First, before getting to the topic at hand, there’s this:
It’s official! The Memorial Cup will be on display for fans Saturday at @XfinityArena when we take on last years champs the @EdmOilKings!
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) October 28, 2014
Now onto the topic of the day.
Following Saturday night’s game, when the Tips beat Seattle 2-1 in overtime thanks to what amounted to a power-play goal, T-birds coach Steve Konowalchuk erupted about the officiating. Monday night Konowalchuk was fined $750 by the league for his comments.
Included in Konowalchuk’s tirade were accusations that Everett’s players embellished on the two high-sticking calls against Seattle in the third period, the first of which led to the tying goal, the second of which led to the game winner.
This isn’t the first time the Tips under Kevin Constantine have been accused of diving. I can still remember the 2005 playoffs, when Portland fans came to the game wearing snorkels.
So the question is: Do the Tips dive, and does it give them an unfair advantage?
To the first part of that question, I don’t have a definitive answer. When watching games at Xfinity Arena I rarely (though not never) see things that look like blatant dives to me, and I’ve never seen the Tips practice drawing penalties in practice. But I acknowledge I’m a long way from the action — the press area is as high in the second level as you can get — and don’t have the best view for evaluating those matters.
As for the unfair advantage, let’s look at the numbers. If Everett is diving, the Tips should be getting an inordinate number of power plays.
Well, Everett has been on the power play a lot more than the penalty kill so far this season. Through 12 games the Tips had 61 power plays and were short-handed just 34 times, a gargantuan plus-27 in power plays. That differential is a big part of the opposition argument, and it seems to reinforce the notion Everett is gaming the system.
But let’s look a little closer. Those 61 power plays are not an outlier. The 61 power plays rank 11th out of 22 teams in the WHL in terms of total power plays. Everett has played fewer games than just about every other team in the league, which skews those numbers some, but if we adjust to power plays per game the Tips are still just in fifth in the league, which is good but seemingly outside the range of outrageous.
Where the Tips make up the vast majority of their differential is in times short-handed. Everett is by far the least-penalized team in the league. The Tips have been short-handed just 34 times, less than three times per game. The only team even close to the Tips in this category is Prince Albert, which has been short-handed 39 times. The next best after that are Medicine Hat and Kootenay, which are at 51.
This is not a fluke. Everett was the least-penalized team in the league last season, and finished second to Kootenay in terms of fewest times short-handed. As a result the Tips finished the season a plus-97 in power plays (Everett was also fifth in the league in power-play chances last season).
Does this mean the Tips don’t embellish? No. For all I know Everett’s players are putting on Oscar-worthy performances on the ice.
But when trying to explain Everett’s extreme advantage in power-play numbers, it sure seems to me to have less to do with what the Tips are doing to draw penalties, and more to do with what they’re doing to prevent them.
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