| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 10:27 am |
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 Reader question: TV time Comcast Arena makes its FSN debut Friday. The Tips play host to the Spokane Chiefs in what will be Everett's first ever home game televised in the U.S. As such, I'm sure Tips fans are eager to display just how supportive they can be. So my question to you this week is: What do you have planned specifically for the television cameras? What are you doing to show you're a rabid Silvertips fan. Let us know in the comment section. There's a secondary purpose for this post, too. For Friday I plan on writing a feature story about this very concept, so I'm seeking subjects who are the true die hard fans. Anyone who's got something interesting cooked up can e-mail me at npatterson@heraldnet.com and we can work out the interview details from there. Thanks in advance. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 5, Spokane 1 TALKING POINTS Tremendous performance by the Tips tonight. Everett not only beat a good team by four goals, it easily could have been more. In one-sided contests like these you wonder how much was because one team was good and how much was because the other was bad. But upon reflection I think Everett was just that good tonight. The Tips didn't allow Spokane to do much of anything as they hounded the Chiefs throughout. It was a good game up and down the lineup for Everett, but it was the Artists Formerly Known as the Kid Line who provided the offense. Those three had been quiet of late with just one point combined in the previous four games, but they combined for four goals and six assists tonight. All four goals came off rebounds as they worked for their offense. Maxwell's goal snapped a 15-game goalless drought, and both Maxwell and Froese surpassed the 100-point mark in their WHL careers. The game also featured the fight everyone in the arena was waiting to see as Everett's Radko Gudas and Spokane's Kyle Beach squared off for a doozy late in the game. These two have had a running battle throughout the season series, and I believe this was the first time Gudas was involved in an agreed-to fight rather than being challenged/jumped for a big hit. I think Gudas may have learned a thing or two during those prior incidents as he landed some big shots. Everett went the entire game without taking a minor penalty, which may be the first time I've ever seen that for the Tips, and it spawned the quote of the night from Froese: "Our PK was at its finest tonight." TURNING POINT Everett was controlling play in the first period without creating much in the way of chances. However, Froese and Tochkin scored 1:36 apart late in the first period to finally break the ice. HIT OF THE DAY There were some solid hits tonight, but it wasn't the best night for accuracy. In the first period both Everett's Zack Dailey and Beach nearly knocked themselves silly when they went for hits along the boards and missed. THREE STARS First star: Froese. Two goals and two assists, see above. Second star: Maxwell. A goal and two assists, see above. Third star: Tochkin. A goal and two assists, see above. The Herald's honorable mention: Ryan Murray, Everett. No points, but was firing BBs out there to go along with his impeccable defensive play. BOX SCORE Everett 5, Spokane 1 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Spokane: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Winquist-Cumiskey-MacDonald Elynuik-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Kulchar-Sohor Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Theriau, Minville, Iwanski. Notes: Everett rotates its goalies again as Kent Simpson gets the nod in net tonight, making it the fourth straight game the Tips have used a different netminder. One small change in the lineup as Josh Winquist starts the game at left wing on the third line in place of Campbell Elynuik. Left wing Dan Iwanski is still out with his knee injury. SPOKANE Forward lines: Koper-Johnson-Gal Miller-Wahl-Beach Uher-Kuhn-Holmberg/Mort Brassart-Bardaro-Letts Defensive pairings: Cowen-Spurgeon Bartman-Ulmer Baldwin-Kichton Starting goalie: Reid Scratches: Cratsenberg, Marantz, Holmberg/Mort. Notes: Spokane is missing just one player for certain to injury as right wing Matt Marantz is out with a leg injury. Both Mitch Holmberg and Tanner Mort will take the warm-up, and I don't know if either is banged up. If Mort ends up playing he would be a defenseman playing as a forward. