T-Birds facing power drain with Hickey and Scott off ice

The Thunderbirds had a large hill to climb against the Tri-City Americans in the WHL playoffs. That hill looked like a mountain in Game 2, but the T-Birds are far from throwing in the towel.

Even without captain Thomas Hickey.

The defenseman and first-round NHL draft pick suffered a head injury in Game 1, but Seattle emerged with a 7-1 win on road ice. Hickey skated in warm-ups for Game 2 on Saturday, but did not play. Just 29 seconds into the game, the T-Birds lost right wing and No. 2 scorer Greg Scott when he was charged with a kneeing major and a game misconduct.

Without two of their top penalty killers, Seattle was vulnerable to the power play, and Tri-City took advantage with a 4-0 win to even the series 1-1, getting all four goals on the man advantage.

"Given the choice, we are better with them," T-Birds coach Rob Sumner said. "There are some adjustments that need to be made."

Reaching for a loose puck, a Tri-City player coming in on the forecheck caught Hickey with a knee to his head.

Hickey was called for tripping on the play and left the ice. He then missed Game 2 on Saturday and will likely miss Game 3 on Tuesday. Though he showed no signs of a concussion, he is following the team's protocol on head injuries.

"Thomas wants to play every game, but we have to wait until he can meet our protocol," Sumner said. "We think we'll get him back, though, because we anticipate this being a long series."

If that's the case, the T-Birds need to turn around their penalty kills. In the series, they have allowed five power-play goals in nine opportunities.

"We need to make sure we address some of those issues on the penalty kill," Sumner said.

THUNDERBIRDS

VS. AMERICANS

WHAT: Game 3 in second-round WHL playoff series

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, 7:05 p.m., KeyArena

RADIO: KKNW-AM/1150

SERIES: The T-Birds won Game 1 in Kennewick 7-1, but were shut out 4-0 in Game 2, tying the best-of-seven series 1-1.

NOTES: Each team has had a hat trick in the series. Seattle RW Ian McKenzie scored three goals in Game 1, and Tri-City LW Colton Yellow Horn had three in Game 2. ... Tri-City is 5-for-9 (.556) on power plays in this series while Seattle is just 1-for-15 (.067). ... Seattle tied for third in the WHL on home ice in the regular season at 25-6-3-2 (55 points). The Americans tied for second on the road at 23-10-2-1 (49 points).

-- Matthew Gaschk