T-Birds lose in shootout to Tri-City Oct. 26

The Tri-City Americans defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-4 in a shootout Tuesday night at the ShoWare Center.

The game was tied 4-4 after thee regulation periods and a five minute 4-on-4 overtime period.

Burke Gallimore shot first for Seattle in the shootout. He beat Tri-City goalie Drew Owsley high but his shot ricocheted off of the crossbar. Adam Hughesman had Tri-City’s first attempt and tried to go five-hole on Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard but was unsuccessful.

Marcel Noebels scored first for the Thunderbirds in the shootout after he slid the puck between Owsley’s legs. Patrick Holland responded for the Americans when he beat Pickard to his left to even the shootout score at one.

Luke Lockhart shot third for the T-Birds but missed the net high. Justin Feser sealed the win for Tri-City when he beat Pickard under his right pad.

Seattle (5-2-1-2) took a 1-0 lead at the 10-minute mark of the first period on Noebels’ third goal of the season. Defenseman Brenden Dillon controlled the puck in the neutral zone after it had been cleared from Tri-City’s zone. Dillon carried the puck down the right side of the slot and behind the net, where he made a pass to Noebels who was streaking through the zone. Noebels controlled the pass and fired a wrist shot over Owsley’s left shoulder to put the T-Birds in front. Charles Wells was credited with the second assist.

Tri-City (10-4-1-0) tied the game on Jordan Messier’s 9th goal of the season at 13:42 of the first period. Feser had the only assist.

After one period of play, Tri-City led in shots, 13-10.

The T-Birds grabbed a 2-1 lead at 6:20 of the second period on a power-play goal by Lockhart. Colin Jacobs handled the puck for the T-Birds at the blue line and made a crisp cross-ice pass to Noebels, who was waiting to the left of the Tri-City net.

Noebels received Jacobs’ pass and immediately sent it to Lockhart on the other side of the net, where Lockhart one-timed it past Owsley for his third goal of the season.

The Americans tied the game 2-2 on a power-play goal by Zachary Yuen at 17:31 of the second period. Hughesman and Tyler Schmidt assisted on Yuen’s second goal of the season.

Seattle outshot Tri-City 11-8 during the second period, resulting in both team’s overall shot totals being 21.

Lockhart’s second power-play goal of the game gave the T-Birds a 3-2 lead 30 seconds into third period. Gallimore carried the puck down the left boards into the Tri-City zone and attempted to make a centering pass to Lockhart, who was rushing into the Tri-City zone. The pass was deflected by a Tri-City defenseman but still found its way to Lockhart, who snapped a shot over Owsley’s left shoulder for his fourth goal of the season. Noebels had the second assist.

Tri-City knotted the game at 3-3 on Mason Wilgosh’s second goal of the season at 3:14 of the third period. Schmidt and Tanner Olstad were credited with the assists.

Seattle took a 4-3 lead at 10:30 of the third on a power-play goal by Gallimore, his seventh goal of the season and the T-Birds third power-play goal of the night. Erik Bonsor had the puck at the blue line in the center of the Tri-City zone before he made a pass to Gallimore, who skated to the top of the right circle and fired a hard wrist shot over Owsley’s left shoulder. Dillon had the second assist on the goal.

Feser tied the game for the Americans at 14:00 of the third period on his fifth goal of the season. Holland had the only assist.

The game remained tied 4-4 after three periods. Tri-City outshot Seattle 11-7 in the third period, giving them a 32-28 advantage through regulation.

After a scoreless overtime in which Seattle outshot Tri-City 5-2, the game went into a shootout.

Owsley (7-4-0-0) made 29 saves on 33 shots to earn the victory for the Americans.

Pickard (5-2-1-2) made 30 saves on 34 shots for the T-Birds.

T-Birds single game tickets for the 2010-11 season are available online at 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., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday game days at 10 a.m. and Sunday game days at noon.

T-Birds Group tickets are currently on sale. Group tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – 1, Seattle, Noebels 3 (Dillon, Wells), 10:00. 2, Tri-City, Messier 9 (Feser), 13:42. Penalties – No penalties.

Second period – 3, Seattle, Lockhart 3 (Noebels, Jacobs), 6:20 (pp). 4, Tri-City, Yuen 2 (Hughesman, Schmidt), 17:31 (pp). Penalties – Macek, Tri (tripping), 5:21. Yuen, Tri (tripping), 8:57. Jacobs, Sea (delay of game), 13:06. Bench, Sea (too many men – served by Lund), 16:27. Grist, Tri (charging), 18:42.

Third period – 5, Seattle, Lockhart 4 (Gallimore, Noebels), 0:30 (pp). 6, Tri-City, Wilgosh 2 (Schmidt, Olstad), 3:14. 7, Seattle, Gallimore 7 (Bonsor, Dillon), 10:30 (pp). 8, Tri-City, Feser 5 (Holland), 14:00. Penalties – Humphries, Tri (checking from behind, major-fighting), 4:05. Noebels, Sea (instigator, major-fighting, 10-minute misconduct), 4:05. Schmidt, Tri (checking from behind), 8:34.

Overtime – No scoring. Penalties – No penalties.

Shootout – Seattle 1 (Gallimore NG, Noebels G, Lockhart NG). Tri-City 2 (Hughesman NG, Holland G, Feser G).

Shots on goal – Seattle 10-11-7-5 33. Tri-City 13-8-11-3 35. Goalies – Seattle, Pickard 34 shots-30 saves (5-2-1-2); Tri-City, Owsley 33-29 (7-4-0-0). Power plays – Seattle 3-4; Tri-City 1-2. A – 3,045. Referee – Pat Smith. Linesmen – Kiel Murchison, David Tise.