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment The Rasmus Rissanen question Last night the Tips lost 1-0 to Vancouver, the game's only goal being scored in the third period following a mysterious roughing penalty called on Everett defenseman Rasmus Rissanen, as Rissanen wasn't even on the ice when the call was made. After the game Tips broadcaster Jon Rosen, who didn't see the incident, said he talked to everyone in the press box and one person said they saw Rissanen reach out from the bench and grab a Vancouver player as that player was skating by. That would be an awful way to take a penalty late in a tied game, as well as a bizarre thing to do in any circumstances. Well, I received a call from Rosen afterwards saying that he'd talked to people on the Everett bench and they were saying that the call was bogus, that Rissanen was just standing there when the Vancouver player skated by and fell down. I checked out Steve Ewen's blog story on the game (link on the left) and he doesn't mention anything about the call. So anyway, there's two third-hand accounts of the incident. Take it for what it's worth. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Live blog: Everett at Vancouver Tonight's game is at the Langley Events Centre instead of Pacific Coliseum, so I have no idea what the audio/video situation is going to be like. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Winning streak wrap Everett's winning streak ended with Wednesday night's 2-1 loss at Spokane, finishing up at a franchise record 14 games. Here's some breakdown of the streak: Team numbers Goals for (avg.) -- 52 (3.7) Goals against (avg.) -- 31 (2.2) Home-away -- 8-6 Shutouts -- 1 One-goal games -- 10 Overtime wins -- 1 Shootout wins -- 2 Individual leaders Points -- Shane Harper 21 Goals -- Shane Harper 11 Assists -- Zack Dailey 14 Penalty minutes -- Radko Gudas 25 Wins -- Thomas Heemskerk, Kent Simpson 7 Goals against average -- Thomas Heemskerk 1.82 Save percentage -- Thomas Heemskerk .936 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Live blog: Everett at Spokane Tips try to make it 15 straight tonight. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Linden Vey named Player of the Month, Shane Harper snubbed Medicine Hat's Linden Vey was named WHL Player of the Month for January, the league announced today. Vey had a great month, and I like him a lot as a player. But was he really more deserving than Everett's Shane Harper? Granted, Vey outpointed Harper 25-21, which is significant. However: - Vey played one more game than Harper. - Harper scored more goals, leading 11-8, and goals are harder to come by than assists. - Harper finished the month an astounding plus-12, while despite scoring 25 points Vey was just a plus-4. - Ten of Vey's points came in two games against bottom feeders Edmonton and Prince George, when the Tigers ran up the score. - Harper's team finished the month a perfect 14-0! Medicine Hat was 9-5-0-1. Here, have your say: ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Reader poll: streaking (again) Everett's winning streak has stretched to a franchise record 14. Just how much longer can it go? This week will test the Tips' resolve to keep the streak intact. After playing six of their past seven games at home, the Tips take to the road with games at Spokane on Wednesday and at Vancouver on Friday. That game at Vancouver will be played at the Langley Events Center instead of Pacific Coliseum because of the Olympics. Everett's week concludes with a home game against Spokane on Saturday. Both Spokane and Vancouver are quality teams. Spokane, though sitting in fourth in the U.S. Division, is 10 games above .500 and has a better goal differential than the Tips. Vancouver is well on its way to its fifth straight B.C. Division title. Under normal conditions I would think both teams would be favored at home against Everett. However, the Tips also have excellent records against both teams. Everett is 3-1 this season against Vancouver and 4-0 against Spokane. So, given the circumstances: ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 2, Kamloops 1, new franchise record TALKING POINTS Fourteen straight victories. A new franchise record. Who would have believed it? When the streak began Everett was coming off a 3-8-1-1 December that saw the Tips sink to sixth place in the Western Conference. But the Tips finished off a perfect 14-0 January and erased a record set by the 2006-07 team that won 54 games and earned the Scotty Munro Trophy for the league's best record. I have to be honest, I didn't see this coming. Throughout the streak Everett's formula has been the same: hard work on the forecheck and cycle, offense from the Roaring 20s line, good goaltending and grind out a close victory. That was the story again tonight as Kamloops gave the Tips a stern test. But Everett has the magic going as the Tips won their 10th one-goal game during the streak. It would have been a greater margin if not for an excellent game by Blazers goaltender Jon Groenheyde, but Tips goaltender Thomas Heemskerk also had to make some big saves late to preserve the victory. Speaking of the roaring 20s, they were at it again as Shane Harper and Chris Langkow scored the goals. For Harper it was the fourth straight time he scored the game's opening goal, as well as his sixth straight game finding the net. That matches the franchise record set by Byron Froese earlier during the streak. Imagine that, two six-game goal streaks during one winning streak -- and they don't intersect. Also, Zack Dailey had two more assists tonight, giving him 19 