For the Reporter
The Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Tri-City Americans 4-3 Friday night at the ShoWare Center .
The win ran Seattle’s record to 36-17-2-3, good for fourth in the Western Conference and eight points ahead of fifth-place Spokane. Tri-City is now 27-25-3-3 and stands at eighth in the West.
Seattle’s Taran Kozun started in goal, stopping 37 of 40 to get his 15th win this year. Eric Comrie was in net for the Americans, and is now 24-20-3-3 after making 21 saves tonight.
Russell Maxwell scored the game-winning goal with 25.6 left. Maxwell and Branden Trook broke up the ice on a 2-on-2, with Troock beating his defenseman and shooting it off Comrie’s pads. Maxwell was in the right place at the right time as Troock’s rebound bounced onto his stick.
The goal was Maxwell’s second as a T-Bird.
Goals from Justin Hickman, Keegan Kolesar and Ethan Bear gave the T-Birds a 3-0 lead before the Americans rallied.
Mayhem wasn’t far behind the home team’s third goal in the third period. A Kozun cover up ended with disagreements all around, with a line brawl breaking out behind the goal. All five forwards on each team were sent to the box, ending with 84 penalty minutes and a Seattle power play. Two game misconducts forced the T-Birds to play with only four available defensemen.
The visitors struck shorthanded, scoring their first goal at 9:25. Lucas Nickles had the unassisted goal for Tri-City, making the score 3-1. The rest of Seattle’s power play was uneventful, leaving the lead at two with seven minutes left.
More chippiness resulted in another fight, the fifth of the period, and a Tri-City power play, the fifth of the game. The Americans struck just 27 seconds into this power play, cutting the deficit to one. Parker Bowles had the goal at 13:53.
A minute later, the visitors found themselves back on the power play. With 40 seconds left in the advantage, Tri-City pulled their goalie, making it 6-on-4. Seattle killed it, making it only a one-man advantage for the Americans.
The tying goal came just after the penalty’s expiration, making it 3-3 with 2:45 left in the game. Beau McCue pocked the puck through Kozun’s pads.
The T-Birds are right back at it at 7:05 tonight, taking on the Silvertips in Everett at 7:05 pm. After that, Seattle hosts the Prince George Cougars on Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
First period – No scoring. Penalties – Henry, Seattle (high-sticking), 1:56. Kolesar, Seattle (major-fighting), 12:14. Gelinas, Tri-City (major-fighting),12:14.
Second period – 1, Seattle, Hickman 19 (Barzal, Theodore), 7:01 (pp). 2, Seattle, Kolesar 2 (Barzal, Theodore), 15:24. Penalties – Kolesar, Seattle (tripping), 4:06. Plutnar, Tri-City (hooking), 6:11. Bear, Seattle (high-sticking), 12:55. Gutierrez, Tri-City (tripping), 19:17.
Third period – 3, Seattle, Bear 6 (Henry, Troock), 8:00. 4, Tri-City, Nickles 15 (unassisted), 9:25 (sh). 5, Tri-City, Bowles 6 (McCue, Astles), 13:53 (pp). 6, Tri-City, McCue 18 (Nickles, Williams), 17:15. 7, Seattle, Maxwell 12 (Troock, Theodore), 19:34. Penalties – Hickman, Seattle (interference), :14. Thrower, Tri-City (roughing), 6:03. Yakubowski, Seattle (slashing), 6:03. Yakubowski, Seattle (major-fighting), 8:33. McKechnie, Seattle (roughing),8:33. Maxwell, Seattle (double minor-roughing), 8:33. Wardley, Seattle (major-fighting), 8:33. Wardley, Seattle (game misconduct), 8:33. Hauf, Seattle (major-fighting), 8:33. Hauf, Seattle (game misconduct), 8:33. Wotherspoon, Tri-City (major-fighting), 8:33. McAndrews, Tri-City (cross-checking), 8:33. McAndrews, Tri-City (major-fighting), 8:33. McAndrews, Tri-City (game misconduct), 8:33. Gutierrez, Tri-City (roughing), 8:33. Plutnar, Tri-City (double minor-roughing), 8:33. Gelinas, Tri-City (major-fighting),8:33. Gelinas, Tri-City (game misconduct), 8:33. Hickman, Seattle (instigator), 13:25. Hickman, Seattle (major-fighting), 13:25. Hickman, Seattle (10-minute misconduct), 13:25. Thrower, Tri-City (major-fighting),13:25. Troock, Seattle (high-sticking), 14:56. Vickerman, Tri-City (tripping),17:26.
Shots on goal – Seattle 7-7-11 25, Tri-City 15-6-19 40. Goalies – Seattle, Kozun 40 shots-37 saves (15-21-2-1); Tri-City, Comrie 25-21 (24-20-3-3).Power plays – Seattle 1-4; Tri-City 1-6. A – 3,482. Referees – Jason Nissen, Brett Iverson. Linesmen – Kevin Boris, Nathan Van Oosten.
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