Game 7, Chance to Advance

The Seattle Thunderbirds are set to play the game of their lives Tuesday night at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C. It's Game 7 against the home squad Blazers. The winner advances to the Western Hockey League Championship Series against the Edmonton Oil Kings with a chance to advance to the coveted Memorial Cup tournament that decides a championship of the three leagues that form the elite juniors Canadian Hockey League.
Seattle forced a seventh game in the series thanks to a thrilling 2-1 win over Kamloops Sunday at the accesso ShoWare Center. It was the fourth elimination game Seattle won this postseason and the Thunderbirds are looking to make it 5-0.

Seattle survived over the weekend thanks to a big night from goalie Thomas Milic, who ended the night with 34 saves, 14 in the first period as the Blazers came out strong. Kamloops took a 1-0 lead, but the Thunderbirds got the game even in the second period when Lucas Svejkovsky, a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect from Point Roberts, WA, made a cross-ice pass to 19-year-old Jared Davidson for a one-timer that beat Blazers goalie Dylan Garrand (a New York Rangers prospect). It was Davidson's ninth goal of the playoffs.
The two teams advanced to overtime in Games 4 and 5, but Svejkovsky put the Thunderbirds ahead 2-1 early in the third period with a highlight-reel goal after he toe dragged around a defender, scoring with a backhand. It was the ninth goal for the 20-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins prospect who had missed Game 4 due to illness.

Milic, draft-eligible for July, shut the door the rest of the way, setting up a dramatic Game 7 Tuesday.
Kamloops will have home-ice advantage. Yet the Thunderbirds won Game 2 on the road earlier in the series and accordingly know they can win in the Sandman Centre. Seattle previously won a Game 7 in Portland as well, so they are road and battle-tested.
Seattle will need another stellar performance from Milic and will need to shut down Kamloops star Logan Stankoven. The Dallas Stars prospect drives the Blazers offense. He exploded for two hat-trick games early in the series but has been held scoreless over the last three, leading the Kamloops' offense to struggle. Seattle will need to key on limiting Stankoven's scoring chances.
Milic has posted a .925 save percentage this postseason, earning a reputation as a big-game goalie. He could carry the Thunderbirds into the championship series with another top performance Tuesday.
Offensively, Seattle attacks with three lines that have scorers and NHL prospects on them. Henrik Rybinski (Washington Capitals) and Svejkovsky have led the way throughout the playoffs, and both had huge games in Seattle's Game 7 win against Portland in the second round. They'll need a repeat performance.
On the back end, the Thunderbirds are solid. Captain Tyrel Bauer, who Monday signed his entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets, provides a physical edge while 2022 NHL Draft top prospect Kevin Korchinski drives Seattle's offensive attack.
Game 7 in any playoff series is usually a coin toss. One bad bounce of the puck can propel a team forward and just as easily lead to heartbreak. Elimination games produce heroes out of nowhere and that's what the Thunderbirds will be looking for Tuesday night in Kamloops. Will it be Milic making saves, or Rybinski setting up goals, or someone on the fourth line who scores a big goal late in the game? Game 7 is what you dream of as a kid playing in the street or at the local rink.
"You just gotta go and play," Rybinski said. "You just have to put all those nerves behind you and just go out there and play the way you can play, stick to the game plan. And if you lose, you lose. In the end, you just play hockey, because that's what you're here to do."