Thunderbirds on the clock to end WHL’s Memorial Cup woes

Colton Dach scored a key goal in the Memorial Cup semifinal.

Will the Seattle Thunderbirds end the WHL’s drought when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup?

That will be the burning question for WHL followers when the Thunderbirds take the ice in the title game of the CHL’s championship tournament. They will go up against the QMJHL champion Quebec Remparts on Sunday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C., at 4 p.m. local time. The winner claims junior hockey’s most prestigious trophy in the Memorial Cup.

On paper, this has the makings to be a heavyweight tilt that produces a classic of a championship game. Both the Thunderbirds and Remparts have been two of the CHL’s top clubs throughout the 2022-23 campaign.

The Thunderbirds topped the WHL’s Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Thunderbird proceeded to win the league title posting a 16-3 mark.

The Remparts finished first overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-12-1-2 record and were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Remparts proceeded to win the league crown posting a 16-2 mark.

In the round robin game held this past Monday between the two sides at the Memorial Cup tournament, the Remparts slipped past the Thunderbirds 3-1, but Seattle held a 36-22 edge in shots on goal. Both teams posted identical 2-1 records in the round robin portion of the event, and the Remparts were given first place and a bye to the event’s championship game due to the head-to-head victory over the Thunderbirds.

Brad Lambert scored Seattle’s first goal in the Memorial Cup semifinal.

Seattle downed the OHL champion Peterborough Petes 4-1 in a semifinal contest on Friday to advance to the tournament’s championship game. With the win over the Petes, the Thunderbirds were officially put “on the clock” to try and end the WHL’s drought when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup.

The Edmonton Oil Kings were the last team from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup, and that victory came back in 2014. Edmonton captured the WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreation diving accident.

The WHL is currently in its longest drought as a league of not being able to win the Memorial Cup spanning six seasons from 2015 to 2019 and 2022. The Memorial Cup tournament wasn’t contested in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Clubs from the WHL became eligible to play for the Memorial Cup on a regular basis in the 1970-71 campaign. If the Thunderbirds lose in the CHL’s title game on Sunday, the WHL’s drought will grow to seven seasons creating a new distinction for the drought.

Since the WHL first hit the ice as a circuit for the 1966-67 campaign, the longest it has gone without a Memorial Cup win is seven seasons. That drought included years the WHL wasn’t eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup as the circuit was originally viewed as an “outlaw league” by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association that governed the game in Canada at that time.

The WHL didn’t have any Memorial Cup victories in its first seven seasons of existence, and that winless run came to an end when the Regina Pats won storied trophy for the third time in team history to conclude the 1973-74 campaign.

Kyle Crnkovic scored Seattle’s third goal on Friday.

For a moment, the possibility existed that there wouldn’t be a WHL team in this year’s championship game at the Memorial Cup tournament. On Thursday, the Petes met the host Blazers in a standings tiebreaking game as both teams were 1-2 in round robin play.

Despite not winning the WHL title, the Blazers had a fairly stellar campaign in 2022-23. They finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

The Blazers won their first eight straight games in the WHL Playoffs to advance to the Western Conference Championship Series. They fell in six games in that set to the Thunderbirds.

The Petes were the Cinderella team of CHL’s post-season. They finish 10^th in the overall OHL regular season standings with a 35-29-2-2 record. Despite being an afterthought when the post-season began, the Petes proceeded to win the OHL title posting a 16-7 record in the OHL Playoffs.

In the round robin portion of the Memorial Cup tournament, the Blazers pummeled the Petes 10-2 on May 28. The Blazers held a 4-1 lead early in the second period of Thursday’s tiebreaking game and appeared to be set to cruise to victory.

The Petes caught fired and evened the score 4-4 by the end of the second period. The contest ultimately went to overtime and Petes 19-year-old left-winger J.R. Avon scored the winner at the 10:54 mark of extra time to give the Petes a 5-4 victory.

Going into Friday’s semifinal between the Petes and Thunderbirds, one had to wonder if the Petes were going to see their Cinderella run through to getting their hands on the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately for the Petes, the fact that they were playing their fifth game in seven days caught up with them on the fatigue front.

Thomas Milic made 27 saves in Seattle’s Memorial Cup semifinal win.

The Petes looked fatigued in that clash, but they stayed in the game thanks to a spectacular effort by their star netminder in Michael Simpson. Simpson kept the Thunderbirds off the scoreboard until being beaten by star Seattle centre Brad Lambert with 4:28 remaining in the second period. Lambert’s tally gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 edge.

Power forward Colton Dach scored 88 seconds into the third to push the Thunderbirds lead out to 2-0. The Petes responded 73 seconds later with a goal from left-winger Brennan Othmann to cut the Seattle lead to 2-1.

Seattle put the contest away with a goal by star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic just before the midway point of the frame and an empty-net tally from standout left-winger Nico Myatovic to round out the 4-1 win. 

Star netminder Thomas Milic made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds, while Simpson turned away 43-of-46 shots in the campaign ending setback for the Petes.

Unfortunately for the loaded up Thunderbirds, they could be running into a buzzsaw with the Remparts, whose level of play might be raised by their own emotional motivation. The Memorial Cup title game could be the last ride with the Remparts for “Saint Patrick.”

