TALKING POINTS
The past two nights the third periods have been night and day for the Silvertips.
On Friday the Tips took a 1-0 lead into the third period against Prince George, but surrendered the initiative and ended up losing 3-1. It was a pattern that’s become all too familiar for Everett the past month.
On Saturday the Tips carried a 4-2 lead in the third against Tri-City, and I imagine many of us were wondering if the third-period swoon would rear its ugly head again. But this time Everett stayed aggressive and took the game to the Americans. It didn’t result in any goals, but it did lead to a 12-4 shot advantage, and as a result Tri-City was never able to mount anything resembling a comeback push. The third was summed up in the game’s final shift. The Americans had pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, but Everett forwards Remi Laurencelle, Matt Fonteyne and Patrick Bajkov managed to keep the puck pinned deep in the Tri-City zone for nearly a minute. By the time the Americans finally dug the puck out and headed the other way, it was too late for al comeback.
The other interesting development was the creation (finally!) of the Contacts Line. Everett forwards Kohl Bauml, Carson Stadnyk and Dawson Leedahl all hail from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and they’re all products of the Saskatoon Contacts midget program. For two-plus seasons I’ve been waiting for them to be put on a line together, but to no avail. Well, they were placed together mid-game and were dynamite the rest of the way, scoring the game’s best goal with a perfect tic-tac-toe play in transition midway through the second period to make it 4-2.
Tri-City didn’t help its cause tonight by taking thee delay-of-game penalties for putting the puck over the glass from the defensive zone. Two of those came just seconds after going on the penalty kill, giving the Tips long five-on-threes. The Americans also lost star defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to injury midway through the third. The contact between he and Bajkov seemed minimal, but Wotherspoon glided to the bench doubled over and in considerable pain, and he didn’t return.
TURNING POINT
A penalty-filled first period saw the teams trade power-play goals to tie the score at 2-2. But Everett scored twice at even strength in 3:11 midway through the second — with a sprawling save by Carter Hart in between — to take back control of the game.
THREE STARS
First star: Bauml. One goal and one assist, after the game his eyes brightened considerably when talking about the Saskatoon line.
Second star: Stadnyk. One goal and one assist, also took one for the team when he caught teammate Noah Juulsen’s slap shot flush during a five-on-three.
Third star: Brandon Carlo, Tri-City. Two assists, a really nice set up for Tri-City’s second goal.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Leedahl. One assist, continued his campaign of laying big hits.
BOX SCORE
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