Tri-City falls to Seattle in season opener
The Seattle Thunderbirds hung two banners and won their season opener Saturday night, beating the Tri-City Americans 4-3 on a third-period goal by Jake Lee.
The Americans have not fared well at ShoWare Center in Kent, where the Thunderbirds have won six in a row over Tri-City, and are 18-2-1-0 in recent years.
Tri-City, which will play at Everett on Sunday, opened the scoring Saturday with a power-play goal by Jordan Topping at 5:47 of the first. Topping took a cross-ice pass from Morgan Geekie and beat Matt Berlin back door.
Geekie would finish the night with two assists.
The Thunderbirds struck back with goals by Sami Moilanen and Zack Andrusiak for a 2-1 lead midway through the period.
Topping would score again, this time picking up a rebound off a shot by Roman Kalinichenko from the point to tie the score with 2:22 left in the first.
Working on the penalty early in the second, Tri-City’s Parker AuCoin knocked the puck away from Seattle’s Reece Harsch, raced down the ice and scored short-handed for a 3-2 lead.
AuCOIN cashes in. pic.twitter.com/MquDA4K74C
— The WHL (@TheWHL) September 24, 2017
Elijah Brown would score 4 1/2 minutes later for Seattle for a 3-3 game, and Lee put the game-winner in the net just 48 seconds into the third period.
The Americans had a power play midway through the third, but failed to score.
With 8 minutes left in regulation, the Thunderbirds went on the power play for the third time, but came up empty.
Austin Strand handed out three assists for the Thunderbirds, while Donovan Neuls had two.
Before the game, Seattle raised its Western Conference and WHL Championship banners before a crowd of 6,138. The Thunderbirds went to the Memorial Cup in May, where they finished 0-3.
Thunderbirds 4, Americans 3
Tri-City | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 |
Seattle | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 |
First — 1. TC, Topping 1 (Geekie, Yaremko), 5:47 (pp). 2, Sea, Moilanen 1 (Volcan), 9:33. 3, Sea, Andrusiak 1 (Neuls, Strand), 10:41. 4, TC, Topping 2 (Kalinichenko, Geekie), 17:38. Penalties — Coghlan, TC (interference), :32; Seattle bench (too many men), 3:50; Tyszka, Sea (hooking), 5:19; Fuller, TC (roughing), 11:52.
Second — 5, TC, AuCoin 1, 2:33 (sh). 6, Sea, Brown 1 (Strand), 7:01. Penalties — Coghlan, TC (interference), 1:51; Fuller, TC (roughing), 3:50; Sawchuk, TC (roughing), 3:50; Neuls, Sea (roughing), 3:50; Volcan, Sea (roughing), 3:50; Lee, Sea (high-sticking), 11:14; Tyszka, Sea (hooking), 19:12; Jeri-Leon, TC (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00; Sawchuk, TC (roughing), 20:00; Harsch, Sea (roughing), 20:00.
Third — 7, Sea, Lee 1 (Strand, Neuls), :48. Penalties — McNelly, Sea (kneeing), 9:23; James, TC, double minor (roughing, cross-checking), 12:01; Krebs, TC, major (fighting), 12:01; Moilanen, Sea, major (fighting), 12:01; Volcan, Sea (roughing), 12:01; Coghlan, TC (game misconduct), 20:00; Topping, TC double minor (roughing, game misconduct), 20:00; Yaremko, TC (game misconduct), 20:00; Barger, Sea (game misconduct), 20:00; Moilanen, Sea (game misconduct), 20:00; Tyszka, Sea (roughing, game misconduct), 20:00; Volcan, Sea (cross-checking), 20:00.
Shots — TC 16-9-9 — 34. Sea 9-12-8 — 29. Power plays — TC 1-5. Sea 0-3. Goalies — TC, Warm 0-1-0-0 (29 shots-25 saves). Sea, Berlin 1-0-0-0 (34-31). Referees — Brett Iverson and Troy Paterson. A — 6,104.
This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 11:46 PM with the headline "Tri-City falls to Seattle in season opener."