T-Birds clinch playoff spot with win

ThunderbirdsFrom Seattle Thunderbirds Hockey Club

KENT, Wash. --

The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Tri-City Americans 8-3 Tuesday night at ShoWare Center to clinch a spot in the 2013 WHL Playoffs.

Seattle has a 24-37-7-2 record good for 57 points and is in seventh place in the Western Conference Playoff Standings. They are three points ahead of the eighth place Everett Silvertips (24-39-2-4) and seven points ahead of the ninth place Prince George Cougars (21-39-2-6), who lost to the Spokane Chiefs 6-4 Tuesday night.

The T-Birds have two games remaining in the regular season while the Silvertips and Cougars have three games each. The Cougars are at 50 points and cannot catch the T-Birds in the standings. The top eight teams in the Western Conference make the playoffs.