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nelson951
03-24-2006, 09:02 AM
Last WHL hurrah for T-birds' Bridges
By Jim Riley

Special to The Seattle Times
The popular contention that the Seattle Thunderbirds will go as far into the Western Hockey League playoffs as Bryan Bridges can carry them may be too simplistic.

There is no question, however, that the veteran goaltender will be very important to the T-birds when they open their first-round series against the Portland Winter Hawks tonight at KeyArena.

Certainly no player will be more motivated than Bridges, who turned 21 in December and is in his last season of WHL eligibility.

Despite sharing the WHL record of 21 career shutouts, Bridges is undrafted, unsigned and unsure where he'll play hockey next year.

Bridges attended training camp with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks last fall and remains determined to play professional hockey.

"I know there are a few teams interested and I've had a few schools call me," he said. "I'm sure there are a lot of teams who will be watching the playoffs. It's time for me to give all I have back to the team and the fans."

Bridges is trying to avoid putting too much pressure on himself and concentrate solely on the task at hand — slowing down the Winter Hawks.

"All I have to do is stop all the shots I should and maybe a couple I shouldn't," Bridges said. "It's hard to do, but I'm trying to put everything else aside."

Seattle finished second in the U.S. Division in the regular season, but Bridges believes the T-birds' best hockey is still ahead.

"We've strengthened up our defensive coverage, even over the last week," he said, "and our forwards have been putting the puck in the net. We're ready to go."

With a trend toward bigger goaltenders in the NHL, Bridges is hurt by his 5-foot-11, 174-pound frame. He makes up for it by being lightning quick in front of net and in making decisions. He is tenacious at covering the puck during scrambles in front of the net and has a knack for following the puck through screens.

"I had a little rough patch a couple of weeks ago, but I'm back on top of my game," said Bridges, who was 24-12-1-3 with a 2.59 goals-against average in the regular season. "It's been a solid year."

Seattle coach Rob Sumner said the T-birds have learned to rely on Bridges.

"To be successful in the playoffs, any team has to have good goaltending," Sumner said. "Bryan has been a big piece of our team for the last two years and we have a lot of confidence in him. For a lot of older guys, this is a last chance to showcase their talents."

Bridges, who was a backup when Kootenay won the WHL and Memorial Cup championships in 2001-02, thinks he knows what it takes for a team to be successful in the playoffs.

"I saw how that team reacted to the games and how they pushed through injuries to win games," he said. "We have a great team and when we want to play, we play very well. We're looking forward to playing Portland."