Bryan Allbee and the Seattle Thunderbirds have booked a spot in the Western Hockey League championship series.
On Wednesday night in Kent, Wa., the Thunderbirds completed a sweep of the Kelowna Rockets in the best-of-four Western Conference final. The T-birds ended the series in dramatic fashion, as they came back from a two-goal deficit in the dying moments of the third period and won 5-4 in double overtime.
"It was pretty crazy, being down two goals," said the 18-year-old Allbee, who was born and raised in Prince George. "I think we made it 4-3 with 1:15 left. That kind of gave us some life and then to get one with two seconds left to force overtime, it was a pretty surreal feeling for sure. The crowd was insane - probably the loudest I've ever heard it. It was a pretty special game. It'll be one I'll remember for a while."
Seattle pulled into the 4-3 deficit on a goal by defenceman Ethan Bear and got the tying goal from forward Keegan Kolesar, who cashed in the rebound of a Bear shot.
In the first overtime, the Thunderbirds survived a pair of bench minor penalties for too many men on the ice. In the second extra session, they finally ended the game on their 75th shot. On the play, rookie forward Matthew Wedman went wide to the left on a Kelowna defender, cut back into the low slot and tucked the puck past Kelowna goalie Michael Herringer at the 7:52 mark. The goal was Wedman's first of the playoffs.
"To see Wedman get that final goal, I was pretty happy for him," Allbee said. "He didn't have a shift in the third (period) or first overtime and then we needed some fresh legs so he hopped out there and got the winner.
"It was almost unbelievable," Allbee added. "When they brought out the Cup (Western Conference championship trophy), it was pretty cool to see that and to realize we're going to the final and we've got a pretty good shot of winning this thing."
In the other games against the Rockets, the Thunderbirds won 2-1 and 3-2 in Kelowna, and 3-1 before a sellout crowd on Tuesday night in Kent.
The T-birds - who swept the Prince George Cougars in the first round and defeated the Everett Silvertips four games to one in the second - will now face either the Brandon Wheat Kings or Red Deer Rebels. The Wheat Kings have a 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference final and will try to close things out tonight at home.
If the Rebels stage a comeback and win the east title, the Thunderbirds would benefit. In a Seattle-Red Deer final, both teams would advance to the Memorial Cup because the Rebels are the host club.
"I think it would be cool either way," Allbee said. "Best case for us is if that series goes to seven games - get them a little more tired and we can enjoy our rest right now."
The Thunderbirds have won an incredible 25 of their past 27 games so they have every reason to be confident.
"We're sticking to our game and not letting anyone change what we're doing," Allbee said. "We're rolling pretty well right now so we've just got to keep things the same. If we keep playing like this, I think we've got a pretty good shot at taking it."
The six-foot, 195-pound Allbee is normally a defenceman but, in the last two games of the Kelowna series, was moved up to forward by Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk because of an injury to regular forward Cavin Leth. Allbee has minimal experience as a forward but took advantage of the opportunity to play up front when he scored his first-ever WHL playoff goal (and point) in Game 3. Allbee accepted a pass from blueliner Jerret Smith and fired a screened slapshot past Herringer.
"I don't think the goalie saw it too much - it just found a way to get in," Allbee said. "In front of a sold-out crowd it was pretty cool to get that one. (The cheer) was pretty loud."
After Wednesday night's double-overtime clincher, Allbee couldn't help but think how his fortunes have turned around. For the first 40 games of the season, he was a member of the Kootenay Ice (a team that ended up last overall in the WHL and the entire Canadian Hockey League with a 12-53-6-1 record). Then, on Jan. 4, shortly before the WHL trade deadline, the Ice dealt him to the T-birds in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft.
"It's pretty crazy to look back at that and to think that I could have been home (more than a month ago)," said Allbee, a good puck-moving defenceman who played all his minor hockey in Prince George and graduated out of the Cariboo Cougars major midget program. "It's pretty cool to be playing right now, winning the third round. It definitely turned around."
After the trade, Allbee didn't need much time to get comfortable with the Thunderbirds.
"Obviously I was pretty nervous at first, going to a team where you've got to meet 20 or more guys that you've never met before, but it's a great group of guys," he said. "I've never been on a team this close and it's pretty fun to be a part of that."
