SEATTLE 5
VICTORIA 0
The Seattle Thunderbirds received the equivalent of a booster shot to battle the winter blues.
Suddenly they are feeling a whole lot better about their Western Hockey League prospects.
The Thunderbirds (13-9-2) have been bolstered by the recent returns of 19-year-old forward Mathew Barzal from the New York Islanders of the NHL and Columbus Blue Jackets forward prospect Keegan Kolesar from injury.
Barzal had a goal and three assists as the Thunderbirds defeated the Victoria Royals 5-0 before 5,245 fans at ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington, on Saturday night.
If that isn’t enough Thunderbird firepower, there is also blueliner and Edmonton Oilers prospect Ethan Bear and second-round New York Rangers draft-pick Ryan Gropp.
Bear had a goal and two assists and Gropp a goal Saturday.
The Royals’ decimated forward corps, meanwhile, received some good news with Carter Folk returning Saturday, but Tyler Soy and Blake Bargar remained out due to injuries.
But Royals head coach Dave Lowry wasn’t pointing to that as an excuse.
“We were in no way good enough,” Lowry said after the game. “We have a lot of guys who are consistently not playing up to their level.
“We lost to a better team tonight.”
Victoria (14-11-2) went zero-for-Interstate 5 after also dropping a 4-2 decision on Friday in Portland against the Winterhawks.
The Royals return to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Wednesday night to meet the Brandon Wheat Kings.