Hockey legend Patrick Roy, who is the Remparts head coach and general manager, is involved in speculation with regards to NHL head coaching vacancies. The Remparts players could be motivated to see the 57-year-old Roy departs on an ultimate high note.

The Remparts starting star netminder William Rousseau has been solid during the tournament stopping 87-of-95 shots for a .916 save percentage and a 2.93 goals against average.

Nico Myatovic scored an empty-net goal on Friday night.

You can expect the Thunderbirds will give their best to try and win their first Memorial Cup title in team history. If they fall in the CHL’s title game on Sunday, one has to wonder how far the WHL’s Memorial Cup drought will go.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Unexpected gift – Lambert living out special time in Seattle

Brad Lambert is enjoying his time with the Thunderbirds.

Brad Lambert initially took reassignment from the hockey’s professional level to the major junior ranks like most would – as a gut punch.

Lambert, who was born in Lahti, Finland, started the season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He put up two goals and one assist in 14 games with the Moose and was held pointless in his final 10 outings with that squad.

The 19-year-old forward proceeded to join Finland’s squad for world juniors, which were jointly held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B. Lambert, who stands 6-feet and weighs 183 pounds, had one goal in five games as Finland bowed out falling in a quarter-final 3-2 to Sweden.

Upon returning from world juniors, the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, who are the parent club for the Moose, assigned Lambert to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. The Jets had selected Lambert in the first round and 30^th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Lambert’s WHL rights were originally held by the Saskatoon Blades, and the Blades dealt Lambert’s right to the Thunderbirds on June 20, 2022.

With the Thunderbirds, Lambert was playing on a team that topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

Shifting from right wing back to his nature centre position, Lambert took off with the Thunderbirds putting up offensive numbers that showed why he was a first NHL Entry Draft selection. In 26 games with the Thunderbirds, Lambert piled up 17 goals and 21 assists to go with a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus department.

As the Thunderbirds marched through the WHL Playoffs posting a 16-3 record to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions, Lambert posted six goals and 20 assists to go with a plus-13 rating in 17 post-season appearances. He missed the Thunderbirds last two games of their first round sweep of the Kelowna Rockets due to illness.

The Thunderbirds are set to open play at the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion on Saturday against the OHL champion Peterborough Petes at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C., at 3 p.m. local time. Kamloops is hosting this year’s Memorial Cup tournament and the host Blazers open game action tonight taking on the QMJHL champion Quebec Remparts at 6 p.m. local time.

Brad Lambert has six goals and 20 assists in 17 post-season games.

Lambert said playing with the Thunderbirds has been a good thing.

“We haven’t lost a series yet, so it has been perfect,” said Lambert, with a chuckle. “We’re looking to win it here.

“Yeah, I was disappointed, but I’m just making the most out of the opportunity. It is a great team here we have and a great group of guys. I’ve had a lot of fun.”

Lambert found he had joined a Seattle side where the rest of the team accepted him right away. After making the WHL Championship Series in 2021-22 and falling to the Edmonton Oil Kings in six games, the Thunderbirds were aiming to go all the way this season. He originally played right wing on a line with two star players in Jared Davidson at centre and Kyle Crnkovic on left-wing.

The Thunderbirds made another addition helping increase Lambert’s comfort level with the team. Before the WHL’s trade deadline on January 10, the Thunderbirds acquired the WHL rights to forward Dylan Guenther, who helped the Oil Kings with the WHL title in 2022.

Guenther, who turned 20-years-old in April, started the 2022-23 campaign with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. He appeared in 33 regular season contests with the Coyotes putting up six goals and nine assists and played games with the club to January 28.

The Coyotes allowed Guenther to play for Canada at this past world juniors, and he recorded seven goals and three assists in seven games. In Canada’s 3-2 overtime win in the gold medal game against Czechia played on January 5, 2023 in Halifax, Guenther had two goals including the winner in extra time.

On February 5, the Coyotes assigned Guenther to the Thunderbirds. Guenther made his debut with Seattle on February 10 in a 6-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels at the Accesso ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash.

Brad Lambert had 38 points in 26 regular season games with Seattle.

He started the contest on a newly created line where he was on right wing, with Lambert at centre and Reid Schaefer, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers, on left wing. The Thunderbirds have kept that unit together ever since.

“I’ve got two great shots on my wings,” said Lambert, who father, Ross, played with the Blades in 1982-83. “I just use my playmaking to get them the puck.

“They’re doing a good job of finishing.”

Lambert found he had good chemistry playing with Guenther and Schaefer and added both wingers bring different dynamics to the table.

“I know when I give him (Guenther) the puck I’m going to get it back, or he is going to create something,” said Lambert. “Just the give and goes and playing together it harder for the other team to stop.

“Reido (Reid Schaefer) is great in front of the net. He has a big body. He is great on the forecheck and a fast skater too.

“It has been a good line.”

Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette has enjoyed having Lambert as part of the Thunderbirds. The bench boss said the young forward has surprised the Seattle coaching staff with how well rounded he has been in all parts of the game.

