Everett, Wash.
Published: Monday, March 17, 2008

Role reversal: Silvertips and Spokane Chiefs

Last season it was the Tips who were the favorite in a first-round series with Spokane. This year the third-seeded Chiefs are the ones expected to beat Everett in their first-round series, which begins Friday.

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer

 SEATTLE -- The Everett Silvertips had to settle for the sixth seed from the Western Hockey League's Western Conference. Their reward: a series against the third-seeded Spokane Chiefs in the first round.

But Spokane is no ordinary No. 3 seed.

Spokane presents a formidable challenge for Everett. The Chiefs finished 50-15-1-6 for 107 points, one fewer than regular season champion Tri-City, and they are ranked second in the entire Canadian Hockey League.

So the Tips have their work cut out if they want to continue their streak of advancing past the first round in every season of franchise history.

"They're a great team, right up there for first in the league," Everett center Zack Dailey said of the Chiefs. "But I think that if we play our game and play hard we can come out on top of it."

The series begins with games Friday and Saturday in Spokane.

But after that is where the script diverges from the norm. From there WHL series usually move to the lower-seeded team's arena for two games, then the venue switches each game for the final three if-necessary games.

However, Spokane Arena is unavailable for the weekend of the 28th because of the NCAA women's basketball tournament. Therefore, Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) will be held in Everett on Mar. 26, 28 and 29.

That affords Everett a luxury rarely available for lower-seeded teams: two weekend dates as Games 4 and 5 (if necessary) take place on a Friday and Saturday, respectively.

"Playoffs are playoffs," Everett coach John Becanic said, downplaying any possibility the format change will work in Everett's favor. "It's such an emotional swing. You can get up one game and get too high. It's so hard to win games and things can change."

Games 6 and 7, if necessary move back to Spokane on Apr. 1 and 2, a Tuesday and Wednesday. Should the series go the full seven games, it will probably require a quick turnaround for the winner as the second round typically begins on the following Friday.

As impressive a resume as Spokane possesses, the Tips probably don't mind drawing the Chiefs in the first round. Everett finished 5-2-0-1 against Spokane this season. Had the Tips held on for fifth they would have faced Seattle in the first round, a team they went 2-7-0-1 against.

"When you're the team going in as the underdog I think that helps," Becanic said about Everett's advantage in the season series. "I don't know if it discourages Spokane. You're looking at a team that has 107 points, so I think it's a little deceiving when you see three versus six."

It's also an almost perfect reversal of last year's first round. Everett and Spokane were first-round adversaries last season, when the Tips went into the playoffs ranked No. 1 in the CHL and the Chiefs were heavy underdogs. Everett ended up winning that series 4-2, but was challenged the whole way.

"There's a lot of pressure off us from last year," Dailey said. "Last year we were the top dogs and this year we're coming in with a little lower ranking. But it doesn't mean anything, we were ranked first and lost in the second round of the playoffs. Anything can happen in the playoffs, you just have to come ready to play."

The good news for Everett is that the Tips should be 100-percent healthy for the start of the series. Defenseman Taylor Ellington, who's been out since Jan. 24 with a broken bone in his foot, is Everett's last remaining injured player and he's expected back for Friday. The Tips haven't fielded a first-choice lineup since before Christmas.

Becanic was a little more vague when discussing the status of Kyle Beach. Everett's third-leading scorer was called out by Becanic following last Friday's 3-1 loss to Seattle for taking undisciplined penalties. Beach served a one-game league-mandated suspension Saturday and was held out of the lineup Sunday.

"The league's not holding him out, I'll leave it at that," Becanic said. "We're going to dress the 20 best players who are going to help us win a game next Friday. We've got five more days before we have to make that decision."

Tickets for Games 3 and 4 in Everett go on sale at 10 a.m. today. They can be purchased at the Everett Events Center box office, the Silvertips office, or online at everettsilvertips.com.

Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA