EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips had a fine first half to the 2014-15 Wesern Hockey League season.
But Tips general manger Garry Davidson doesn’t intend to settle for “fine.” His sights are aimed a tad higher.
The second half of the season begins Saturday night when Everett plays host to the Vancouver Giants at Xfinity Arena, and Davidson is looking for big things from his team the rest of the way.
“We want to keep going along with how we’ve been doing,” Davidson said Thursday. “We want to keep winning at a similar rate and win the U.S. Division.”
Everett, which resumes play Saturday following a nine-day break, finished the first half 20-9-3-1 and in first place in the U.S. Division with 44 points, three points ahead of second-place Portland (with three games in hand) and five points ahead of third-place Spokane (same number of games played).
“If you had told me we’d be 20-9-4 to start the season I would have been happy with that,” Davidson said. “We’re in first place in the U.S. Division and we’ve managed to score a few more goals than I thought we would do. For the most part, our first half was quite positive.
“The other thing I was pleased with, and Kevin (Constantine, Everett’s head coach) and the staff are also happy with, is the leadership group,” Davidson added. “Kohl Bauml, Brayden Low, Ben Betker and even the rest of the veteran guys have shown real leadership, which is positive.”
Everett also has received a good return on its blockbuster trade from the start of the season. The Tips acquired gifted playmaker Nikita Scherbak from Saskatoon in exchange for a substantial package that included first- and second-round bantam picks and young goaltender Nik Amundrud. Scherbak hasn’t disappointed. The Russia native, who turns 19 Tuesday, leads the team in scoring with 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 27 games.
“The Scherbak trade gave us a legitimate big-time offensive player,” Davidson said. “Our offense goes through Nikita for the most part. He’s delivering.”
The one thing that concerned Davidson during the first half was the team’s difficulty in holding third-period leads.
“I guess the only thing was there were some nights where we got a lead and sat on it,” Davidson said. “We got away with it some nights, but it came back and bit us on other nights. Hopefully it’s not a pattern, it’s important to still look to score a goal or two more. There have been discussions with the staff, and they’ve talked to the players about it, too.”
Everett has a guarantee to season-ticket holders this season of finishing no worse than fourth in the Western Conference — the Tips currently sit in second. Otherwise, those who signed up two years ago will receive a $100 credit toward next season’s tickets.
But Davidson isn’t motivated by the guarantee. He’s motivated to try and win Everett’s first banner since 2007.
“We want to finish No. 1 in the U.S. Division and have home-ice advantage in first two rounds of the playoffs,” Davidson said.
Davidson said he’s willing to do his part to help the team achieve that goal. The Tips played well when they were relatively healthy during the season’s first two months. Everett then suffered some injuries, and the team’s results leveled off, indicating the team could use some added depth.
Davidson acknowledged the Tips were involved in the race to acquire star defensemen Josh Morrissey from Prince Albert — he was eventually traded to Kelowna. Davidson said he was still actively seeking to strengthen the team prior to the Jan. 10 trade deadline, with an additional top-six forward likely a priority.
However, he also admitted landing an impact player could be difficult. There’s a limited number of sellers at this point, and the Tips burned a lot of resources in acquiring Scherbak.
“Between now and Jan. 10 I’d still like to strengthen the team in certain positions,” Davidson said. “But the market looks really foggy right now. There’s not a lot of teams selling.
“I’ve talked to teams about high-end players, but it’s one thing to talk and another to make something happen,” Davidson added. “I want to stay with our philosophy of building through the draft and we’ve already traded away a first and a second, so I’m not excited about giving up other top picks. I’ll try to do it another way, but that’s very difficult. Maybe we’ll have to be patient and ride it out this season.”
The first month following the break could be the make-or-break stretch of the season for Everett. The Tips play at home Saturday, then hit the road for 12 of their next 14 games. That includes both of Everett’s long road trips — a six-game eastern swing through Saskatchewan and Manitoba, followed by a four game stretch in northern B.C. against Prince George and Kelowna.
“We’ve been a pretty good road team,” said Davidson, whose team is 9-4-0-1 away from Xfinity Arena. “But it is a tough schedule, January is certainly a difficult month for us. We’ll need a good concentrated team effort through the month to continue our success.”
Slap shots
The break seems to have served the Tips well with regards to health. Defensemen Ben Betker (concussion) and Tristen Pfiefer (upper body), who both missed time at the end of the first half because of injuries, are expected to be available for Saturday’s game. That means winger Logan Aasman (upper body) remains the only player expected to be unavailable. … Vancouver, Everett’s opponent Saturday, was the hottest team in the league when the Christmas break arrived, having won seven straight. The Giants are 6-0 since Claude Noel took over as head coach.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
