Four goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation powered the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 6-3 win over the Peterborough Petes in their opening game of the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia.
Kyle Crnkovic had a hat-trick while Lucas Ciona (CGY), Nolan Allan (CHI) and Jordan Gustafson (VGK) also found the back of the net.
J.R. Avon (PHI), Owen Beck (MTL) and Avery Hayes had goals for Peterborough as Michael Simpson made 34 saves. Seattle’s Thomas Milic turned aside 23 shots while Nico Myatovic had a pair of assists.
“Heightened awareness when the game is on the line,” head coach Matt O’Dette said. “Our guys stepped up to get the job done.”
No excuse needed to re-watch Kyle Crnkovic’s #MemorialCup hat-trick 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/S2O9AzX0oS
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 28, 2023
Tied at 2-2 halfway through the third, Crnkovic’s second goal of the evening broke the tie as he went bardown to give Seattle its first lead of the night. Allan quickly made it 4-2 at 11:22 as he beat Simpson five-hole before Hayes cut the deficit to one at 13:56.
Gustafson’s seeing eye shot made it 5-3 Seattle at 16:45 before Crnkovic completed his hat-trick into the empty-net to conclude a dominant third period.
“We had tremendous battle and knew our game plan would work,” Ciona said. “We just had to stick to it … it was nice some goals started going in.”
A nervy opening period from the reigning WHL champions saw them trail 1-0 after 20 minutes after Avon scored on a breakaway just 1:24 into the game. However, the T-Birds needed just 39 seconds to level the score into the second frame as Ciona tapped in a loose puck after Simpson had stopped Brad Lambert (WPG).
#Blackhawks prospect Nolan Allan has his first of the #MemorialCup! pic.twitter.com/VvCbkCw5gp
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 28, 2023
After Beck went end-to-end at 16:45 to restore the Petes’ lead, Crnkovic’s first of the night made it 2-2 as he scored from the slot on a shot Simpson never even saw.
“In a tournament format, you want to get off on the right foot,” O’Dette said. “Every game is magnified. Getting the win is important. We didn’t have our best game and sometimes you have to find a way to win and tonight we did that.”
Crnkovic, unsurprisingly, was chosen as Player of the Game after his three-goal performance.
Seattle returns to action Monday to face Quebec while Peterborough will play Kamloops Sunday.