“He (Lambert) has been great for us,” said O’Dette. “Obviously, he is a highly skilled player.

Brad Lambert loves his teammates with the Thunderbirds.

“He really integrated himself well with our team right away. He was proud to be a T-bird. He is a great skater and dynamic player.

“He also competes and plays in the hard areas. That was a pleasant surprise for us. Obviously, we knew of him, but now that we’ve had him for a while here, he is a much more complete player than what we thought.”

O’Dette said Lambert rolled during the regular season with the Thunderbirds and has continued that roll in the post-season even with opposing clubs keying more on him and his line.

“He (Lambert) has picked up in the post-season right where he left off in the regular season,” said O’Dette. “He has been real good.

“Obviously, he is probably keyed on a little bit more in the playoffs. He has handled that real well. The height and physicality of the playoffs hasn’t bothered him at all.

“He has been really good for us.”

Lambert said the best about the Thunderbirds is he found he joined a group of good players, who are characters who have character. He enjoys coming to the rink, because he knows something fun will happen along with work getting done on the ice.

He has enjoyed playing with all his teammates on the Thunderbirds including the likes of Guenther, Schaefer, Davidson, Crnkovic, Thomas Milic, Luke Prokop, Nolan Allan, Colton Dach, Lucas Ciona, Jordan Gustafson, Kevin Korchinski, Jeremy Hanzel and Nico Myatovic.

Like himself, Guenther, Prokop, Allan, Crnkovic and Dach were all acquired via trades by the Thunderbirds since the club fell in the 2022 WHL final. Lambert said it has been cool to see the newcomers and the existing core of players come together.

“You wouldn’t know this team has been put together kind of throughout the season,” said Lambert. “You would think we have been together for many years.

Brad Lambert hopes to enjoy some good time at the Memorial Cup.

“Everyone is great and close with each other, so it is nice.”

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Thunderbirds undeniably WHL’s best team in 2022-23

The Thunderbirds celebrate a goal in January.

The Seattle Thunderbirds are the WHL’s best team in 2022-23.

They had the best team on paper, and it translated to having the best team on the ice long before they won the Ed Chynoweth Cup. The fact they won the Ed Chynoweth Cup to become WHL champions on Friday just added a final stamp of approval.

Of course, the Kamloops Blazers will still have a chance to cast doubt about whether the Thunderbirds truly are the best in the WHL. The Blazers host the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion, and that event will start this coming Friday and runs through to June 4 at the Sandman Centre.

Seattle and Kamloops met in the WHL’s Western Conference Championship Series and the Thunderbirds took that best-of-seven set 4-2. If the Blazers win the Memorial Cup, they will be one of those asterisks CHL champions, because they weren’t able to win their league championship on their way to capturing major junior hockey’s biggest prize.

Still, the reason the Thunderbirds won the WHL championship was due to the fact they had the deepest team on the circuit. That allowed them to beat the Blazers in the Western Conference final for a second straight year before taking out the Winnipeg Ice in the league championship series in five games. The Ice had topped the WHL’s regular season standings in each of the past two seasons.

The seeds of the Thunderbirds run to winning the WHL title in 2022-23 were planted during the 2021-22 campaign. In 2021-22, the Thunderbirds finished seventh overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-18-4-2 record.

Thomas Milic is the Thunderbirds star netminder.

They advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings. During that post-season run, the Thunderbirds won six straight contests where they faced elimination from the WHL Playoffs.

After falling in the WHL final in 2021-22, the Thunderbirds went all in for the 2022-23 campaign. The obvious difference between this season and last season has been the load up.

Seattle traded multiple young players, prospects and draft selections in order to add star players that would put them over the top. After falling to the Oil Kings in the 2022 WHL final, the Thunderbirds additions via the trade route included Brad Lambert, Dylan Guenther, Luke Prokop, Nolan Allan, Kyle Crnkovic and Colton Dach.

Guenther and Prokop were key figures in helping the Oil Kings capture the WHL crown in 2021-22. The experience they had added to the experience the Thunderbirds gained in their post-season run in 2022.

Seattle returned 15 players this season who were on the club’s playoff roster in 2022. Included among the key returnees from the 2022 post-season run was netminder Thomas Milic. Milic backstopped Canada to a gold medal finish at world juniors this past January and was named the WHL playoff MVP as the Thunderbirds claimed the Ed Chynoweth Cup this past Friday.

Brad Lambert has scored key goals for the Thunderbirds.

Other key returnees included Jared Davidson, Jordan Gustafson, Reid Schaefer, Lucas Ciona, Kevin Korchinski and Jeremy Hanzel.

The returnees guaranteed the Thunderbirds would have a good shot at a top five finish in the WHL’s overall standings. Seattle also benefited from Nico Myatovic having a breakout year as a returnee and Gracyn Sawchyn putting up a pile of points as a rookie.

Credit has to be given to Thunderbirds general manager Bil La Forge and his scouting staff for knowing who they should add to the core mix of players they already had. La Forge was named the winner of the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as the WHL executive of the year for 2022-23.

La Forge and his scouting staff knew they couldn’t just add players who could statistically put up points. They looked to add players who where good character guys that could put up points that would be automatically welcomed in by the existing players.

One of the first players the Thunderbirds acquired was Crnkovic from the Saskatoon Blades back on August 30, 2022. During his 19-year-old season with the Blades in 2021-22, Crnkovic was an assistant captain who appeared in all of the team’s 68 regular season games recording 39 goals and 55 assists for 94 points.

Off the ice, Crnkovic was known as one of the Blades best ambassadors in the community. You would be hard pressed to find someone that disliked Crnkovic, and it was pretty safe to assume he would be accepted into the Thunderbirds dressing room.

Jared Davidson is a key member of the Thunderbirds core group.

Lambert, Guenther, Prokop, Allan and Dach are all high character guys too. Dach is a power forward who likes to be an agitator. When he is in your dressing room, you think he is the greatest teammate ever, but when he is an opponent, you wish you could run him over with a semi truck.

Prokop is known as the first WHL and CHL player to come out as gay. As he is signed by the NHL’s Nashville Predators, Prokop also became the first active player with an NHL contract to come out as gay.

After making his coming out announcement on July 19, 2021, you could tell Prokop was more comfortable in his own skin. Since that announcement, he has played the best hockey of his career and continues to steadily improve.

Prokop is arguably one of the best all-around defencemen in the WHL. He can play a physical game, a smart game, put up points or skate for massive minutes to ensure the defensive end is always under control. On top of that, Prokop has been popular with his teammate in every stop he has made in his hockey career.

Lambert and Guenther are talents who are NHL ready right now. Lambert spent the first half of the season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, who are an affiliate of the NHL’ Winnipeg Jets. His WHL rights were traded by the Blades to the Thunderbirds, and Jets elected to assign Lambert to a Seattle side projected to make a long post-season run.

Dylan Guenther has won two straight WHL titles.

Guenther spent the first half of the 2022-23 campaign with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. After the Oil Kings traded his NHL rights to the Thunderbirds, the Coyotes assigned Guenther to the Seattle said anticipating he would be part of another long playoff run.

During the post-season, both Lambert and Guenther have played with heart skating with the Thunderbirds. They could probably get away with going through the motions, but they have shown they are driven to win championships in the post-season.

Allan focuses on perfecting his craft of being a defensive-defenceman. He has a signed NHL contract with the Chicago Blackhawks and knows he needs to be a good defensive-defenceman to have a long NHL career.

Still, Allan has skill offensively and can play multiple roles on the back end. He was the captain of the Prince Albert Raiders due to his ability to lead by example, and Seattle gave up a tonne of assets making a blockbuster deal with the Raiders on November 16, 2022 to get Allan.

Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette and the coaches on his staff were able to bring this group together creating a team in Seattle that can play any style of hockey you want to play.

Kevin Korchinski is one of Seattle’s star veteran defencemen.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

While it is easy to talk about the Thunderbirds headline grabbers that came via the trade route, the career members of the team are still able to shine. That was seen when the Thunderbirds locked up the WHL Championship Series with a 3-1 victory over the Ice in Game 5 this past Friday before a sellout crowd of 6,202 spectators at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.

Milic, who is a career member of the Thunderbirds and turned 20-years-old in April, made 30 saves to pick up the win in goal in that contest. Seattle’s first two goals came from centre Sam Popowich, who turns 20-years-old on Sunday, at even strength and Myatovic, who is 18-years-old on a penalty shot. Both Popowich and Myatovic have played their entire WHL careers with the Thunderbirds.

Crnkovic sealed the win with an empty-net goal with Guenther picking up an assist on that tally.

Kyle Crnkovic skates with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Going into this year’s Memorial Cup, the Thunderbirds are the WHL’s strongest representative at that event since the circuit’s last Memorial Cup winner in the Oil Kings from 2014. The Thunderbirds are stronger than their WHL title winning team from the 2016-17 campaign that featured Mathew Barzal and Ethan Bear as stars.

The Thunderbirds are the best in the WHL. Soon, we will see if they are the best in the entire CHL.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Fly Thunderbirds fly

Seattle storms past Ice 6-3 in Game 3 of WHL final

The Thunderbirds celebrated scoring six goals on Tuesday.

It was a great night to cheer for the Seattle Thunderbirds.

On Tuesday night, the Thunderbirds created numerous reasons for the 5,505 spectators in attendance at their home rink in the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., to cheer. Just 25 seconds into Game 3 of the WHL Championship Series, star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic scored to give the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead.

After the Ice evened the score 1-1 a short time later, the Thunderbirds surged ahead 4-1 scoring three times in a span of 45 seconds starting at the 13:24 mark of the opening frame. The Thunderbirds rode the momentum of that surge to a 6-3 victory.

With their second straight win in the series, the Thunderbirds take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven set against the Ice. Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Access ShoWare Center.

The definite final score in favour of the Thunderbirds came as a bit of a surprise as the first two games of the series played at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg were tight battles. The Ice took Game 1 this past Friday 3-2, while the Thunderbirds claimed Game 2 this past Saturday 4-2.

