By Mike Caccioppoli

(37-15-2-1) Portland Winterhawks 7, (19-34-1-1) Seattle Thunderbirds 2

 

Our D didn't have their legs, a couple of them did. Some of them didn't have their legs, you can tell they are mentally tired right now. It's not an excuse but they didn't have the jump they needed and with a team as good as (Portland) they will expose you.

I wouldn't say we aren't confident (about making the playoffs) but I wouldn't say we are as confident as we need to be. We can go out there and play some good hockey. Still we have shot ourselves in the foot. A lot of these games are basically one goal games. Our PK and PP have never been better, now we need to get on track five on five....Head Coach Steve Konowalchuk

 

KENT- It was another night of defensive woes for the Thunderbirds and the Winterhawks took advantage by scoring seven goals and registering 48 shots on their way to an easy 7-2 victory.

It was a sloppy game by a Seattle team that can ill afford any more sloppy games. Calvin Pickard had to be pulled after Portland's sixth goal and the Birds only managed 20 shots on net.

 

The Birds troubles getting the puck out of the defensive zone led to a few good scoring chances for Portland and they scored when Cam Reid (6) buried one right post and past Calvin Pickard at 8:20 of the first period.

Portland took a 2-0 lead at 16:22. Brendan Leipsic scored as he was falling down, and it was his 20th goal of the season.

Along with the 2-0 lead the Winterhawks also outshot Seattle 18-6 through 20 minutes.

A series of deflections in front of Mac Carruth led to the Birds first goal of the game at 2:22 of the first period. Burke Gallimore scored his 20th goal of the season. Colin Jacobs and Shea Theodore had the assists.

Portland got the two goal lead back at 5:10 and then took a 4-1 lead just 20 seconds later. Cam Reid scored his 2nd goal of the game and 7th of the season just before Oliver Gabriel notched his 10th goal of the season.

As the Hawks continued to dictate play Sven Bartschi scored his 20th goal of the season to put them up 5-1 at 12:49.

A power play goal by Ty Rattie (44) gave Portland a 6-1 lead at 15:14 and led to Pickard being pulled and Daniel Cotton taking over in net.

Along with being down by five goals after 40 minutes Seattle was also being outshot 32-12.

The Winterhawks second power play goal in as many chances gave them a 7-1 lead at 7:04 of the third period. Cam Reid (8) scored the Hat Trick.

The streak of five unanswered goal for the Hawks came to an end when Luke Lockhart scored his 11th goal of the season at 9:40 to make it a 7-2 game. It was a power play goal and the assists went to Brendan Rouse and Seth Swenson.

That's the way it would end with the Birds dropping their 8th straight home game.

 

Post game Q and A with Head Coach Steve Konowalchuk:

MC: My game story lead tonight was about the defensive woes. I guess you would agree with that?

SK: Our D didn't have their legs, a couple of them did. Some of them didn't have their legs, you can tell they are mentally tired right now. It's not an excuse but they didn't have the jump they needed and with a team as good as (Portland) they will expose you.

MC: It seemed like there were so many odd man rushes tonight.

SK: They make good outlet passes but our D has to have a better awareness.

MC: At times they just went around our defense.

SK: They are a top end offensive team and we didn't have our legs on the back end collectively and that's a bad combination.They exposed us because we didn't have our legs.

MC: You had a good defensive effort in Kelowna. Do you feel these last two games have been a real set back?

SK:Well..yeah. We played good in Kelowna, Spokane was able to generate some stuff against us. It's still those one on one breakdowns.. one on one. We have to continue to teach guys and work with guys to be better.

MC: Is it disappointing that with 17 games left guys haven't 'gotten it' yet. Making the same mistakes?

SK: I don't know if its been disappointing. I see some progress with a lot of our guys. You look back at our younger guys and where they started and there has been progress. We have shown progress in some of the games recently but we still have to be able to do it better consistently.

MC: Young guys like Hauf and Theodore have played a lot of minutes. Is that a concern at this point in the season?

