The Seattle Thunderbirds are back in the game and on a winning streak that is making the team recognizable to the Northwestern coast once again! On Friday night the Birds beat the Spokane Chiefs with the tight score of 2-1 at the ShoWare Center. The game was into overtime when Bear scored the winning goal of the night. After this win, Seattle is now left with the score of 32-22-3-0, putting them only three points behind the Everett Silvertips for the first place spot in the division—which is exactly where the Birds were last fall before the Tips slid into that space.

They have had a rocky couple of months adjusting to new players (and there have been a LOT of new players), but they seem to have found their footing once again. Goalie Logan Flodell even improved his record on Friday, bringing it up to 18-12-3-0. The Birds seem unstoppable once again, and we can only cross our fingers that their tenacity continues through their upcoming game with none other than the Tips themselves. Many fans speculate that the Tips simply have the Birds figured out and can predict what moves they will use next; perhaps what we need are some crazy new plays to feign them out.

Back to Friday’s highlights: While Spokane outshot Seattle during the first period 9-3, neither side was able to net any points. During the second period, Spokane scored. Markson Bechtold made the penalty shot. Seattle outshot Spokane that period 12-6 but did not score. The team thought that Nolan Volcan scored and tied the game up during the third period, but video review revealed that the puck had been kicked into the net and was disqualified. (Doesn’t that make you wonder how many calls would have been rendered invalid if games were videotaped decades ago?) The fans needn’t have worried, though; Ethan Bear tied the game up during the third period with an assist from Matthew Barzal, making the team go into overtime. During overtime, Bear scored again within fourteen seconds; Barzal and Ryan Gropp had the assists.

The Birds’ next game is against the Everett Silvertips on Saturday night. The Birds will be in Everett for the game, and the puck drops at 7:05 at the Xfinity Arena. The next home game at the ShoWare Center will be on Tuesday, February 23 versus Vancouver. Tickets are available online as well as at the box office.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia