0). Power plays – Seattle 0-2; Portland 0- 3. A – 5,020. Referee – Nathan Wieler, Pat Smith. Linesmen – Brian Fortin, Jarrod Boman.