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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • Everett Silvertips (External Link) • Schedule (External Link)   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, March 2, 2008 Don't sleep on confident, streaking Silvertips By John Sleeper Herald Columnist EVERETT -- Jordan Mistelbacher is what we refer to in the biz as "soft-spoken." The Silvertips right wing doesn't babble a blue streak. At 6-foot-2, nearly 200 pounds, he'll body-check you into the fifth row, but won't brag on and on about it over Mountain Dews the rest of the night. But ask him about the playoffs. Ask him which team he'd like to open with once the time comes later in the month and Mistelbacher holds back like a runaway locomotive. "Doesn't matter," he smiles. "We're going to win, anyways." Let's see. The Silvertips are in fifth place in the mega-competitive Western Conference. Ahead of them are the three best teams in the entire league in Tri-City, Vancouver and Spokane. In fourth is Seattle, which has beaten Everett in six of the eight games they've played head-to-head. A mere point behind Everett is Kelowna, against which Everett has split four games. Were the regular season to end today, the Tips would face Seattle. So Mistelbacher uncorks a load of smack about the first-round foe? How long has he been playing without a helmet? The Silvertips are nothing if not confident. They've won eight of their past nine, including a pair over Spokane and Seattle. Since the Christmas break, they're 19-9-1. They're third in the WHL in penalty killing. They're 20-11-0 in the U.S. Division, 12-4-0 at home. Against the top three in the West, the Silvertips are 11-9-0, and that includes a 1-4-0 mark against Vancouver. In their first six meetings against Seattle, the Thunderbirds were to Everett what Raid is to mosquitoes. But the Silvertips have beaten the Thunderbirds the past two meetings, earning a certain bit of respect. Clearly, any team that overlooks the Silvertips in the playoffs would make a huge mistake, especially considering the Tips soon return three key injured defensemen in Taylor Ellington, Mike Alexander and Chris de la Lande. "We're coming together as a team just at the right time," right wing Matt Ius said. "We're playing as a team. Every line is going out there and playing hard. We're going to start getting our 'D' men back here pretty quick, but the young guys are doing an incredible job for us. We're just coming together at the right time." The inner workings of the team gathering steam are evident in a number of ways. On Friday night, captain Jonathan Harty took exception to a hit Seattle's Benn Olson laid on Kyle Beach 90 seconds into the game, after which Olson skated by a prone Beach, admiring his work. Harty tossed his gloves to the ice. He didn't care that Olson is 6-foot-5, weighs 217 pounds and is one of the more eager fighters in the league. Harty, listed at 5-10 and 186, landed several head shots on Olson before officials pulled them apart. Harty received five minutes for fighting, two minutes for being the instigator and a 10-minute misconduct, but the point was made: Paws off The Franchise, Sluggo. That's what's known as protecting the superstar and a certain indication of team unity. They're not afraid of taking one for the team, as Clayton Bauer showed against the T-birds Friday by diving in front of a Thunderbird slapshot, damn the manhole-cover-sized bruise in the morning. Zack Dailey continues to fearlessly fling his diminutive body into players twice his size. Beach still is one of the game's genuine, gold-plated pains, but now limits his anarchy for the general good of the team. Dan Gendur has been playing out of his mind since the break, with 19 goals and 29 assists in the past 29 games. In that same span, Zach Hamill has 15 goals and 24 assists. But the most influential player on the postseason ice likely will be goalie Leland Irving, who recorded his league-record-tying 21st career shutout Friday. Criticized earlier in the season for allowing cheap goals, Irving has returned to the form in the second half of the season that led the Calgary Flames to select him in the first round of the draft last season. "Our best players have been our best players," coach John Becanic said. "He's been one of our best players. That's not to ignore the first half of the year. His game wasn't where he would have liked it to be at. But nobody hands out championships in the first half of the year, or the second half." Playoffs favor a hot goalie, stars who burn through the postseason and a team that peaks at the right time. In that regard, there's something funny about this team. In the end, don't discount the possibility that the Silvertips may be the ones left laughing. Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, "Dangling Participles," go to www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.

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