Thunderbirds retake control of Western Conference final

Blazers trail series 3-1 after 8-4 loss in Game 4

Jared Davidson had a Gordie Howe hat trick on Thursday.

It appears a Game 3 loss is going to be just a stumble for the Seattle Thunderbirds.

On Tuesday, the Thunderbirds suffered their first setback in the WHL Playoffs dropping a 4-1 decision in Game 3 to the host Kamloops Blazers at the Sandman Centre in the Western Conference Championship Series. With the Game 3 victory, the Blazers cut the Thunderbirds lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.

On Thursday in Game 4 in Kamloops, the Thunderbirds took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission, saw the Blazers even the score at 3-3 the 11:21 mark of the second and rolled off three straight goals to cruise to an eventual 8-4 victory to disappoint almost all of the 5,506 spectators in attendance at the Sandman Centre. With the win, the Thunderbirds take a 3-1 lead in the series.

The Thunderbirds will attempt to close out the series on Saturday when they host Game 5 at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., at 6 p.m. local time. If the Blazers are able to win Game 5, they would push the series to a Game 6 to be held in Kamloops on Monday at the Sandman Centre at 7 p.m. local time.

In Game 4 on Thursday, the Thunderbirds were powered by a big night from star centre Dylan Guenther, who had a hat trick and an assist. He opened the game’s scoring on a beauty setup pass from linemate Brad Lambert at the 3:09 mark of the opening frame.

Lambert had the puck at the left side boards in the Kamloops and put a backdoor pass across the face of the Blazers net to Guenther at the right post. Guenther popped the puck into an empty cage to give the visitors their one-goal edge.

Olen Zellweger.

This series between the Thunderbirds and Blazers has had its rough moments. Just 35 seconds after Guenther’s opening goal, Thunderbirds star centre Jared Davidson nailed Blazers centre Fraser Minten with a big open ice hit.

Blazers standout left-winger Daylan Kuefler immediately came in to fight Davidson. Both players were given fighting majors and Kuefler received a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. Seattle wasn’t able to score on the ensuing power play.

The Thunderbirds pushed their edge out to 2-0, when offensive-defenceman Kevin Korchinski fired home a shot from the left point in the Kamloops zone with 8:12 remaining in the first. Blazers star right-winger Matthew Seminoff tallied on the power play deflecting home a shot from Caedan Bankier with 1:57 remaining in the first to cut the Seattle lead to 2-1.

In the dying seconds of the opening frame, Guenther stole the puck from a couple of Blazers at the left side boards just inside the Kamloops zone. Guenther proceeded to drive hard to the Kamloops net and snapped home his second goal of the night with 1.7 seconds remaining in the frame to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 lead.

The Blazers didn’t go away. Just 72 seconds in the second, star offensive-defenceman Olen Zellweger scored his 10^th goal of the post-season to cut the Thunderbirds lead to 3-2.

At the 2:38 mark of the frame, the Blazers thought they evened the score at 3-3 with a power-play goal from captain and star centre Logan Stankoven. The officials immediate waved off the goal giving a penalty to Zellweger for goaltender interference.

Dylan Guenther.

During what turned into a net scramble, Zellweger pushed Thunderbirds star goaltender Thomas Milic to the ground. Thunderbirds Jeremy Hanzel pushed Zellweger toward Milic, but the officials ruled Zellweger took an extra liberty with the shot he gave Milic.

The Thunderbirds weren’t able to score on the ensuing power play. At the 11:21 mark of the third Zellweger scored his second of the night and 11^th of the post-season to even the score 3-3.

Just two minutes and nine seconds later, Thunderbirds star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic fired home a goal from the right slot to put the visitors back out in front 4-3.

Seattle opened the third pushing their advantage out to 6-3 with goals coming from the sticks of Davidson and Bryce Pickford. Blazers right-winger Dylan Sydor scored with 7:59 remaining in the third to cut the Seattle lead to 6-4.

Just 2:18 after Sydor’s tally, Guenther completed his hat trick netting his 14^th of the post-season to give Seattle a 7-4 lead. Thunderbirds left-winger Reid Schaefer rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net tally with 5:04 remaining in the third.

Davidson had an assist on Schaefer’s tally to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and one fight. On top of getting the Gordie Howe hat trick, Davidson’s tally allowed him to tie the Thunderbirds record for career post-season goals at 21 with Scott Eansor, who played for the Thunderbirds from 2013 to 2017 helping them win a WHL title in 2017.

Milic stopped 36 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds. Dylan Ernst turned away 33-of-40 shots to take the setback in net for the Blazers.

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

Kevin Korchinski scored for the Thunderbirds on Thursday.

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 Thunderbirds were without standout centre Jordan Gustafson for a second straight game. It is suspected Gustafson was injured as part of the celebration for Hanzel’s overtime winner in Game 2 of the series claimed by the Thunderbirds 4-3. The Blazers were without defencemen Logan Bairos and Ryan Michael.

The winner of the series between the Thunderbirds and Blazers advances to face the Winnipeg Ice in the best-of-seven WHL Championship Series. The Ice swept the Saskatoon Blades 4-0 in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference Championship Series.

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.

Kyle Crnkovic scored for the Thunderbirds on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Ice announced they will host Game 1 of the WHL final on Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m. local time and Game 2 on Saturday, May 13 at 6 p.m. local time. Both contest will be held at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

As it stands right now, the Thunderbirds are one win away from going to Winnipeg.

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 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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

“All in” cost become too high on WHL trade front

It appears win now and lose for five seasons afterwards has become commonplace thinking for some WHL teams and also with some fans judging by social media.

What recent history has shown in the WHL, fans that were all in for a load up like Saskatoon in 2013 and Regina and Swift Current in 2018 had short memories when the following season rolled around. Often, those fans of the Blades, Pats and Broncos were all upset about why their respective teams couldn’t win anymore and loss totals tallied up anywhere between 45 and 51 defeats excluding extra time setbacks.

Starting in 2018 when WHL trades started to be more commonplace where one player was traded for a boatload of assets, it seemed deals that were made approaching this year’s WHL trade deadline, which passed at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, confirmed that the “all in” mentality is here to stay.

The craziest trade came on Sunday between the Kamloops Blazers, who will host the CHL championship tournament in the Memorial Cup, and Everett Silvertips. In the deal, the Blazers received 19-year-old defenceman Olen Zellweger, who helped Canada win gold at the recently wrapped up world juniors, and star overage power forward Ryan Hofer.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click the link right here.