EVERETT — For 44 minutes referee Steve Papp kept his whistle safely tucked into his pocket, refusing to bow to the overtures of the coaches and players pleading for a penalty to be called.
Papp finally pulled the whistle out in overtime, and it proved to be the decisive moment of the game.
Everett scored the game’s only goal during a power play in OT, and the Tips opened the second half of the season by defeating the Vancouver Giants 1-0 Saturday night before a packed house at Xfinity Arena.
There were no penalties called on either team through the entirety of the second and third periods of Saturday’s game — despite multiple incidents that appeared to warrant a call — as Papp decided to let the teams play.
But just 17 seconds into overtime Vancouver’s Tyler Benson took down Tips defenseman Cole MacDonald as MacDonald skated the puck out from behind his own net, prompting Papp’s hand to go up for the penalty call. Just 11 seconds later it was over when Nikita Scherbak scored the game’s lone goal.
“(The penalty) was huge,” said Everett goaltender Austin Lotz, who turned aside all 28 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season and eighth of his career. “They made a couple plays we thought should have been penalties, I think we made a couple of plays that should have been penalties, too. It was a little surprising seeing Papp make the call there. But fortunately for us he did, and it won us the game.”
That turn of events gave Everett (21-9-3-1) a victorious return from its Christmas break — the Tips had nine days off following the 7-6 shootout victory over Victoria on Dec. 17 that concluded the first half. It also gave Vancouver coach Claude Noel his first taste of defeat. The Giants were a perfect 6-0 since Noel took over following the firing of Troy Ward, and the team’s seven straight victories had been the longest active winning streak in the league.
“They’re obviously right now the hottest team in the league, so you have to respect how good they’ve been playing,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “They showed a lot of that tonight, so they’re a good team.”
Everett’s victory wasn’t without its warts. The Tips played an energetic first period, but Vancouver took the initiative the rest of the way. Lotz was primarily responsible for the game remaining scoreless through regulation as he was forced into several difficult saves, particularly early in the second period when the Giants monopolized the puck.
“We were really good in the first and not real good after that,” Constantine said. “I liked how we started, I liked our preparation. We showed a little at the start of the second what’s been our biggest issue this year: We’re not real consistent. We’re good and bad with it in shifts and periods and games, and it was the same tonight. We had a very good first, but they responded in the second and our game went down a bit. There’s parts of our game I liked and parts that were inconsistent.”
Cody Porter took the loss in goal for Vancouver (16-18-1-0), finishing with 21 saves.
Everett didn’t waste any time putting the game away after going on the power play in overtime. Skating four-on-three, the Tips won the initial faceoff in the Vancouver zone, with the puck going back to Noah Juulsen at the point. Juulsen and Scherbak switched positions, with Juulsen handing the puck off to Scherbak. Scherbak had a shooting lane above the left circle, and he wristed a shot past a screened Porter and into the top corner to send the Tips streaming onto the ice in celebration.
“Obviously, we’re really happy,” Lotz said about a starting the second half with a victory. “We feel like we can still play better, but we got the win, got the two points and ended their long streak. We’re pretty happy about that.”
There was plenty of energy from both teams in the first period, but no goals. The best chances came late in the period as a result of a Vancouver power play as Mason Geertsen hit the post and Alec Baer fanned with the net gaping.
The Giants then came out and completely dominated the first seven minutes of the second period, keeping the puck pinned in Everett’s zone almost the entire time. But Lotz denied Thomas Foster on a breakaway and the Tips somehow emerged from the stretch unscathed as it remained scoreless going into the third.
Vancouver again had the better chances in the third, with defenseman Arvin Atwal getting involved twice in early in the period. First he split the defense, only for Lotz to make a flashy glove save. Moments later Atwal beat Lotz with a move, but somehow managed to slide the puck wide, and it remained scoreless going into OT.
Slap shots
Saturday’s game was Everett’s 12th overtime in just 34 games so far this season. The team record for overtime games in a season is 18 set last season. The Tips are 8-4 in games decided in either overtime or a shootout this season. … Everett welcomed overage defenseman Ben Betker back to the lineup. Betker missed the final five games of the first half because of a concussion. … Over the break the Tips reassigned winger Nik Malenica. The 17-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., is joining the Nanaimo Buccaneers of the junior B Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. … Vancouver also welcomed a key player back from injury as winger Jackson Houck returned from a lower-body injury.
Silvertips 1, Giants 0 (OT)
Vancouver 0 0 0 0 — 0
Everett 0 0 0 1 — 1
First Period—no goals. Penalties—Houck, Vancouver (cross checking), 1:23; Bobylev, Vancouver (roughing), 13:36; Davis, Everett (hooking), 16:43.
Second Period—no goals. Penalties—none.
Third Period—no goals. Penalties—none.
Overtime—1, Everett, Scherbak 16 (Juulsen, Scherbak), 0:28 (pp). Penalties—none.
Shots on goal—Vancouver 5-12-11-0—28. Everett 13-2-6-1—22. Power-play opportunities—Vancouver 0 of 1. Everett 1 of 3.
Goalies—Vancouver, Porter 5-6-1-0 (22 shots, 21 saves). Everett, Lotz 16-6-1-1 (28 shots, 28 saves).
A—7,709.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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