PORTLAND – Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Calvin Pickard made 34 saves Saturday night at the Memorial Coliseum to lead his team to a 3-1 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks.
Pickard stopped all but one of the shots he faced to get to improve his record to 9-7-1-2. The T-Birds are now 13-14-1-2 in the US Division and face the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. at KeyArena.
The T-Birds took a 1-0 lead at 17:38 of the first period on a goal by Jonathan Parker. Charles Wells sent the puck down the left boards to Parker. Parker cut through the left circle with the puck and put a quick wrist shot on goal. Parker’s shot found the top right corner of the net beating Portland goalie Kurtis Mucha over the glove. Defenseman Erik Fleming had the second assist on the goal.
Portland (8-23-0-0) outshot Seattle 11-10 in the first period.
The Winter Hawks outshot the T-Birds 16-9 in a scoreless second period. Portland led 27-19 in total shots after two periods.
Seattle added a second goal at 14:58 of the third period. The puck came to Sena Acolatse at the left point. Acolatse unleashed a slap shot that Mucha made the save on. Chris Cloud was standing in front of Mucha and pounded the rebound past the Portland goalie for his eighth goal of the year.
Luke Walker scored for Portland at 18:08 of the third period. Chris Francis had the only assist on the goal.
Greg Scott added an unassisted empty-net goal at 19:23 of the third to seal the win for the T-Birds.
Seattle outshot Portland 15-8 in the third period but the Winter Hawks finished the game with a 35-34 advantage in total shots.
Mucha made 31 saves on 33 shots and his record falls to 6-17-0-0.
T-Birds season tickets are currently on sale. Season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825. Purchasing a season ticket will ensure fans can attend the T-Birds first game in their new home, the ShoWare Center.
SCORING SUMMARY
First period – 1, Seattle, Parker 6 (Wells, Fleming), 17:38. Penalties – No penalties.
Second period – No scoring. Penalties – Reddin, Por (hooking), 3:29. Richard, Sea (slashing), 12:26. Hickey, Sea (holding), 13:35.
Third period – 2, Seattle, Cloud 8 (Acolatse), 14:58. 3, Portland, Walker 8 (Francis), 18:08. 4, Seattle, Scott 8 19:23 (en). Penalties – Ehrhardt, Por (interference), 7:41. Lund, Sea (major-fighting), 19:25. Gabriel, Por (major-fighting), 19:25.
Shots on goal – Seattle 10-9-15 34. Portland 11-16-8 35. Goalies – Seattle, Pickard 35 shots-34 saves (9-7-1-2); Portland, Mucha 33-31 (6- 17-0-0). Power plays – Seattle 0-2; Portland 0- 2. Referee – Reagan Vetter, Derek Zalaski. Linesmen – Kevin Boris, Trevor Boudreau.
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