On Tuesday, the Thunderbirds came out looking to play a track meet rush up and down the ice type of contest that usually favours the Ice. Shortly after the opening faceoff, Thunderbirds offensive-defenceman Jeremy Hanzel passed the puck from deep in his own zone to Crnkovic at centre ice to start a rush into the Winnipeg zone.

Crnkovic passed the puck over to linemate and Seattle captain Lucas Ciona, and the two forwards found themselves on a two-one-one break into the offensive zone. Ciona made a backhand pass to Crnkovic, who was rushing down the left side of the Winnipeg net, and Crnkovic fired home the puck to the top left corner of the Winnipeg goal to give the hosts a 1-0 edge 25 seconds into the contest.

The Thunderbirds faithful at the Accesso ShoWare Center were raucous after Crnkovic’s goal. Just 62 seconds later, the Ice took all of the air out of the building.

Jeremy Hanzel had a two goals and an assist on Tuesday.

Thunderbirds defenceman Bryce Pickford was controlling the puck just inside his own blue-line, but he had it stolen off him by Ice star centre Conor Geekie. Geekie broke in on the left side of the Seattle goal along with linemate Carson Latimer on a two against the goalie break.

Geekie put a pass across the front of the Seattle net to Latimer at the right side of the goal. Latimer tapped the puck into an open cage to even the score at 1-1.

Following Latimer’s goal, the Ice applied all sorts of pressure in the Seattle zone looking to go ahead on the scoreboard. That pressure included a breakaway chance by Ice star centre Matthew Savoie, but he was turned away by Thunderbirds star netminder Thomas Milic.

At the 13:24 mark of the opening frame, momentum proceeded to swing in the Thunderbirds favour in a big way. With Seattle working on the power play, Hanzel skated the puck to the top of the left faceoff circle and blew a shot home to the top left corner of the Winnipeg net through a screen to give the Thunderbirds a 2-1 lead.

Just 23 seconds later, the Thunderbirds pushed their lead out to 3-1. Thunderbirds left-winger Reid Schaefer had the puck at the left side boards in his one zone and he hit linemate in star centre Brad Lambert skating down the right wing with a long stretch pass just before the Winnipeg blue-line.

Lambert blew past Ice star defenceman Ben Zloty, cut across the front of the Winnipeg net and put home a backhand shot to give the host side a two-goal edge.

The Thunderbirds capped the surge scoring on a beauty transition rush 22 seconds later that was finished by a goal from star 20-year-old centre Jared Davidson. 

Davidson received a backhand pass at the left side of the Winnipeg net from linemate Nico Myatovic and snapped a shot past the glove hand of Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser to give the host side a 4-1 edge. The tally was the 11^th goal of the post-season for Davidson.

Zach Benson had a goal and an assist for the Ice on Tuesday.

The noise at the Accesso ShoWare Center was deafening after Davidson’s tally. The Ice called a timeout after Davidson’s goal in order to regroup. When the first period came to an end, Winnipeg held a 14-10 edge in shots on goal but trailed 4-1 on the scoreboard.

The Thunderbirds were intent on not allowing the Ice to get back into the contest over the final 40 minutes. At the 8:09 mark of the second, Seattle scored for the second time on the power play to go up 5-1.

Thunderbirds star right-winger Dylan Guenther collected the rebound of a Lambert shot at the left side of the Winnipeg net and popped home his 15^th tally of the post-season to give Seattle a four-goal advantage.

At the 13:42 mark of the second, Ice star right-winger Zach Benson scored with the two sides playing four-versus-four due to off-setting penalties to cut the Thunderbirds lead to 5-2. Benson tapped home a puck at the left side of the Seattle goal converting a beauty set up pass from Savoie.

With 1:35 remaining in the second, Hanzel blasted home a midrange shot to push the Thunderbirds advantage out to 6-2 completing a personal three-point night with two goals and one assist.

The Ice pulled Hauser for the start of the third period. He turned away 16-of-22 shots to take the setback in net for the Ice. Mason Beaupit walled off all 11 shots he faced playing the entire third frame.

Winnipeg rounded out the game’s scoring with a power-play goal coming with 7:48 remaining in the third. Ice centre Zack Ostapchuk tapped home a sweet backdoor setup from Benson at the left side of the Seattle net to close out the 6-3 final outcome.

Milic stopped 35 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds.

Colton Dach had a pair of assists for the Thunderbirds on Tuesday.

Crnkovic, Lambert and Guenther each had an assist to go with their respective goals. Thunderbirds power forward Colton Dach had a pair of assists on Tuesday. Benson had a two-point night for the Ice with one goal and one assist.

The WHL final between the Ice and Thunderbirds is expected to be a heavyweight tilt.

Winnipeg topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and was rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

Seattle’s roster contains 10 players who have been drafted by NHL teams and seven players who participated in the last world juniors. Winnipeg’s roster contained eight players who have been drafted by NHL teams and one player who participated in the last world juniors.

Each side has played the first three games of the WHL final with one notable absence each due to injury.

The Thunderbirds were without standout centre Jordan Gustafson, who turned 19-years-old in January. During the Thunderbirds six-game Western Conference Championship Series win over the Kamloops Blazers, it is suspected Gustafson was injured as part of the celebration for Hanzel’s overtime winner in Game 2 of that set claimed by the Thunderbirds 4-3.

The Ice were without 19-year-old defenceman Wyatt Wilson, who was injured in Game 5 of the team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Dylan Guenther had a goal and an assist for Seattle on Tuesday.

Tuesday night ended up being a great one for the Thunderbirds and their fans. You can expect the Ice won’t dwell on that contest and make a big push back in Game 4. This WHL final should have a few more twists and turns before the Ed Chynoweth Cup is ultimately presented to the series winner.

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Thunderbirds cash in on Ice gifts in Game 2 of WHL final

Seattle claims 4-2 victory to even series at 1-1

Brad Lambert, centre, reacts to scoring his second goal in Game 2.

WINNIPEG, Man. – The Seattle Thunderbirds are always willing to receive gifts, and the Winnipeg Ice – to their detriment – were in a giving mood.

On Saturday in Game 2 of the WHL Championship Series, the Thunderbirds gained control of the contest cashing in on a pair of Ice giveaways that turned a 1-1 tie in the third quickly into a 3-1 score in favour of Seattle. That swing of events allowed the Thunderbirds to pull out a 4-2 victory to the disappointment of most of the 5,691 spectators at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

“It was a much better game for us,” said Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette, whose squad dropped a 3-2 decision in Game 1 of the series one night earlier. “I thought we played more to our identity and executed the game plan the way we need to.

Brad Lambert scored twice for Seattle on Saturday.

“It was night and day compared to last night. There were some spurts we could have been better, but overall, we were much happier with the effort in the game tonight.”

The win allowed the Thunderbirds to even the best-of-seven series 1-1. The Thunderbirds will host the next three games of the series at the Accesso ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash.

Games 3 and 4 are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. local time. After a day off on Thursday, Game 5 will go Friday for another 7 p.m. local time start.

Ice head coach James Patrick said the loss in Game 2 on Saturday was tough to take due to the fact that errors by his squad led directly to the Thunderbirds being able to pull out victory.

Brad Lambert does the fly by after scoring his first goal in Game 2.

“I thought tonight our puck management hurt us,” said Patrick. “It wasn’t our defending.

“It wasn’t our D-zone coverage. It was strictly our puck management that gave them some opportunities that they capitalized on.”

The Thunderbirds and Ice entered the third period of Saturday’s clash locked in a 1-1 draw. After what seemed like a cautious start to the frame, the complexion of the contest changed quickly.

At the 5:02 mark of the third, the Ice got careless with the puck in their own zone, and it proved costly. First, Ice veteran 19-year-old defenceman Karter Prosofsky made a bad clearing pass out of his own zone and turned the puck over to Thunderbirds star centre Brad Lambert just inside the Winnipeg blue-line.

Zach Benson scored twice for the Ice on Saturday.

Lambert powered toward the Winnipeg net and drove home a shot to the top left corner of the goal to give the Thunderbirds a 2-1 lead. The 19-year-old’s goal marked the first time the Thunderbirds held a lead in any game of the series with the Ice.

Just eight seconds later, the Ice veteran 19-year-old defenceman Graham Sward made a bad pass behind their own net that was gathered up by Thunderbirds star right-winger Dylan Guenther. Guenther set up behind the Winnipeg net and centred a pass out to standout left-winger Reid Schaefer.

Reid Schaefer had a goal and an assist for Seattle in Game 2.

Schaefer wired a shot past Hauser to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 advantage.

“It is hard times, but you definitely don’t want to hand these guys anything,” said Ice captain Carson Lambos. “We’re going to go over the video and be better next game.”

The Ice tried to battle back. Just over three minutes after the Thunderbirds two quick tallies, there was a scramble in front of the Seattle goal, and the Ice’s top line connected on a tick-tack-toe passing play that resulted in a goal that cut the Thunderbirds lead to 3-2.

Ice star left-winger Connor McClennon and Ice star centre Matthew Savoie combined to set up Ice star right-winger Zach Benson for his second tally of the contest to trim Seattle’s lead to one goal.

Dylan Guenther had two assists for Seattle in Game 2.

Inside of the final three minutes of the third before the Ice could pull their netminder for an extra attacker, Lambert struck again for the Thunderbirds. Guenther made a high looping pass from deep in his zone to centre ice that took a positive bounce for the visitors past Ice import left-winger Vladislav Shilo.

Lambert got past Shilo, corralled the puck and jetted into the Winnipeg zone on a breakaway. Lambert snapped a shot to the top right corner of the Winnipeg net for his second tally of the night that put a capper on the Thunderbirds 4-2 victory. Guenther picked up his second assist of the contest on Lambert’s second goal and finished with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Daniel Hauser makes one of his 35 saves in goal for the Ice.

The two-goal night was a special one for Lambert, who also picked up an assist on Seattle’s first goal. Born in Lahti, Finland, Lambert has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets after being selected by them in the first round and 30^th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Lambert started the 2022-23 campaign in Winnipeg playing for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He played for Finland at world juniors and was assigned to the WHL’s Thunderbirds shortly after his return from that tournament. The skilled centre was pleased to return to Winnipeg and have a big night.

