The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Prince George Cougars 3-2 in overtime to capture Game 1 of their first-round Western Hockey League playoff series Friday night at the ShoWare Center.
Andreas Schumacher scored the game-winning goal when he tipped a Cavin Leth wrist shot from the right circle past Prince George goalie Ty Edmonds at 11:50 of overtime. Alexander True had the second assist.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven first round series is 7:05 p.m. Saturday at ShoWare.
Seattle goalie Landon Bow made 21 saves on 23 shots to get the win.
Prince George took a 1-0 lead at 6:51 of the second period on a power-play goal by Jesse Gabrielle.
The T-Birds tied the game 1-1 at 18:09 of the second with an extra player on the ice due to a delayed penalty call on the Cougars. Schumacher had the puck behind the net and sent it to True in the right corner. True centered the puck to Donovan Neuls as he came off the bench. Neuls beat Edmonds from the slot for the tying goal.
Seattle took a 2-1 lead at 16:34 of the third period on True’s scramble goal.
True took a shot from the slot got his rebound and took another shot and the puck found it the back of the net. Leth and Jared Hauf had the assists on the goal.
Prince George tied the game with 29 seconds left on a six-on-four power-play goal by Jansen Harkins.
The T-Birds held the Cougars to two shots in the third period while putting 22 on Edmonds.
Edmonds made 47 saves on 50 shots in the loss.
Games 3 and 4 of the series are on Tuesday and Wednesday at the CN Centre in Prince George. Both games start at 7 p.m.
Tickets
Single-game playoff tickets are on sale on the T-Birds website and at the ShoWare Center box office. The ShoWare Center Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday game days at noon.
SCORING SUMMARY
First period – No scoring. Penalties – O’Brien, PG (holding), 1:59. Eansor, Sea (hooking), 11:15. Olson, PG (cross checking), 17:19.
Second period – 1, Prince George, Gabrielle 1 (Morrison, Harkins), 6:51 (pp). 2, Seattle, Neuls 1 (True, Schumacher), 18:09. Penalties – Lakusta, PG (hooking), 2:44. Hauf, Sea (interference), 5:46. Harkins, PG (holding), 12:53. Ottenbreit, Sea (hooking), 19:42.
Third period – 3, Seattle, True 1 (Leth, Hauf), 16:34. 4, Prince George, Harkins 1 (Gabrielle, Carvalho), 19:31 (pp). Penalties – Harkins, PG (high-sticking), 5:18. True, Sea (slashing), 11:55. Hauf, Sea (hooking), 18:16.
Overtime – 5, Seattle, Schumacher 1 (Leth, True), 11:50. Penalties – No penalties.
Shots on goal – Seattle 12-7-22-9 50, Prince George 9-8-2-4 23. Goalies – Seattle, Bow 23 shots-21 saves (1-0); Prince George, Edmonds 50-47 (0-1). Power plays – Seattle 0-5; Prince George 2-5. A – 4,046. Referees – Mark Pearce, Steve Papp. Linesmen – Nick Bilko, Bevan Mills.
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