[truebluefan]

Chiefs enter break with loss

The Seattle Thunderbirds won the second half of a home-and-home with the Chiefs in a 2-0 shutout over Spokane on Saturday night in the Spokane Arena. The game was the last for Spokane before a 10-day holiday break. Spokane will not be back in action until a pair of games in Prince George on December 27th and 28th. The Chiefs will not be back at home until Saturday, December 30th when they host the Tri-City Americans.

The Thunderbirds scored at 7:49 of the first and 4:20 of the third for the only goals of the game. Both came five aside.

Kevin Armstrong, who earned the second star for the night, stopped 24 saves while Seattle's Jacob DeSerres made 29 stops, including 14 in the third.

The Chiefs were 0-9 on the power play snapping a string of nine straight with a goal on the man advantage.

The Chiefs enter the break one point behind Seattle in the standings and a 17-13-3-1 record and 38 points.

Tickets for all home games are available by calling the Chiefs office at (509) 535-PUCK or TicketsWest at (800) 325-SEAT.

 

[truebluefan]

T-Birds claw out win against Tips

SEATTLE, December 17, 2006 - The Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Everett Silvertips 2-1 Sunday night in front of 4,041 at KeyArena.

The Thunderbirds are 16-9-1-8 with 41 points in the race for the U.S. Division. The T-Birds are in second place with a three point advantage over both the Tri- City Americans and Spokane Chiefs. Heading into the Holiday break, the T-Birds are 14 points behind Everett for the division lead with five games remaining against the Tips this season.

Dan Gendur scored at 8:21 of the first period to give Everett a 1-0 lead. Jason Fransoo and Zach Hamill had the assists. Everett (27-5-0-1) outshot Seattle 4-0 in the first period.

Aaron Gagnon tied the game at 9:07 of the second period with his 22nd goal of the year. Scott Jackson recovered the loose puck and dumped it down to Gagnon in the left corner. Gagnon took a wrister as he sidestepped a defender and headed towards the goal. The puck hit the stick of Everett goaltender David Reekie and rebounded back to Gagnon. His second attempt snuck through between the left post and blocker of Reekie. Gagnon has 15 goals and 15 assists in his last 16 games.

Seattle outshot Everett 7-1 in the second and lead 7- 5 through two periods.

Gagnon gave the T-Birds a 2-1 lead at 10:47 of the third period with his 23rd goal of the year and second on the night. Jan Eberle escaped from the crowed with the puck along the far boards and slid a pass up to Sena Acolatse in the slot. Acolatse fired a one-timer through the crowed gathered in front of the net that was plucked from the air and redirected by Gagnon for a power-play goal and eventual game winner. With the goal, Gagnon moves up to third on the WHL point-list with 46 points. Both Seattle and Everett each had six shots on goal in the third. The T-Birds outshot the Tips 13-11 on the night.

Derek Yeomans stopped 10 of 11 shots he faced and improved his record to 12-6-1-6.

Reekie stopped 11 of 13 shots as his record falls to 9- 5-0-0.

The T-Birds return to the ice after a short holiday break on Wednesday, December 27, to once again take on the Everett Silvertips. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. at KeyArena.

Thunderbird tickets are currently on sale for all 2006- 07 regular season home games. Tickets are priced at $20, $16 & $12 Tickets may be purchased by calling 206-628-0888 or 206-448-PUCK (7825) or online at Seattle Thunderbirds Hockey. Tickets may also be purchased at all TicketMaster Outlets, the KeyArena West Box Office Monday - Saturday 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM and The Hockey Store located at 14326 124th Ave NE in Kirkland. For additional ticket information on Season Tickets and Group Rates please call 206- 448-PUCK.