nelson951
03-18-2006, 04:42 AM
Bounces go with T-Birds
By JIM RILEY
Special to The Seattle Times
Ryan Gibbons didn't call it, but it counted nonetheless.
Gibbons banked in a sharp angle shot from deep in the corner off the skate of Portland defender Michael Sauer and into the net to help the Seattle Thunderbirds a 4-1 win over the Portland Winter Hawks on Friday night.
Gibbons' goal at 4:33 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie, and it was all T-birds after that.
"I knew we had some guys going hard to the crease and I just wanted to get it in there in front of the net," Gibbons said. "It wasn't something that was planned, but we'll take it."
The T-birds (33-3-1-5) moved eight points ahead of the Winter Hawks (30-32-3-5), meaning Seattle will open the playoffs at KeyArena on March 24 and March 25 against either the Winter Hawks or the Tri-City Americans.
The T-birds were wearing light green jerseys in honor of St. Patrick's Day, and Gibbons admitted the luck was with him on the goal.
"It took a few lucky bounces and it was in," Gibbons said. "You can't count on those kind of things happening, but we'll take it."
Gibbons scored his 20th goal on a power play to give the T-birds a 3-1 lead, and Lladislav Scurko scored into an empty net to wrap up the win.
Seattle goaltender Bryan Bridges stopped 29 of 30 shots for the T-birds.
The two goals by Gibbons, his 19th and 20th of the season, helped the T-birds finally put the home-ice advantage in the deep freeze.
"We knew this game was very important," Gibbons said. "We knew this was the team we would probably be playing in the first round, and we wanted to play them here."
Gibbons, who is in his final season of eligibility in the WHL, admitted hitting the 20-goal mark was a big milestone to reach.
THUNDERBIRDS 4, WINTER HAWKS 1
Portland 0 1 0 — 1
Seattle 1 0 3 — 4
First — 1. Seattle Gagnon 23 (Hickey) 8:39. Second — 2. Portland Funk 11 (Bubnick) 1:28. Third — 3. Seattle Gibbons 19 (Durand, Klinkhammer) 4:33. 4. Seattle Gibbons 20 (Pess, Durand) 9:38 (pp). 5. Seattle Scurko 16 (unassisted) 17:01 (en). Shots on goal by — Portland 14-8-8 — 30. Seattle 12-9-8 — 29. Power plays (goals, chances) — Portland 0-5, Seattle 1-8. Goaltenders — Portland: Mucha (12-10-1-3) Seattle: Bridges (23-12-1-3). A — 4,388.
Big game, small crowd :confused:
Greg Scott and Bud Hollaway played great, not stars though. Durand got one for some reason, maybe to boost his confidence prior to the playoffs. Of course how much worse than 1 assist in 12 games can you get.
By JIM RILEY
Special to The Seattle Times
Ryan Gibbons didn't call it, but it counted nonetheless.
Gibbons banked in a sharp angle shot from deep in the corner off the skate of Portland defender Michael Sauer and into the net to help the Seattle Thunderbirds a 4-1 win over the Portland Winter Hawks on Friday night.
Gibbons' goal at 4:33 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie, and it was all T-birds after that.
"I knew we had some guys going hard to the crease and I just wanted to get it in there in front of the net," Gibbons said. "It wasn't something that was planned, but we'll take it."
The T-birds (33-3-1-5) moved eight points ahead of the Winter Hawks (30-32-3-5), meaning Seattle will open the playoffs at KeyArena on March 24 and March 25 against either the Winter Hawks or the Tri-City Americans.
The T-birds were wearing light green jerseys in honor of St. Patrick's Day, and Gibbons admitted the luck was with him on the goal.
"It took a few lucky bounces and it was in," Gibbons said. "You can't count on those kind of things happening, but we'll take it."
Gibbons scored his 20th goal on a power play to give the T-birds a 3-1 lead, and Lladislav Scurko scored into an empty net to wrap up the win.
Seattle goaltender Bryan Bridges stopped 29 of 30 shots for the T-birds.
The two goals by Gibbons, his 19th and 20th of the season, helped the T-birds finally put the home-ice advantage in the deep freeze.
"We knew this game was very important," Gibbons said. "We knew this was the team we would probably be playing in the first round, and we wanted to play them here."
Gibbons, who is in his final season of eligibility in the WHL, admitted hitting the 20-goal mark was a big milestone to reach.
THUNDERBIRDS 4, WINTER HAWKS 1
Portland 0 1 0 — 1
Seattle 1 0 3 — 4
First — 1. Seattle Gagnon 23 (Hickey) 8:39. Second — 2. Portland Funk 11 (Bubnick) 1:28. Third — 3. Seattle Gibbons 19 (Durand, Klinkhammer) 4:33. 4. Seattle Gibbons 20 (Pess, Durand) 9:38 (pp). 5. Seattle Scurko 16 (unassisted) 17:01 (en). Shots on goal by — Portland 14-8-8 — 30. Seattle 12-9-8 — 29. Power plays (goals, chances) — Portland 0-5, Seattle 1-8. Goaltenders — Portland: Mucha (12-10-1-3) Seattle: Bridges (23-12-1-3). A — 4,388.
Big game, small crowd :confused:
Greg Scott and Bud Hollaway played great, not stars though. Durand got one for some reason, maybe to boost his confidence prior to the playoffs. Of course how much worse than 1 assist in 12 games can you get.