Update...

As I suspected... the Tbirds do NOT have a Video Review Judge at Key Arena.

Klein and Savage get to take all the heat for this one.

Seattle beaten by Devin Klein and Officiating Crew

I really hope someone saw this differently or can explain to me what I missed... or explain to me the ruling by the officiating crew tonight because this loss hurts a little bit and I would love to blame it on someone other than the officials.

The goal in question came at the 13:00 mark of the 2nd period and was scored by David Rutherford. Here is how I saw it... shot comes in from the left corner where Riku makes the save but the puck remains loose where the Spokane player enters the crease area in an attempt to play the puck and finish the goal. In the process of doing this... the puck squirts out of the crease back towards the left circle where Rutherford buries the puck into an empty net as said Spokane player stands over Helenius who is still down at the far post. The Spokane player couldn't have possibly been standing more in the crease.

I did a little leg work to get an exact definition and I will leave it up to the fans to tell me if they think I'm crazy.

Rule 69 of Table 18 of the WHL Rulebook.

Section B Situation:

"An attacking player skates in front of the goalkeeper, well inside the crease, at the same time a goal is scored. The attacking player remains in motion and, in the judgement of the Referee, maintains a significant position in the crease impairing the goalkeeper's ability to defend his goal"

Result - "Goal is disallowed. The announcement should be "No goal due to interference with the goalkeeper."

OR

Section D Situation:

"An attacking player plants himself within the goal crease, as to obstruct the goalkeeper's vision and impair his ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored."

Result - "Goal is disallowed. The announcement should be, "No goal due to interference with the goalkeeper."

I think you could easily site both examples of the rulebook to say that goal should have been disallowed but at the very least where is the video review judge???

Rule 39 - Video Goal Judge - General Duties

(i) He will review replays of the disputed goals when requested to do so by the Referees.

Ok... so maybe Klein and Savage didn't think it was disputed. I would disagree, but so be it.

(ii) He will review replays of disputed goals when he observes an incident that was undetected by on-ice officials.

So is that not a "disputed goal"??? really??

and finally... what goals are allowed to be reviewed?

Rule 39.4 - Situations Subject to Video Review

(viii) - The video review process shall be permitted to assist the referees in determining the legitimacy of all potential goals (e.g. to ensure they are "good hockey goals").

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I guess its not really right to say the Tbirds lost the game because of the officials, but it a tight game like that one was, its a shame that a call like that would go completely un-reviewed.

Bottom line is that Seattle had their chances tonight and Tokarski pretty much shut them down. They opened with a hot 1st period (shots 15-1) but weren't able to take advantage.

Seattle now must clinch the 4th seed the hard way by beating Portland at home on Saturday and taking at least one of two from Everett.

Oops... Seattle dropped by Portland

I don't want to dwell on this game too much... As I stated yesterday this game was dangerous with the way Portland has been playing lately and Seattle has been on the road for 7 days now. I'm not going to put too much focus on this being a bad loss (although it is) since the Tbirds beat Vancouver on the road the night before.

What does hurt is that both Kelowna and Everett lost as well and Seattle could have reduced their magic number to 1.5 and instead is only 2.5 for clinching the 4th spot.

Thomas Hickey had a goal and two assists in the loss, while David Richard had 1 and 1 and Prab Rai also scored for Seattle.

For Portland... they snap their 22 game losing streak and while I'm happy for them it is over I certainly didn't want it to happen against the Birds.

Seattle faces Spokane tonight in another big test against a top Western Conference team. Let's see if Seattle can bounce back at home even though it will be their 5th game in 6 nights.

Another big win for the Birds

Seattle scores 3 goals in the 3rd period to defeat the Vancouver Giants last night 5-2. Is anyone else ready to jump on the bandwagon yet?

I consider Vancouver one of the best teams in the league and perhaps the toughest playoff matchup for Seattle and they rose to the challenge and won on the road.

Bud Holloway had two goals and so did Ian McKenzie in the win. Seattle was down 1-0 and came back with Power Play markers from IMac and Bud in the 2nd period to take a 2-1 lead. Vancouver then scored one of those goals that can sometimes prove to be a momentum killer when they scored the tying goal with just 5 seconds left in the 2nd period.

Seattle, however, was undeterred by the momentum shift and got goals from Holloway and McKenzie to take a 4-2 lead before Prab Rai sealed the game with the Empty Net goal for the final margin.

