Game 29 vs. Vancouver

Tbirds take on the Vancouver Giants tonight at the ShoWare Center. Let's talk about the 4-3 shootout win last Saturday against the Victoria Royals.

• Seattle did a much better job getting pucks to the net on Saturday night and wound up with 37 shots on goal (overtime included) and the result was 3 goals. That isn't exactly setting the world on fire but it is an improvement over what we have seen previously. Getting nine power play chances doesn't hurt either and Seattle probably should have put the game away long before the Royals comeback if they could have converted on at least one more of their chances.
• Tyler Alos had a fantastic game with a goal, an assist and a +2 rating. Alos is a really good kid who has started to play better lately and I have a feeling that these points will do wonders to his confidence and might springboard him forward. He was also sporting the "A" on Saturday and certainly represented it well.
• Colin Jacobs also had a nice game getting a Power Play goal on a give and go with Kyle Verdino.  It hasn't happened yet but I expect the Tbirds Power Play to see an uptick with Jacobs healthy. What I notice most about Jacobs this season is that he appears to be having a lot of fun playing the game again.  In the past couple of years he has seemed frustrated and almost angry at times. Two games is hardly a sample size worth talking about but it's really nice to see him smiling so much.
• The turning point in the game was the 5 minute "solo" Fighting Major after coming to the defense of teammate Burke Gallimore. The penalty gave Chilliwack Victoria a 3 minute power play and they were able to convert 3 times to tie the score.  By the way... Hickman also received a Game Misconduct, which is automatic in a "one man fight" situation.  I love the idea of Hickman sticking up for Gallimore but it just might not have been the right time to do it. The tripping penalty looked a bit ordinary to me except for the fact that Gallimore's momentum caused a big crash into the end boards.  Obviously, if Seattle had been able to kill the 3 minute Power Play we wouldn't have even need to talk about it.  Good intentions, poor outcome... it happens.
• Following up on the Connor Honey situation. Honey registered his first WHL point, getting an assist on the Sean Aschim goal. Neate Sager from Yahoo Sports Canada has some additional information with quotes from Russ Farwell about the whole situation.  It's a good read, find it here.
• Campbell Elynuik received a one game suspension for his Boarding Major for his hit on Shea Theodore from Friday night.  Taylor Crunk received two games for his Cross Check to the face Major that he laid on Tyler Alos on Saturday night.  Cody Beach received a one game suspension for the "accumulation of embellishment penalties". That isn't Tbird related at all... I just found it funny.

Seattle is now sitting at 17th in the Massey Ratings, just ahead of Lethbridge, Prince Albert, Victoria, Kelowna and Everett. Offense is still the most glaring weakness as the Tbirds sit at 21st in the league in the raw offense metric, ahead of only... your... Everett Silvertips.