Thunderbirds rally to crack Moose Jaw in shootout

The Seattle Thunderbirds came back from a two-goal deficit in the second period and a one-goal deficit in the third period Saturday night to secure a 4-3 shootout win over the Moose Jaw Warriors at Mosaic Place.

The T-Birds almost did not get to the shootout as they were called for boarding at 3:02 of overtime. They were able to kill of the penalty and get the game to the shootout.

Moose Jaw’s Morgan Rielly was the first shooter in the shootout. He came down on Seattle goalie Brandon Glover and Glover was able to stop him. Shea Theodore was the first shooter for Seattle and he made a move on Moose Jaw goalie Daniel Wapple but had the puck roll on him and he shot wide.

Sam Fioretti was the second shooter for the Warriors and he was stoned by Glover. Alexander Delnov got the first goal of the shootout when he beat Wapple with a quick snap shot on the blocker side.

Brayden Point had to score to give the Warriors a chance. He did just that as Glover got a piece of his shot but the puck got across the line. That meant Riley Sheen, the T-Birds third shooter, could win the game if he converted. Sheen skated towards Wapple and beat the goalie low on the blocker side for the winning goal.

This was the T-Birds second game on a six-game road trip to the East Division. He Swift Current Broncos beat the T-Birds 4-3 Friday night. They face the Brandon Wheat Kings at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Westman Place. They face the Regina Pats at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Brandt Centre.

Moose Jaw (7-7-2-2) took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Andrew Johnson at 5:50 of the first period. Brandon Potomak had the only assist on the goal.

Tanner Eberle extended the Moose Jaw lead to 2-0 at 13:46 of the first with an unassisted goal.

The Warriors outshot the T-Birds 10-5 in the first period.

Seattle (8-7-1-0) got on the board at 14:36 of the second period. Brendan Rouse took the puck out of the feet of a Moose Jaw defender in the right circle. Rouse then turned with the puck and fired it across the slot to Seth Swenson in the left circle. Swenson one-timed the pass past Wapple, who was lunging across the crease to try and make the save. Roberts Lipsbergs had the second assist on Swenson’s fifth goal of the year.

The T-Birds led 18-15 in shots after outshooting the Warriors 15-5 in the second period.

The T-Birds tied the game with a power-play goal at 3:23 of the third period. Rouse sent the puck from the right circle to Luke Lockhart behind the net. Lockhart then centered the puck to Lipsbergs in the slot. Lipsbergs snapped the puck past Wapple over the glove for his second goal of the season.

Moose Jaw took the lead back at 9:36 of the third on a goal from Sam Fioretti. Jordan Wyton and Kendall McFaull had the assists.

Rouse tied the game 3-3 with a power-play goal at 14:43 of the third. Shea Theodore had the puck inside the blue line at center ice. Theodore sent a wrist shot off the end boards that caromed to Rouse to the right of the goal. Wapple had gone down to make the save and had to dive to try and stop Rouse. Rouse quickly wristed the puck and was able to slide it past Wapple’s glove.

Seattle outshot Moose Jaw 12-8 in the third period and led 28-23 after 60 minutes.

Glover made 22 saves on 25 shots and his record is now 7-5-1-0.

Wapple stopped 28 of 31 shots and his record is now 2-4-0-1.

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, Moose Jaw, Johnson 3 (Potomak), 5:50. 2, Moose Jaw, Eberle 3, 13:46. Penalties – Hauf, Sea (major-fighting), 5:53. Eberle, MJ (major-fighting),5:53. Sheen, Sea (cross checking), 9:18.  Swenson, Sea (interference), 16:40.

Second period – 3, Seattle, Swenson 5 (Rouse, Lipsbergs), 14:36. Penalties – No penalties.

Third period – 4, Seattle, Lipsbergs 2 (Lockhart, Rouse), 3:23 (pp). 5, Moose Jaw, Fioretti 14 (Wyton, McFaull), 9:36. 6, Seattle, Rouse (Theodore), 14:43 (pp). Penalties – Fiorett, MJ (hooking), 1:25.  White, MJ (boarding), 6:03.  Gore, MJ (tripping), 14:16.

Overtime – No scoring. Penalties – Wardley, Sea (boarding), 3:02.

Shootout – Seattle 2 (Theodore NG, Delnov G, Sheen G). Moose Jaw 1 (Rielly NG, Fiorett NG, Point G).

Shots on goal – Seattle 5-13-12-1-1 32, Moose Jaw 10-5-8-2-0 25. Goalies – Seattle, Glover 25 shots-22 saves (7-5-1-0); Moose Jaw, Wapple 31-29 (2-4-0-1). Power plays – Seattle 2-3; Moose Jaw 0-3. A – 4,046. Referees – Jon Stephenson, Colin Watt. Linesmen – Derek Nernberg, Dawson  Switzer.