By Mike Caccioppoli

(40-15-2-1) Portland Winterhawks 11, (20-36-1-1) Seattle Thunderbirds 2

PORTLAND- An embarrassing afternoon of hockey in Portland for the Thunderbirds who allow five goals in the second period and nine straight goals against on their way to a 11-2 defeat at the hands of the Winterhawks.

Letting the Winterhawks skate wherever they wanted whenever they wanted, the Birds certainly didn't play even close to the physical kind of game they needed to compete with one of the best teams in the league.

 

The Winterhawks scored on an early power play to give them a 1-0 lead. Ty Rattie scored his 46th goal of the season at 5:50 of the first period.

Justin Hickman (12) tied the game at 9:22. The assist went to Burke Gallimore.

Just after scoring the tying goal Hickman took a penalty and Brad Ross (34) scored on the power play to put Portland back up 2-1 at 11:10.

After 20 minutes Seattle was down 2-1 and were being outshot 23-16.

Chase De Leo (11) gave Portland a 3-1 lead at 3:35 of the second period. Daniel Cotton made a couple of saves but Seattle couldn't get the puck out of the zone and De Leo buried one.

Rattie scored his 47th goal to put Portland up 4-1 at 10:25. Luke Lockhart turned the puck over behind the net and Marcel Noebels passed to Rattie who was right out in front.

Noebels scored when Shea Theodore gave up the puck in front of the net. Noebels scored his 16th goal of the season at 12:36 and Portland led 5-1.

Rattie scored the Hat Trick and got his 48th goal at 16:31 to make it a 6-1 game.

It became 7-1 at 17:05 when Brad Ross (35) scored.

The Birds trailed 7-1 after two periods and were being outshot 36-26.

Only 10 seconds into the third period Oliver Gabriel (13) made it 8-1. It was another turnover by the Birds that helped cause the goal.

Noebels (17) scored at 8:47 to make it 9-1 and Portland had their 8th straight goal.

The Hawks reached double digits when Brendan Leipsic scored his 21st goal of the season at 10:36 and they had a 10-1 lead.

Seattle finally answered the streak of nine straight Portland goals when Colin Jacobs (8) scored to make it 10-2 at 17:25. Shea Theodore got the assist.

Pearce Eviston scored his 1st goal of the season with 15 seconds left to end the scoring and the Birds lose 11-2.

 

 

Plus side:

Cotton. As usual Cotton plays well but his teammates do him no favors, hanging him out to dry shift after shift.

Minus side:

What can you say? I have to admit that it's getting tiring writing the same old minuses but the Birds are doing the same things wrong game in game out.

Inside the blue line. They continue to lose those battles inside their own blue line. They are being out worked, and out hustled to the puck and they are turning the puck over within five feet of the net way too often.

No pride. Where is the pride as a hockey player? Isn't it embarrassing losing game after game to teams like Portland? In this game the Birds looked like could care less. Is that really the case? It's hard to argue the opposite after this one.

Still no finish. The Birds still had their chances but they continue to not finish. They don't get to those second chances and they over shoot the net time and again. If there were a stat for shots on glass they would end up ahead every game.

Where are the vets like Lockhart? It certainly wasn't all his fault but it just shows what a bad season he's having as the team captain and as a 19 year old. When Lockhart flipped himself on the net and coughed the puck up leading to Portland's 4th goal it seemed as though the team quit after that. Bad on him but worse on the team.

Playoffs? There are still 14 games left but after today's game it really seems like too many players don't care enough about making the post season.

Big minus ratings. For the second straight night Dave Sutter was a -4 rating. Mitch Elliot was -5 tonight. Luke Lockhart was -4. Seth Swenson and Tyler Alos were both -3.

Third time not the charm. With the loss the Birds are ensured of a third straight season with a losing record.

 

Game Notes:

-F Dillon Wagner and D Brad Deagle were scratched.

-Seattle falls to 9-19-1 on the road. They are now 1-8 vs. Portland after losing the last six games against them. (1-4 home, 0-4 road).

-Daniel Cotton drops to 0-6. Brendan Burke improves to 4-2-1-1.

 

Thunderbirds second half record: 7-19-1.

 

PLAYOFF CHASE:

7.Seattle..lost today..(20 wins...42 points...14 games left)

8.Victoria..lost tonight...(18 wins..42 points..13 games left)

9.Everett..won tonight..(16 wins..41 points..14 games left)

10. Prince George..won tonight..(19 wins..40 points..15 games left)

 

710Sports.com three stars:

First star: Ty Rattie (Hat Trick, two assists,+5 rating)

Second star: Marcel Noebels (two goals, assist, +4 rating)

Third star: Brad Ross (two goals, assist, +2 rating)

 

The Thunderbirds play Sunday at 5 pm at the ShoWare Center against the Spokane Chiefs. The action can be heard live at 710Sports.com.

 

Game summary is on the WHL website.

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mike.caccioppoli@yahoo.com