Seattle scored their two in the 3rd period on only 4 shots against losing goaltender Tyson Sexsmith. Tbirds had 5 total in the period including Rai's empty net goal.

With the win the Tbirds reduce their magic number for clinching the 4th seed to 3.5. In other words, Seattle needs to get to 92 points (Everett can only manage 91) to ensure 4th no matter what Everett does.

Problem is... Seattle plays Everett two more times and even if Seattle defeated Portland twice and Spokane (Sunday at home) they would still need 1 point out of the two meetings with Everett. This of course assumes that Everett wins their final 5 games (including the two with the Tbirds). To keep it simple, Seattle just needs to beat Portland twice and win one of the games against the Tips to secure the 4th spot.

With the way the boys are playing... does anyone think they couldn't go 4-1 or possibly 5-0 the rest of the way? The home game against Spokane would certainly be tough and the game at Everett will be tough as well. Don't discount the two games against Portland as they have played with a lot more pride lately and they will want desperately to not let Seattle sweep the entire season series.

Three Stars of the Game:

1. Holloway
2. Casey Pierro-Zabotel
3. McKenzie

Slight Correction...

Alan Caldwell has on his blog that Seattle's magic number to clinch the 4th seed is actually 4.5 and I am inclined to believe he is correct.

I couldn't find it listed anywhere on the WHL website (shocking I know) but I believe it has to do with the fact that even if Everett were to pull into a tie in points, Seattle would still win the head to head season series with them and would get the 4th seed. If anyone knows this to be absolutely true, let me know.

Scott and Holloway stay hot and so do the Birds

Greg Scott tallied the natural hat trick in the 2nd period, blew open a 2-1 game and Seattle cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars.

Riku Helenius made his first start in a while last night and was solid in the win stopping 22 of 24 shots.

I don't think Thomas Hickey had internet in Prince George to read my blog comments about his slight scoring drought, so I don't think I can take even a little credit for his explosion. Great to see Thomas pick up 3 assists, all on Greg Scott goals.

Game Recap Links:

Seattle Thunderbirds
Seattle Times
Box Score

Additionally....

Here is my best calculation on the Magic Number for Seattle to clinch the 4th seed in the West.

Seattle and Everett both have 6 games remaining, 2 with each other. Seattle has essentially 41.5 wins (counting 1 pointers as half a win) and Everett has 39.5 wins. I believe.... this gives Seattle a Magic number of 5. With a combination of 5 Seattle wins and/or Everett losses Seattle would clinch the 4th seed. Beating Portland on Saturday and sweeping the remaining games with Everett would get it done, but that of course might be easier said than done.

For Seattle to clinch at least 5th over Kelowna the Magic number is 3.5.

Special Request

I received a special request from blog reader Aaron A. about the progress of LA Kings draft picks Thomas Hickey and Bud Holloway.

If regular blog readers want to comment on my thoughts please do so. Please do not interpret my opinions as that of a real NHL scout, these are merely based on my observations.

Thomas Hickey

Thomas Hickey has enjoyed a solid season as the Captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Hickey has excellent character as a leader and player and leads by example on the ice. It is a tremendous honor that he was named Captain of the Thunderbirds as an 18 year old player.

Strengths:

Skating ability - Hickey is one of the smoothest skating defencemen in the league. He rarely puts his team in bad situations and rarely makes poor decisions with the puck and is reflected by his +17 rating. Hickey is also an excellent passer and has the ability to move the puck out of the back end and up to the forwards. He has also used his skating ability numerous times to take the puck end to end and create chances for his teammates. Hickey possesses an above average shot from the point and while it isn't as hard as teammate Sena Acolatse's it is more accurate and Hickey knows how to put the puck on net in good ways. Hickey rarely takes bad penalties and plays a ton of minutes.

Weaknesses:

While Hickey does have more goals this season (10) than in the previous campaign (9), his overall scoring is down this season. Hickey got off to a fast start this season totaling 12 points on 5 goals and 7 assists in the teams first 12 games. This makes his decline in point production even more surprising. Factoring into his point production could be several things including his participation in the World Junior Tournament and/or the emergence of scoring from a more diverse group of Thunderbirds in the 07-08 season.

Hickey must also improve on his ability to produce when opposing skaters make him the target of added physical play. Many times this year teams have gone out of their way to rough him up and at times I think it has affected his production at the offensive end.

