Thunderbirds Pink the Rink, Earn a Point against Kamloops

Hello again Thunderbirds fans! And welcome back to Bird Watching! If you came to the most recent home game, a Sunday, October 18^th tilt against the Kamloops Blazers, then you probably noticed something different about the ShoWare Center ice….

There’s something different about this photo, but I can’t quite put my finger on it…

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

Maybe if we move down to ice level, we can spot what’s going on here…

Defenseman Taylor Green blocks Kamloops rightwinger Jordan DePape in front of the Seattle goal in the first period.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

Ok, I’ve got a suspicion, but I think I need one more photo just to be sure…

Multiple Thunderbirds players participated in the team’s Pink the Rink night by taping their sticks with pink tape, lacing up with pink skate laces, and spray painting sticks pinks.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 170mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

 

Ahh! That’s it! The face-off spots are now purple!

Well, they looked purpleish, I guess, but it’s only because the ice was colored pink. Yes, the wonderful ice technicians at the ShoWare Center figured out how to mix pink dye in with the zamboni’s water to create a few layers of pink ice over the typical white ice. This was done as part of team’s Pink the Rink Night to help Valley Medical and GLOW to bring awareness and funds to provide mammograms and breast health education for uninsured women at high risk of developing breast cancer. In fact, there was pink all over the ShoWare Center Sunday, from in the stands, in the players’ bench, and in the ice itself. There was even a pink car on the ice (not during game action though. That just wouldn’t be safe, for the players or for the car). Don’t believe me? Just look…

A car, all decked out in pink highlights, drives on the ice during the first intermission.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

The pink car was actually a prize for three lucky contestants to potentially win. All they had to do was make 15 goals in one minute from the center line. Piece of cake, right? Unfortunately no one won a car, but all three participants certainly made more goals than I would have…

A lucky Thunderbirds fan attempts to make 15 goals in one minute from the center line during the first intermission.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

Everyone in attendance at the ShoWare Center Sunday received large pink glow sticks to light the rink even when the lights were off. They certainly lit the rink, which I’ll show you a bit later, and they seemed to be a hit with many in the stands…

Fans hold up their pink glowsticks during the first intermission in support of breast cancer awareness Sunday night.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 90mm, f/2.8, 1/50

Some players used the pink tape sparingly on their sticks. Others, such as left winger Roberts Lipsbergs here? Not so much…

Left winger Roberts Lipsbergs sports an entirely-pink stick in the second period against Kamloops.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 185mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

The Thunderbirds opened the game’s scoring early in the second period when right winger Connor Honey fired the puck past Kamloops goalie Taran Kozun. Did I get a photo of the goal? No, but here’s a photo of the post-goal celebration…

Left winger Riley Sheen, center, celebrates with the Thunderbirds players on the ice after the first goal of the game. Sheen, who assisted the goal, ended the game with one assist and a +/- ranking of +1.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 150mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

Center Brendan Rouse fights through the Kamloops defense for a puck in front of the Blazers’ net. Although the puck was frozen on the play, Rouse scored his third goal of the season later on in the second period.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

Defenseman Shea Theodore fires a puck towards the Kamloops goal in the second period. Theodore scored his fourth goal of the year and also assisted Rouse’s goal for a rating of +1 on the night.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 105mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

The second period was full of action, with all six goals of regulation scored during the period. With the end of the period, the two teams retreated back to their locker rooms and the lights dimmed in the arena, emphasizing the pink glow sticks and other pink lights around the arena.

Pink light from fans’ pink glow sticks and some of the suites lights up the rink shortly before the start of the third period.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 70mm, f/2.8, 1/125

Center Justin Hickman skates up the ice with the puck early in the third period.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 115mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

Defenseman Jesse Forsberg hits the ice to block a shooting lane while trying to kill off a Kamloops power play in the third.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 108mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

And, to end this Pink the Rink photoblog, let’s end with another shot of Lipsbergs and his entirely-pink stick again, shall we?

Lipsbergs fights to stay on the puck despite the best efforts of Kamloops defenseman Sam Grist in the third period.

Canon 7D, 2000 ISO, 98mm, f/2.8, 1/1250

The T-Birds and Blazers played the third period to a scoreless draw, forcing the Thunderbirds into their second overtime game of the season. 25 seconds into the extra period, however, Kamloops snuck one past T-Birds goalie Brandon Glover and won the game, their 15th of the season. The Thunderbirds, however, received a point in the standings for their effort and moved two points above Everett in the standings.

That’s it for this edition of Bird Watching, Thunderbirds fans. Thanks for reading and, as always, Go T-Birds!