KELOWNA, B.C. – Prospera Place was the site of the Everett Silvertips’ greatest triumph last season.
The Silvertips are hoping their successful return to Prospera Place on Saturday night is an indication of even more good things to come this season.
Opening up at the same rink where they claimed their Western Conference championship, the Silvertips began their second Western Hockey League season in triumph, defeating the Memorial Cup-champion Kelowna Rockets 4-2.
“I don’t know, maybe there’s just something in the air that makes the guys work harder here,” said Everett goalie Michael Wall said about Everett’s success in Kelowna, both Saturday and last season. “We just come here and work hard. They’re a good team and we have to counter that by working harder than them. The boys played well and I think we deserved this one.”
Before a sellout crowd of 6,348 on hand to witness the raising of the Memorial Cup championship banner, Karel Hromas, Ivan Baranka and Tyler Dietrich scored power-play goals, Curtis Billsten added a goal and an assist, and Wall made 26 saves for Everett.
And it couldn’t have happened at a more appropriate location, considering it was on this ice where Everett completed a storybook comeback from a 3-1 series deficit, winning Game 7 of the Western Conference Championship Series in overtime last April.
“We’ve talked a little bit about putting last year behind us and trying to live on what we’re doing in the present,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “But it’s pretty impossible to come back here with the memories from our success here last year, and for a moment not live in the past a little bit. It seems like we were just here and it’s an unbelievable memory. So there was a little thought of last year. Now we’ve got all that behind us so we can move forward with this year.”
Everett was efficient in its victory, winning despite squeezing off just 16 shots on goal.
But the Silvertips, who had the third-worst power play in the league last season, scored on three of their five power-play opportunities.
Unlike last season, the Silvertips didn’t leave any suspense for the end. Baranka’s thundering shot from the point on the power play at 9 minutes, 42 seconds of the second period broke a 2-2 tie, and Dietrich’s goal off his own rebound on the power play at 9:09 of the third provided more than enough insurance.
“I thought we played pretty good,” Everett captain Mitch Love said. “The first 10 minutes we were pretty strong, which is what you want to do on the road. Then we ‘laxed a little and they scored two goals. But we got a quick power-play goal in the second which turned the momentum in our favor again. We kept rolling from there and continued to win the little battles.”
Lauris Darzins and Troy Bodie scored for Kelowna, which despite losing to Everett in the Western Conference finals, went on to win the Memorial Cup as the host team.
“I didn’t think we played very well,” Kelowna coach Jeff Truitt said. “Positioning-wise I thought we were running around a little bit and we just weren’t as responsible as we should have been. Obviously you can’t do that when you play against a team like Everett that pounces on the opportunities they get.”
Everett took the lead 4:48 into the game. Good work by Brennan Zasitko behind the Kelowna net held up the puck long enough for Mark Kress to grab it and whip it to Billsten in the right slot. Billsten one-timed the shot into the top shelf to give the Silvertips a 1-0 lead.
However, Everett’s lead was short-lived as Kelowna scored twice in a two-minute span late in the period on shots from the point, giving the Rockets a 2-1 lead. First, Darzins blew a shot right through Wall as he skated across the blue line at 13:47. Then Brett Palin’s wrister through traffic from the left point deflected off Bodie and past Wall at 15:30.
Everett regained the lead in the second period with a pair of power-play goals. First, at 1:34, Ryan Blatchford found Love open at the point. Love’s shot was deflected up and over Kelowna goalie Derek Yeomans by Hromas, tying the score at 2-2.
Baranka gave the Silvertips a 3-2 lead at 9:42 with an incredible solo effort. Baranka drifted along the blue line with the puck, faking shots and waiting for an opening before unleashing a bullet into the top corner of the net.
Dietrich gave the Silvertips some insurance at 9:09 of the third period. Again on the power play, Dietrich had his shot from the left slot saved. However, Dietrich skated in for the rebound and put it into the far corner of the net to make the score 4-2.
Slap shots: Everett center Zach Hamill changed his number from 7 to 9. The 9 was freed up when Riley Armstrong joined the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League. … Love played with a bubble on his helmet. Love was protecting his nose, which was operated on Wednesday to help improve his breathing. … The Rockets raised four banners before the game Saturday: For winning the B.C. Division, for compiling the best regular-season record in the WHL, for hosting the Memorial Cup and for winning the Memorial Cup. … Kelowna played without defenseman Josh Gorges and right wing Randall Gelech. The 20-year-olds are still training with professional teams and may not return this season.
Silvertips 4, Rockets 2
Everett121-4 Kelowna200-2 First Period-1, Everett, Billsten 1 (Kress, Zasitko), 4:48. 2, Kelowna, Darzins 1 (Bodie, Weber), 13:47. 3, Kelowna, Bodie 1 (Palin, Darzins), 15:30. Second Period-4, Everett, Hromas 1 (Love, Blatchford), 1:34 (pp). 5, Everett, Baranka 1 (Desloges, Hamill), 9:42 (pp). Third Period-6, Everett, Dietrich 1 (Billsten, Heshka), 9:09 (pp). Shots on goal-Everett 5-6-5-16. Kelowna 7-13-8-28. Power-play opportunities-Everett 3 of 5. Kelowna 0 of 1. Goalies-Everett, Wall 1-0 (28 shots, 26 saves). Kelowna, Yeomans 0-1 (16 shots, 12 saves).
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