SK: I think it's good for them. They have done a really good job up until the last couple of games. They have done as much as any 16 year olds on the back end can be asked to do . It's caught up to them a bit lately. We've gone through a tough stretch of games here lately. We've got a breather here now. It's time to get them focused, get their legs back under them.

MC: It has to be a catch 22 for a coach because this is the time of year you want your team playing the best yet the young guys aren't used to playing so many minutes so you are kind of caught in between.

SK: This is our team. They are the first to know that I'm not happy with the way the game went. But they are good kids.. and that's exactly what they are. They are going to rebound and be good for us down the stretch. We had a very casual schedule the first half. This has been travel.. hockey.. travel ..hockey.. and for the younger guys it's showing a bit, for some of them. It's a tough job on the back end.

MC: Are you happy with the older guys?

SK: Sometimes. Lately its been better but I expect guys like Gallimore, Jacobs, and Lund and some of these guys to pick up their games at times, yes.

MC: Obviously another thing that adds to the pressure is that you are playing 'must win' games now because of the playoff chase.

SK: Oh yeah. It's a whole new thing they are looking at. That's why our older guys have to step up down the stretch. The young guys being such a big part of the team I don't think in midget hockey you really worry about a playoff stretch. Here it's a whole different learning curve and something in the end they will be better for.

MC: Honestly, is this team still confident about making the playoffs at this point?

SK: I wouldn't say we aren't confident but I wouldn't say we are as confident as we need to be. We can go out there and play some good hockey. Still we have shot ourselves in the foot. A lot of these games are basically one goal games. Our PK and PP have never been better, now we need to get on track five on five.

MC: Is Tuesday's game a 'must win' game?

SK: We figure we need to win 7-9 games to get into the playoffs. So is it a must win? No because you have more games. As the games go by it gets more urgent. It's a big (game), we want to win but we are looking at needing 7-9 wins.

 

Plus side:

None.

 

Minus side:

Defense? A real step back for the defense tonight as Portland skates circles around them. Mistakes in the neutral and defensive zone lead to way too many odd man rushes and breakaways. Portland really seemed to take advantage of every mistake.

48-20. One of many lopsided shot totals this season for the Birds. Really nothing was working tonight and because of all the time spent in the D zone they had very few scoring chances.

8 in a row. At a time when they should be playing their best hockey at home the Birds have lost eight straight and haven't won a home game since late December.

Tired blue liners. The young guys on the blue line have looked tired lately and their games have suffered for it. Not being used to playing so many games especially with the tough schedule as of late has taken its toll.

Veterans. If the older guys on the team were playing to their potential this season there wouldn't be as much pressure on the younger players. It all goes hand in hand. The vets need to step it up.

 

Game Notes:

-F Jacob Doty, F Connor Sanvido and D Evan Wardley were healthy scratches.

-Seattle falls to 10-16-0-1 at home. They are now 1-7 against Portland (1-4 home, 0-3 road). They have lose five straight to the Hawks.

-Calvin Pickard drops to 19-29-1-1. Mac Carruth improves to 34-13-1.

 

Thunderbirds second half record: 6-17-1.

 

PLAYOFF CHASE:

7. Seattle.. Loss tonight (19 wins...40 points..17 games left)

8. Victoria ..no game...(17 wins..40 points..16 games left)

9. Everett...win tonight..(15 wins..39 points...16 games left)

10. Prince George..loss tonight..(17 wins...36 points..18 games left)

 

710Sports.com three stars:

First star: Cam Reid (Hat Trick, assist,+3 rating)

Second star: Brendan Leipsic (goal, two assists, + 2 rating)

Third star: Oliver Gabriel (goal, two assists, +2 rating)

 

The Thunderbirds play Tuesday night at the ShoWare Center against the Kelowna Rockets. Game time is 7:05 pm and the action can be heard live at 710Sports.com.

Game summary is on the WHL website.

 

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mike.caccioppoli@yahoo.com