March 25th, 2009. That's the last time we saw playoff hockey in the Showare Center. That Tuesday night game drew a crowd of 2872 that saw the Tbirds lose to the Spokane Chiefs 3-2. NHL players Brenden Dillon, Jim O'Brien and Thomas Hickey played for the Tbirds while Tyler Johnson scored a goal for the Chiefs.
Thunderbird fans have waited just a day over 4 years to see a home playoff game again and I have a feeling everyone is going to be ready to pop tonight.
The players have asked fans to WHITE OUT the building. Wear white. I don't even have a white jersey but I'll find a white t-shirt just to support the effort. I can't bring myself to wear my white Hockey Challenge jersey. That just feels a little too pretentious. Wear white tonight. Tell your friends to wear white.
The team is expecting over 5500 for the game tonight and the game may approach capacity. The atmosphere is likely to be awesome. I can't wait.
Seattle has dictated the pace of play in both of the first two games of the series and they've frustrated Kelowna at every turn. That's the good news. The bad news is that I can't imagine Seattle playing a whole lot better and it took overtime to win both games.
Make no mistake... Seattle has put themselves in a position to win the series but the margin of error has remained very small. They have to fore-check with a purpose, they have to stay simple in the defensive zone to minimize mistakes and they have to continue to have Brandon Glover make all the saves that he should reasonably make. Kelowna is frustrated and I would expect them to come out fired up... but I also expected that in Game 2 and it didn't really happen. If Seattle gets a lead... I will be very curious to see how Kelowna responds. At some point, you get so frustrated you either go nuts or you give up.
It will be equally interesting to see how Seattle responds to some adversity (if it happens). If Kelowna goes up by a goal or two (or three) will Seattle be able to remain confident and loose or will they tighten up knowing they are just two games away from pulling off a stunning upset.
I know one thing for sure... tonight is going to be fun. Wear White. WHITE OUT!
Hockey Challenge 2014
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8 comments :
So bummed I am going to miss periods 1 & 2 -- but can't wait to hear the noise for period 3!! Go Birds!!
ok, switching to my alternate jersey then :)
I can't wait for game time!
YEAH BABY!
Mere words fail to convey the awesomeness of what we are witnessing here. Great turnout by the crowd (one of, if not the best, crowds I've seen in the Sho) gave the Birds great energy, and in return they played like they belong in the playoffs. Outstanding effort!
I thought the T-birds came out with really good intensity. I think the momentum shifted to Kelowna after the PP goal, but they boys did a great job of fighting back after being down 2-0 and really taking it to them.
So much fun to watch tonight. I hope tomorrow is just the same.
Wow, what a game!
I wasn't sure which Brandon Glover was in net last night, he was pretty shaky to start but he seemed to just get better as the game wore on and made some clutch saves.
I was happy to see Wardley score, he played well and really made life uncomfortable for the Kelowna forwards.
Was it just me, or did that season ticket holder of the period sort of look familiar?
Win or lose from here on out, this team has shown some great heart in this series. No one gave them a chance to win a game, let alone three. Coaches deserve credit for preparing them and putting them in the right mind set.
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