In round one of the playoffs this year, the Seattle Thunderbirds went four for four, beating the Prince George Cougars in every game. Their victory was narrower on Wednesday night than it was during the previous game’s shutout, with a final score of 4-3, but it was a victory all the same.

Nolan Volcan had a great night, scoring the winning goal during overtime on Wednesday night. Landon Bow saved 21 of 24 shots from the Cougars. The T-Birds heavily outshot the Cougars and Edmonds made 35 saves on 39 shots during the entire game.

Scott Eansor scored the first goal of the night during the first period, with assists from Matthew Barzal and Nick Holowko. Volcan scored a goal after that during the same period, raising the score to 2-0. Harkins of Prince George scored the next goal during the first period, but the Cougars kept the goals coming for a while when Witala and Bethune both scored in the second period.

It seemed as though the Cougars might take the game, but the T-Birds tied it up during the third period when Ethan Bear scored a goal with assists from Matthe Barzal and Donovan Neuls. Now the Thunderbirds will be advancing into the next round of playoffs, and they could be a doozy.

The thing is, the next round is against the Everett Silvertips. As most fans know, the Tips have been a major rival of the Birds this year, keeping them on their toes at every turn. For weeks, they seemed unbeatable while the Birds became accustomed to their new goalie, Landon Bow, and the rest of their new players following several trades. It seemed, at least for a while, that the Tips were able to use ESP on Seattle, learning their moves so perfectly they could guess where the Birds were going next.

But then something amazing happened. The Birds found their footing. For game after game, they beat the Tips, demonstrating how much they’ve grown as a team. At first, Everett used excuses, saying that they were unprepared, that they had a rough night. But after each victory the realization that the Birds were simply better dawned over everyone. Will this trend continue over the playoff games against the Silvertips? We will find out on April 8. Tickets are on sale for the first of the round two playoffs and they will surely be not-to-be-missed games, so be sure to grab them before it’s sold out.

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