“It is obviously special just to be playing for the WHL championship,” said Lambert. “It is unbelievable.

Carson Lambos starts a rush up ice for the Ice.

“Not many guys get the opportunity, so we’re just trying to make the most of it. For it to be in Winnipeg, obviously, it adds a little more to it.”

In the first period of Saturday’s clash, the Ice broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:11 mark when Benson blew home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to top right corner of the Seattle goal to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

At the 5:57 mark of the opening frame, Thunderbirds star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic was given a double minor for high sticking, and that infraction will trigger an automatic review by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Ice had pressure and chances on the four minute power play, but they couldn’t get the puck past Thunderbirds star netminder Thomas Milic.

Jeremy Hanzel had Seattle’s first goal on Saturday.

Inside the final seconds of the first, the Ice turned the puck over to Thunderbirds star 20-year-old centre Jared Davidson deep in the Winnipeg zone. Davidson was turned away on a point blank chance by Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser.

Just 1:24 into the second, the Thunderbirds pulled even on the scoreboard at 1-1, when offensive-defenceman Jeremy Hanzel one-timed home a shot from the right point. Hanzel converted a beauty setup pass from Schaefer.

That set the stage for the dramatics in the third.

Milic stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds. Hauser turned away 35 shots to take the setback in net for the Ice, who had won their previous eight straight post-season games.

The Thunderbirds celebrate a goal from Jeremy Hanzel (#4).

Benson said Hauser gives his club a chance to win every time he takes up position between the pipes of the Winnipeg net.

“He (Hauser) is unreal,” said Benson. “He has been a rock back there all season for us.

“He is one of the best goalies in the league for a reason. He has been outstanding this series and whole playoffs.”

The WHL final between the Ice and Thunderbirds is expected to be a heavyweight tilt.

Winnipeg topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and was rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice.

Thomas Milic makes one of his 29 saves in goal for Seattle.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

Seattle’s roster contains 10 players who have been drafted by NHL teams and seven players who participated in the last world juniors. Winnipeg’s roster contained eight players who have been drafted by NHL teams and one player who participated in the last world juniors.

Each side has played the first two contests of the WHL final with one notable absence due to injury.

The fans at the Canada Life Centre cheer on the Ice.

The Thunderbirds were without standout centre Jordan Gustafson. 

During the Thunderbirds six-game Western Conference Championship Series win over the Kamloops Blazers, it is suspected Gustafson was injured as part of the celebration for Hanzel’s overtime winner in Game 2 of that set claimed by the Thunderbirds 4-3.

The Ice were without 19-year-old defenceman Wyatt Wilson, who was injured in Game 5 of the team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Last season, the Thunderbirds made it to the WHL final and fell in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings. 

Owen Pedersen sets up in the offensive zone for the Ice.

The Ice made it to the Eastern Conference Championship Series and fell in five games to the Oil Kings.

With that noted, the Thunderbirds have the benefit of being in the WHL final a year ago. On top of returning players from that squad, they added Guenther and defenceman Luke Prokop via the trade route from the Oil Kings, and Guenther and Prokop were important in helping Edmonton win the WHL title in 2022.

“We pretty fortunate to have that experience,” said Milic, who backstopped the Thunderbirds to the WHL final for two straight seasons. “At the end of the day, it is still the same game.

Seattle D Nolan Allan, left, battles Winnipeg RW Zach Benson.

“A lot of guys we’re played with and against also have the same experience. I think it definitely helps mostly just knowing how to handle different situations that come up in playoffs. You’re going to be tired.

“You’re body is going to start breaking down. You just know how to manage things like that, and also how to manage highs and lows during games and during series as well. Just having a short memory is really important.”

Now the focus shifts to Game 3 on Tuesday in Kent, Wash., for a 7 p.m. local time start at the Accesso ShoWare Center. Patrick said his Ice squad won’t dwell on the Game 2 loss.

“We knew it was going to be a long series,” said Patrick. “You’re going to have to put in a lot of work.

Kevin Korchinski brings the puck up ice for the Thunderbirds.

“It is not going to be easy. We’ll learn from this. We’ll move on.

“We’ll be ready for Game 3.”

O’Dette said his Thunderbirds are looking forward to playing at home, but they know they have to be at their best to keep pulling out wins.

“We’re just looking towards the next game,” said O’Dette. “We’re going to be excited to be in front of our home fans.

“Having last change, yes, it is nice to have that. They have some dangerous guys, and you want to make sure you have the right guys on the ice. Playoffs at home or on the road, I think it is a little bit less of a factor.

The Thunderbirds enjoy departing Winnipeg with a win.

“We’ll need to be ready bottom line.”

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Thunderbirds in command of Western Conference final

Blazers fall in OT heartbreaker in Game 2

Jeremy Hanzel had the OT winner for Seattle on Sunday.

When it comes to the WHL Playoffs, Seattle Thunderbirds fans can rightfully break into chants of “undefeated,” if they wanted to.

The Thunderbirds opened the WHL’s Western Conference Championships series against the Kamloops Blazers winning the first two contests at home to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. The Thunderbirds claimed a 5-1 victory in Game 1 on Saturday and rallied from being down 3-1 to pull out a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 2 on Sunday.

