Thunderbirds force Game 7 showdown in Portland

SEATTLE – The Seattle Thunderbirds dug a deep hole in their Western Hockey League playoff series by dropping three of the first four games against the Portland Winterhawks.

But with a 2-1 win Monday in Seattle, the rolling T-Birds have forced a Game 7 showdown in Portland on Tuesday night.

Reid Schaefer and Jordan Gustafson scored first period goals for Seattle and then relied on clutch netminding from Milic Thomas who stopped 29 of 30 shots. Taylor Gauthier stopped 34 of 36 Seattle shots.

Cross Hanas scored a power-play goal in the first period for Portland.

The winner of this series will play the Kamloops Blazers in the Western Conference final. The Edmonton Oil Kings and Winnipeg ICE will square off in the Eastern Conference final with Game 1 set for Friday in Winnipeg.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2022.