points during the month of January. How many points did Dailey have in November and December? That's right: zero. Two full months pointless, then a stretch like this. Unbelievable. On to Heemskerk. He hadn't played in nearly two full weeks as Kent Simpson started the previous four games. But Heemskerk showed no rust as he was sharp tonight. Both he and Simpson have seven wins during the streak. By the way, in case anyone was wondering the longest winning streak in WHL history is 24 by Victoria in 1981, so the Tips still have a long way to go to reach that one. TURNING POINT The game's biggest moment came with three minutes remaining in regulation. Kamloops had generated pressure without creating many scoring chances throughout the third period, but Heemskerk came up big during an extended scramble in front of the Everett goal to preserve the Tips' 2-1 lead. HIT OF THE DAY Early in the first period Kamloops' Linden Saip lined up Campbell Elynuik as Elynuik carried the puck into the offensive zone. However, Elynuik had none of it, bowling over Saip and sending Saip straight onto his back. THREE STARS First star: Harper. Scored his 11th goal during the streak, but didn't actually have his best game as he was fighting the puck. Second star: Dailey. Two assists and did the dirty work for the 20s line. Third star: Groenheyde. 33 saves, including multiple breakways. The Herald's honorable mention: Brendan Ranford, Kamloops. One goal and was Kamloops' most dangerous player. BOX SCORE Everett 2, Kamloops 1 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Kamloops: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Elynuik-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Kulchar-Sohor Starting goalie: Heemskerk Scratches: Theriau, Minville, Iwanski. Notes: Two changes for Everett tonight. Defenseman Alex Theriau receives the night off because of a minor middle-body injury, so Paul Sohor returns to the lineup, and Thomas Heemskerk returns between the pipes after Kent Simpson started the past four games. KAMLOOPS Forward lines: Ranford-Stretch-Trask Bene-Schaber-DePape Willick-Bortnak-Smith Hanes-Hall-Dieno Defensive pairings: Saip-Madaisky Caron-Maschmeyer Funk-Hansen Starting goalie: Groenheyde Scratches: Underwood, Lipton. Notes: A full lineup for Kamloops tonight as the Blazers have no injuries. This will be the first time the Tips face center Chase Schaber and defenseman Austin Madaisky since they arrived via trade with Calgary. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 4, Portland 3, history achieved TALKING POINTS The Tips carved their niche in franchise history tonight, winning a thriller for their 13th consecutive victory. The streak matches the 13-game win streak of the 54-win 2006-07 team. For two periods Everett played like a team hungry for history, controlling play and outshooting Portland 31-14. However, the Winterhawks twice scored quickly following Everett goals during the second period, and the Tips took a slender 3-2 lead into the third. Portland turned the nob to 11 in the third, tying it early in the period and grabbing initiative. But Portland's Brad Ross took a high-sticking penalty to give the Tips an opening, and during the power play Zack Dailey tipped Radko Gudas' shot past goaltender Mac Carruth for what proved to be the game winner. Kent Simpson was strong in net for the Tips during the final 10 minutes as Everett withstood Portland's push. It was yet another one-goal victory during the streak. Nine of Everett's 13 wins have come by a single goal. Win tomorrow night at home against Kamloops as the Tips make the record their own, match Kootenay's mark for the longest winning streak in the league this season, and finish with a perfect January. Big crowd, exciting end-to-end action, and a victory to match a franchise record. I'm not sure this night could have gone any better for the Tips from a marketing standpoint. TURNING POINT Ross' penalty was a killer for the Winterhawks. It blunted Portland's momentum and gave the Tips the chance to reclaim the lead, which they did. HIT OF THE DAY Portland defenseman Luca Sbisa was on the receiving end of several good hits tonight in his Winterhawks debut, but he also delivered the biggest hit when, early in the second period, he leveled and unaware Radko Gudas shortly after Gudas left the penalty box. THREE STARS First star: Dailey. Two goals and an assist, including the game winner. Second star: Shane Harper, Everett. A goal and an assist, he's got goals in five straight. Third star: Ty Rattie, Portland. Two goals, with a nice finish on the second one. The Herald's honorable mention: Chris Francis, Portland. One goal and was flying around the ice in the third period. Special fourth-line acknowledgment: Markus McCrea, Everett. In his limited time he had one nice backcheck to break up one scoring chance, then a big shot block to stop another. BOX SCORE Everett 4, Portland 3 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Portland: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Elynuik-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Kulchar Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Minville, Iwanski, Sohor. Notes: