The Everett Silvertips eliminated the Kent-based Seattle Thunderbirds from the Western Hockey League playoffs with a 1-0 win in double overtime Monday night, April 7 at the accesso ShoWare Center.
Everett, the No. 1 seed, won the best-of-seven series 4-2 to advance to the second round against the Portland Winterhawks. The eighth-seeded T-Birds led the series 2-1 before Everett won three consecutive games.
Lukas Kaplan scored 13 minutes, 43 seconds into the second 20-minute overtime period to give the Silvertips the victory. Rookie goalie Raiden LeGall had 57 saves for Everett. Seattle’s Scott Ratzlaff had 47 saves. The two teams put up 115 shots in nearly 95 minutes of hockey, as the two goaltenders combined for 114 saves.
“Really proud of the team,” said Seattle coach Matt O’Dette after the gut-wrenching defeat. “We said this was an opportunity to show what we were made of, and I thought we did that. Our guys battled extremely hard and were just a bounce away from taking this to game seven.”
Seattle won the first game of the series 3-2 in Everett. The Silvertips won the second game 3-2. Seattle bounced back for a 6-3 win in the third game before Everett won the next three games 6-2, 7-4 and 1-0.
Everett has never missed the postseason since joining the WHL in 2003-04 but has yet to lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup that goes to the WHL playoff champion. The T-Birds won WHL titles in 2017 and 2023. They have yet to win a Memorial Cup that goes to the Canadian Hockey League champion.
Seattle outshot the Silvertips for the first time in the series in game 6.
“No shot’s a bad shot,” O’Dette said. “Both goalies played well. Scotty was amazing. Their guy made the saves that he needed to, bent but didn’t break.”
It was most likely the last game as a T-Bird for Ratzlaff, according to the Thunderbirds website. Though he is eligible for one more season in the WHL, he is a signed prospect of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and will most likely play professionally somewhere in their system next season. Buffalo took Ratzlaff in the fifth round in 2023 of the NHL Draft.
The loss marked the end of the WHL careers for Seattle’s three 20-year-olds, Nathan Pilling, Brayden Schuurman and Hayden Pakkala. The league is for players ages 16-20.
“Lots to be proud of and lots to be excited about moving forward,” O’Dette said of his young team. “To see that growth, the way the guys played and handled themselves in a very intense, stressful playoff series, that was really impressive. For us to make it to the playoffs and have this experience for our young players is really valuable.”
Draft prospects
Braeden Cootes led Seattle in playoff scoring with six points on two goals and six assists. Cootes and defenseman Radim Mrtka are expected to be first round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft June 27-28 in Los Angeles.
Attendance figures
A crowd of just 2,284 attended the Monday night game in Kent. The other two games in Kent drew 3,659 on Tuesday night, April 1 and 4,393 on Friday night, April 4. Everett drew crowds at Angel of the Winds Arena of 5,596; 6,121; and 5,733.
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