With those wins, the Thunderbirds have a perfect 10-0 record in the WHL post-season outscoring their opposition 48-13. The Blazers, who will host the Memorial Cup tournament to determine a CHL champion, were 8-0 in the post-season before facing the Thunderbirds in the first two games of the Western Conference final held at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington.

In Game 1 played before 6,023 spectators on Saturday, Thunderbirds star centre Jared Davidson opened the contest’s scoring with three minutes remaining in the first period, and standout Thunderbirds right-winger Nico Myatovic tallied at the 13:44 mark of the second to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage. With 3:49 remaining in the second, Blazers star offensive-defenceman Olen Zellweger netted his eighth of the post-season to cut the Thunderbirds lead to 2-1.

The 2-1 score held up until the Thunderbirds rolled off a three-goal surge starting at the 10:19 mark of the third to round out the game’s scoring. Star centre Dylan Guenther started the surge scoring at the 10:19 mark of the third, Davidson added his second of the contest just over four minutes later and standout rookie centre Gracyn Sawchyn, who turned 18-years-old in January, closed the surge with a single on the power play with 3:47 remaining in the third.

Davidson had an assist to go with his goal for a three-point night, while Guenther had an assist to go with his goal for a two-point night.

Logan Stankoven

Star netminder Thomas Milic made 24 saves to earn the win in goal for the Thunderbirds. Star netminder Dylan Ernst turned away 30 shots to take the setback in net for the Blazers.

In Game 2 played before 4,677 spectators, the Blazers got a good jump out on the Thunderbirds. With 39.2 seconds remaining in the first, Blazers star left-winger Caedan Bankier gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Just 59 seconds into the second, Zellweger potted his ninth of the post-season scoring on the power play to push the Blazers lead out to 2-0. He potted home a loose puck sitting in front of the Seattle net after a rebound from a long shot taken by star centre Logan Stankoven.

At the 7:33 mark of the second, Thunderbirds star left-winger and captain Lucas Ciona tallied on the power play to cut the Blazers lead to 2-1.

Momentum proceeded to swing back in favour of the Blazers at the 12:30 mark of the second, when Thunderbirds star 21-year-old left-winger Kyle Crnkovic was given a double minor for high-sticking. The infraction will automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Blazers pushed their advantage out to 3-1 when star right-winger Matthew Seminoff scored on the ensuing power play goal at the 12:53 mark of the second. Seattle managed to kill of the second part of Crnkovic’s double minor.

With 4:04 remaining in the second, the Thunderbirds got a key traction goal from power-forward Colton Dach to trim the Kamloops lead to 3-2.

Brad Lambert had the equalizer for Seattle on Sunday.

The Blazers would proceed to take an undisciplined penalty with 4.1 seconds remaining in the second that would prove to be costly. After the play was whistled down for an offside call, Bankier used his shoulder to deck an unsuspecting Dach dropping the Thunderbirds centre behind the ice away from the play. Bankier was given a minor penalty for roughing, and Dach stayed in the contest.

Just nine seconds after Bankier’s penalty expired in the third, the Thunderbirds were still buzzing with the puck in the Blazers zone. Thunderbirds offensive-defenceman Jeremy Hanzel cycled down the left side boards in the Kamloops zone and fed a pass across the face of the net to Thunderbirds star centre Brad Lambert. Lambert tapped home the puck backdoor at the right post of the Kamloops net to even the score at 3-3.

Milic and Ernst slammed the door on their respective goals for the rest of the way in the third to force overtime.

At the 6:21 mark of overtime, Lambert won a two-on-two battle for the puck in the left corner boards of the Kamloops zone. Lambert passed the puck to the left point to defenceman Sawyer Mynio. Mynio fed the puck to the right point to Hanzel who one-timed home the winner to give the Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory.

The only down part for Seattle on the winning goal was it appeared Thunderbirds standout centre Jordan Gustafson, who turned 19-years-old in January, injured himself during the winning goal celebration. He was the first Thunderbirds player to leave the ice seeking out the team’s trainer.

Olen Zellweger

Milic made 39 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds. Ernst turned away 35 shots to take the setback in net for the Blazers.

Hanzel, Lambert and Dach each finished the contest recording one goal and one assist. Crnkovic had a pair of assists for the host side. Stankoven had helpers on all three Blazers goals, while Zellweger finished with one goal and one assist.

The series between the Thunderbirds and Blazers was expected to be a heavyweight battle.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

The Blazers finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

Seattle’s roster contains 10 players who have been drafted by NHL teams, while Kamloops has nine NHL drafted players on their roster. The Thunderbirds have seven players who participated in the last world juniors, and the Blazers have three players who took part in this past world juniors.

The series now shifts to the Sandman Centre in Kamloops for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time, and Game 4 is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. local time.

Kyle Crnkovic had a pair of assists for Seattle on Sunday.

If Seattle can get to 11-0 in the post-season, the Thunderbirds might be bound for the WHL Championship Series. If the Blazers can get Game 3 at home on Tuesday, a marathon series may yet materialize.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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