KENT, WA - In the game of hockey, 57 shots against and victory don’t generally go hand-in-hand.  But, on Friday night, sophomore goaltender Calvin Pickard pulled them both together in stellar fashion.
 
Stopping all 57 shots he faced, including a 25-shot barrage in the first period alone, Pickard stole the show at ShoWare Center, lifting the Seattle Thunderbirds (2-4-0-0, 4 pts) to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans (2-2-0-0, 4 pts) in front of 3,009 fans.  With the win, Seattle snapped their four game losing skid and improved to 3-1-0-1 vs. the Americans all-time at ShoWare Center.  Meanwhile, Tri-City has now lost two straight after starting the season 2-0.
 
Those in the game call it ‘puck luck’ and the Americans could find none of it on Friday.  In the first period alone, Tri-City dominated the game, outchancing Seattle 25 to 5 on the shot clock.  But, at the end of the first 20 minutes, all that mattered was the scoreless scoreboard.
 
The two squads played a more even second period, with Pickard and Tri-City starter Drew Owsley taking center stage.  But, two late period penalties put the Americans on their heels and, with one second remaining in the period, Seattle cashed in.  Just 48 seconds into their fourth power play of the night, Steve Chaffin set-up Sena Acolatse, who fired a shot from the left point and beat Owsley.  The puck, which appeared to be redirected in route, found its way across the goal line just before the horn sounded and provided the T’birds with all the offense they would need.
 
Not wanting to start the year 0-2 on the road, Tri-City tilted the ice again in the final period of play, outshooting Seattle 16 to 2.  But, despite playing the final minute with Owsley off for the extra attacker, this night belonged to Pickard.
 
For Pickard, his 57 saves on 57 shots marked career-highs in both categories, surpassing his previous highs of 46 saves and 49 shots set during Seattle’s season opening victory over Everett.  It was just the third time Pickard had faced 40+ shots in a game, improving to 3-0 in those contests.  The win also gave Pickard his fourth WHL shutout and second against the Americans.  Meanwhile, Owsley, who had an impressive night of his own, finished with 19 saves in the tough-luck loss.
 
Tri-City will now try and right the ship tomorrow, as they head back to the friendly confines of the Toyota Center.  The Americans will play host to the rival Spokane Chiefs on Saturday, October 3 with a game time of 7:05 p.m.  It will be the second match-up between the two squads in a one-week span, as the Chiefs took down Tri-City 5-2 last Saturday in Spokane.  Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, including all Fred Meyer outlets, or online at ticketmaster.com.  Those unable to make it to the game can catch all the action live on KVEW-TV’s My Network 280 starting at 7:00 p.m.  And, as always, the game will be broadcast live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:45 p.m.
 
Applebee’s 3 Stars:
1, Calvin Pickard, Seattle
2, Sena Acolatse, Seattle
3, Brooks Macek, Tri-City

SCORING SUMMARY
First period - No scoring. Penalties - Rai, Sea (slashing), 1:02. Wilgosh, Tri (interference), 3:56. Rai, Sea (hooking), 11:20. Schmidt, Tri (hooking), 13:42.
Second period - 1, Seattle, Acolatse 1 (Chaffin), 19:59 (pp). Penalties - Acolatse, Sea (roughing), 8:12. Chaffin, Sea (holding), 11:03. Humphries, Tri (interference), 16:59. Humphries, Tri (hooking), 19:11.
Third period - No Scoring. Penalties - Lund, Sea (tripping), 6:13. Toll, Tri (interference), 9:02.
Shots on goal - Seattle 5-13-2 20. Tri-City 25- 16-16 57. Goalies - Seattle, Pickard 57 shots- 57 saves (2-2-0-0); Tri-City, Owsley 20-19 (2-2-0-0). Power plays - Seattle 1-5; Tri-City 0-5. A - 3,009. Referee - Andy Thiessen. Linesmen - Chris Dehaan, Chris Carlson.

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