Hockey fans cheer on Seattle Thunderbirds just one win away from WHL Championship

KENT, Wash. - The Seattle Kraken’s season may be over, but there is still championship hockey to be played in the metro area. The Seattle Thunderbirds are one win away from bringing home the Western Hockey League’s top honor—the Ed Chynoweth Cup. 

The team takes on the Winnipeg Ice, Friday, at the ShoWare Center in Kent.

The Thunderbirds are a championship-level team for a reason. They spend countless hours putting it all on the ice during practice at the Kent Valley Ice Centre.

"If you like watching pro hockey, these guys are just as good. This is great energy, great skill," said John Kalixto, who is attending Game 5 of the championship series.

The T-Birds lead the series 3-1. Game 5 is the final home game of the series. If the Thunderbirds win the match, they secure the WHL title.

"This could be the night!" said Kalixto. "My wife managed to get my son and I a couple of tickets and we didn’t think we could, but she managed to find a way. So, we’re lucky to be going!"

It’s an exciting time to be a hockey fan in the region. The Kraken, Seattle’s first NHL team, ended its season with an impressive playoff run. Now, the Thunderbirds could clinch a championship.

The opportunity to win it all is something super fans like Kalixto have been rooting for many years.

"Before NHL hockey showed up here, my family and I would come down to Thunderbirds games at ShoWare. It’s exciting," said Kalixto. "It’s been here a long time. Hockey fans have been here too, we’ve just maybe not shown up on National levels just because we haven’t had that. And now we do and you see it. The hockey community is out here."

Ian Doner runs the Kent Valley Ice Centre with his five siblings. He said their father built the facility in 2001 and has operated as a family business since.

"I grew up my whole life playing hockey, actually. I basically learned how to skate before I learned how to walk. My dad threw me in ice when I was four or five," said Doner. "It’s basically my second home. So, I’d be here and then I’d be able to watch [Thunderbirds] practice. That’s something you always look up to as a player."

Doner said the center is seeing more visitors, inspired by the home team and their success.

"I see more people coming in for a learn-to-skate class, more people for adult learn to play, learn to play hockey just because they’re having so much success over there. It’s fun to see its growing," said Doner.

He said he is loving the growing fan base for hockey in the region, as the sport has always felt like family to his family.

"It’s everything. We owe everything to the game of hockey. I mean, it’s really our lifestyle," said Doner. "So, to have the community grow and have more people interested in that sport, that’s what we do it for."