Home Opener - Key Arena 10/04

The Thunderbirds pull off their first victory of the Season over the 1st Place Spokane Chiefs, in a double overtime shoot out.

Here is the official write up:

Boyer gets shootout winner, DeSerres stops all four Spokane attempts in shootout
SEATTLE, — Jacob DeSerres made 32 saves and Jeremy Boyer had the game-winning goal in the shootout to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 3-2 shootout win over the Spokane Chiefs in front of 4,277 at KeyArena.

Boyer was the fourth shooter for the T-Birds, who elected to go first in shootout. Boyer beat Spokane goalie Dustin Tokarski on the glove side for the only goal of the shootout. Seattle’s first three shooters were Jonathan Parker, Jim O’Brien and Prab Rai.

DeSerres stopped Levko Koper, Brett Bartman, Steve Kuhn and Stefan Ullmer in succession.

This was the first game of the season for the T-Birds at home and their last home opener at the Seattle Center. The team is moving to the Kent Events Center in December.

Seattle took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Jeremy Boyer at 14:59 of the first period. Devon LeBlanc took a shot that rebounded to Boyer and he beat Tokarski with a quick shot.

Drayson Bowman tied the game 1-1 at 19:37 of the first. Jared Spurgeon had the only assist on the goal.

Seattle (1-5-0-0) outshot Spokane 9-8 in the first period.

Bowman put the Chiefs in front 2-1 when he scored a power-play goal at 7:01 of the second period. Levko Koper and Trevor Glass had the assists.

The Chiefs had nine shots on goal in the second period to eight for the T-Birds. Both teams had 17 shots on goal after two periods.

Boyer set up the tying goal for the T-Birds when he intercepted a pass behind the Spokane net. Boyer quickly centered the puck to Lindsay Nielsen who beat Tokarski over the glove with a one-timer at 8:35 of the third period.

The Chiefs outshot the T-Birds 10-7 in the third period and finished regulation with a 27-24 advantage in shots.

Spokane (4-1-0-1) outshot Seattle 5-2 in overtime.

DeSerres made 30 saves on 32 shots and his record is now 1-2-0-0.

Tokarski stopped 24 of 27 shots and his record falls to 4-1-0-1.

Seattle travels to Everett to face the Silvertips at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 10.

T-Birds season tickets are currently on sale. Season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825. Purchasing a season ticket will ensure fans can attend the T-Birds first game in their new home, the Kent Events Center.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – 1, Seattle, Boyer 3 (LeBlanc), 14:59 (pp). 2, Spokane, Bowman 3 (Spurgeon), 19:37. Penalties – Spurgeon, Spo (hooking), 14:13.

Second period – 3, Spokane, Bowman 4 (Koper, Glass), 7:01 (pp). Penalties – Haber, Sea (holding), 6:36. Donaghy, Spo (boarding), 14:06. Chaffin, Sea (unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:06.

Third period – 4, Seattle, Nielsen 1 (Boyer), 8:35. Penalties – Silvester, Sea (slashing), 11:07. Bowman, Spo (tripping), 17:38.

Overtime – No scoring. Penalties – No penalties.

Shootout – Seattle 1 (Jonathan Parker NG, Jim O’Brien NG, Prab Rai NG, Jeremy Boyer NG); Spokane 0 (Levko Koper NG, Brett Bartman NG, Steve Kuhn NG, Stefan Ullmer NG).

Shots on goal – Seattle 9-8-7-2 27. Spokane 8-9-10-5 32. Goalies – Seattle, DeSerres 32 shots-30 saves (1-2-0-0); Spokane, Tokarski 27-24 (4-1-0-1). Power plays – Seattle 1-2; Spokane 1-2. A – 4,277. Referee – Tyler Johnson, Matt Kirk. Linesmen – Kevin Boris, Trevor Boudreau.