Bud Holloway

Bud Holloway has already achieved a career high in goals this season with 35 and will soon set a new career high in assists (38) as he has 37 through 63 games.

Strengths:

Holloway has solid skating ability and has played a prominent role on both Seattle's Power Play (7 PP G's) and Penalty Killing (3 SH goals) units. Holloway also possesses excellent character and is looked to as a leader of the club and would likely be a Captain without the presence of Thomas Hickey. Holloway is an effort guy who often scores and sets up offensive opportunities with his sheer will and determination. He also has a very accurate shot which is backed up by the team leading 35 goals. He also is not afraid to mix it up a little bit and has been in two fights this season. He has also improved his overall +/- to +32 this season.

Weaknesses:

Holloway, while certainly a good skater, does not possess the same kind of raw speed as fellow NHL draft pick Jim O'Brien and would certainly benefit from a little additional speed. At 6'1", Holloway is not the biggest player around and will need to rely on strength and speed at the next level.

Seattle wins first game in Prince George

Tbirds pick up 2 points tonight in their first of two games in Prince George against the Cougars. Seattle is now 3-0 versus the Cougars on the season.

Bud Holloway picks up 2 goals and 1 assist and was awarded the first star while linemate Greg Scott tallied a goal and an assist as well.

Jacob DeSerres made 25 saves on 26 shots for the win and Riku Helenius who has been battling a bit of the flu played the final 3:50 for Seattle after they had built a 5-1 lead.

The game was probably closer than the score indicated as Prince George tied the game 1-1 in the second period and had a goal disallowed as a puck shot in from outside the blue line was waived off as a Cougar player was still offsides.

Jeremy Boyer and Benn Olson did not play until the 3rd period and TB wondered if it was for disciplinary reasons or whether both had not been feeling well.

15 year old Chance Lund, playing in his third game with the Tbirds, was +1 tonight.

Seattle is now again 3 points clear of Kelowna with 1 game in hand. Everett is currently leading Tri-City 4-2 late in the 3rd period and would move into 5th and trail Seattle by two points if their lead holds up.

I had to post this...

Regan Bartel's blog has some thoughts about the game last night and I liked his observations for the most part but I wanted to point to his post from yesterday about his memories from Key Arena, good stuff.

You can find the specific post here...

Tbirds win big over the Rockets

Seattle picks up a big win tonight 5-1 over the Kelowna Rockets at the Key. With the win Seattle now hold a 2 point lead over new 5th place team Everett with one game in hand. Seattle also now holds a 3 point lead over Kelowna, also with one game in hand.

The effort tonight was probably as good as last night in Everett but the finish was much better. In addition, I agree with coach Rob Sumner's quote that the team was a little more "hungry" around the net. Kelowna goaltender Kristofer Westblom was not Leland Irving on this night and was likely the difference in the game. At the other end, Jacob DeSerres is starting to look more and more like the goaltender Seattle will take to the playoffs and was at times spectacular tonight while making 25 saves and getting the win. His save on Brady Leavold on a breakaway was one of the best stops I have seen all year considering the game, situation and the nice move that Leavold made.

I thought Greg Scott was absolutely incredible in this game. He was a physical force and ended the night with a goal and 3 assists. Might possibly have been his best game of the season considering the situation. In addition... talk about the ultimate Gordie Howe hat trick. G-Sco tips in a Jeremy Schappert shot (that was also deflected by David Richard) and is promptly jumped by Brady Leavold, meaning that he completed the "Gordie" by scoring and fighting at the same time... night work.

Seattle leaves for Prince George tomorrow morning and will get an extra day to rest in P.G. before facing the Cougars on Tuesday and Wednesday. Seattle then comes back to Vancouver on Friday and continues on to face Portland on Saturday.

Seattle "could" be looking at 6 out of 8 points in the next 4 games and if they can find a way to earn a point or two in Vancouver they could be looking at a very good situation for the 4th seed in the span of 7 days.

Let's Go Birds Three Stars of the Game:

1. Greg Scott. 1 goal, 3 assists and a fight
2. Jacob DeSerres. 25 saves on 26 shots.
2. Prab Rai. Scored the first two goals giving Seattle the lead twice and the goals came on the PP and the SH.

In the Arena:

1. Jacob DeSerres
2. Prab Rai
3. Greg Scott