Victoria 4, Everett 3 (SO); Tips claim the title, plus award winners

TALKING POINTS

The long wait is over, and another banner will finally be unfurled at Xfinity Arena.

The point gained from the shootout loss to Victoria, combined with Portland’s 6-3 loss at Seattle, means Everett is the 2014-15 U.S. Division champion. The title is Everett’s first since 2007, when the Tips won 54 games and also claimed the Scotty Munro Trophy for the league’s best record.

However, this team is far different from those 2007 champions. The 2007 team was loaded with talent, including four players who either were or would become first-round NHL draft picks. This season’s team had to scratch and claw for everything it achieved, and winning the division title is an amazing achievement.

I’m still shaking my head on this. When Portland routed Everett 6-1 at Xfinity Arena on March 11 to go ahead on winning percentage, I thought for sure the Winterhawks would claim their fourth division title in the past five seasons. The Portland team that was here that night looked like a title contender, and the Winterhawks had what appeared to be an easier remaining schedule based on the quality of opponents.

But credit Everett for recovering well, taking six of a possible eight points from its next four games against quality Seattle and Victoria teams. Meanwhile, Portland somehow managed to drop points against Spokane, Prince George, Tri-City and now Seattle, going 2-3-0-1 in its six games following the win against Everett.

This is the sixth banner in Everett’s 12-season history, joining division titles in 2004, 2006 and 2007, a Western Conference title in 2004, and the Scotty Munro from 2007.

Tonight’s results render Sunday’s season finale at Spokane academic, and I’m sure the Tips are relieved they don’t have to go through the same scenario as 2010. If you remember, Everett went to Spokane on the final day of the 2009-10 season needing just a point to claim the division title and top seed to the playoffs. The Tips came up a goal short, and Everett didn’t win again in Spokane for four years. There’s no worries about creating a Spokane jinx this time around. I also suspect there will be a number of call-ups who will be getting to suit up Sunday, too. The Tips may just leave some gear in Spokane as they will play the Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs.

As for the game itself, it was quite the thriller with lots of twists and turns. Victoria scored the only goal during a somewhat sterile first period. The game came to life in the second, with Everett scoring twice to take the lead, Victoria tying it back up, and the Tips scoring with 9.1 seconds remaining to regain the lead. The Royals tied it again midway through the third, and Everett had to kill off penalties both late in regulation and in overtime. During the regulation penalty Everett’s Kohl Bauml was taken down on a short-handed breakaway for a penalty shot, but Victoria goaltender Justin Paulic held his ground and made a good blocker save to keep it tied. The Royals then had all kinds of chances during the overtime four-on-three, but kept missing the target.

But as it turned out it wouldn’t have mattered if Victoria had scored in OT. Portland was down 4-1 in Kent before rallying within one in the third, but Seattle scored twice late to seal it and hand the Tips the title.

TURNING POINT

Instead of the turning point of the game, let’s talk about the turning point in the race for the division title. Everett was in the midst of its stretch of finding ways to lose leads in the third period, and had just lost 5-1 at home to Prince George as the Tips’ lead in the division continued to shrink with Portland winning pretty much every game. That’s when then league-leading Kelowna came to town on March 3. Everett trailed 2-0 through two periods and showed no signs of challenging the Rockets. But the Tips somehow mounted a third-period rally and ended up winning in overtime. That began an eight-game stretch where the only time Everett lost in regulation was that game against Portland.

THREE STARS

These are the stars from the actual voting. The stars announced at the game were Everett’s three overagers.

First star: Taylor Crunk, Victoria. Two goals and one assist, too physically strong for the Tips to handle.

Second star: Remi Laurencelle, Everett. One goal, he was all over the ice with his hustle.

Third star: Brayden Low, Everett. One assist, a bit of a curious selection but he played hard.

The Herald’s honorable mention: Noah Juulsen, Everett. No points, but how good a defenseman has he become this season?

BOX SCORE

Victoria 4, Everett 3 (SO)

EVERETT’S YEAR-END AWARD WINNERS

Most Valuable Player: Kohl Bauml

Leading Scorer: Nikita Scherbak

Rookie of the Year: Carter Hart