Same old, same old for Everett as the Tips have remained static throughout the past few weeks. Left Wing Dan Iwanski is skating again, but is not yet ready to return from his knee injury. Kent Simpson receives his fourth straight start in goal. That's the first time this season a goalie has started four straight for the Tips. PORTLAND Forward lines: Walker-Francis-Rattie Boychuk-Bennett-Gabriel Ross-Johansen-Niederreiter Peters-Schneider-Jordan Defensive pairings: Ponich-Doyle/Wotherspoon Sbisa-Aronson Morrow-Rutkowski Starting goalie: Carruth Scratches: Swenson, Kopitar, Curtis, Doyle/Wotherspoon. Notes: Portland's big trade deadline pickup, defenseman Luca Sbisa, makes his Winterhawks debut tonight. However, defenseman Eric Doyle is questionable because of an ankle injury. He'll be a game-time decision, and if he can't go Tyler Wotherspoon will step in. Goaltender Ian Curtis is out with an upper-body injury, so Mac Carruth gets the start in net and Keith Hamilton, just called up from Merritt of the BCHL, serves as the backup. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Tips try to match record tomorrow We've reached the moment. The Everett Silvertips have won 12 straight. The franchise record for consecutive wins is 13 set during the first half of the 2006-07 season. Win Friday night's home game against the Portland Winterhawks and this season's team is ensconced in the record books. Check tomorrow's paper for a story that includes a few comparisons between the 06-07 and 09-10 teams. However, to accomplish the task the Tips must overcome an imposing Portland team. The Winterhawks have a winning record against Everett this season: 4-3. Portland is also a deep team with lots of big, fast, strong, skilled forwards. And to top it off the Winterhawks are expecting to have former NHL defenseman Luca Sbisa in the lineup for the first time since acquiring his rights at the trade deadline. Sbisa's arrival is well-timed for Portland, which may be without defenseman Eric Doyle because of an ankle sprain. Everett's only injury is to left wing Dan Iwanski, who will not play as he continues to recover from a knee injury. Will the Tips make it lucky 13? ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Dan Iwanski and Chance McKinney in the same post? A couple quick things today: - Dan Iwanski has begun skating on his own, but has not rejoined practices yet. The left winger, who is recovering from an MCL sprain in his knee, is not expected to be available for this weekend's games. - Everett doesn't play until Friday and has just two games this week, giving the team a chance to catch its breath. The Tips better enjoy their four-day respite because it's their last breather of the season. Everett has mid-week games from here on out and plays at least three times in each of the final six weeks. - If you're a country music fan, get to Friday's game early as Chance McKinney will be performing on the concourse prior to the game. McKinney is the Kamiak High School teacher who won CMT's Music City Madness singer/songwriter contest. The concert begins at 5:45 p.m. The University of Washington softball team, the 2009 national champion, will also be honored during the game. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Reader poll: cause and effect The Everett Silvertips have won 12 straight games. They are one game away from matching the franchise record of 13 straight. There's a lot of reasons why the Tips are winning. But is there one reason that stands above the rest? Here's a few I thought of off the top of my head, and feel free to add write-in nominations in the comments section: ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 3, Spokane 2 TALKING POINTS Everett's winning streak reached a dozen tonight as the Tips held off the Chiefs. Tonight's game featured the two goaltenders atop the WHL rankings in both goals against average and save percentage. In that match-up Everett's Kent Simpson was the clear victor over Spokane's James Reid as Simpson was excellent and Reid was yanked late in the first period. Spokane carried much of the play, but Everett won the game because the Tips won the goaltending battle. Everett is now one game away from matching the franchise record for consecutive victories, set by the 2006-07 team that won 54 games. However, tying the record won't come easy as it will have to come against a good Portland team which will be adding star defenseman Luca Sbisa to the lineup. That game is Friday at Comcast Arena. TURNING POINT Everett's third goal was the killer. The Tips were on the power play when Kellan Tochkin's shot from the left circle got through Reid. The goal gave Everett a 3-0 lead late in the first period, sent Reid to the bench, and proved enough cushion for Simpson. HIT OF THE DAY Early in the second period Everett's Markus McCrea put a nice hit on Kyle Beach, sending Beach partially into the Everett bench. THREE STARS First star: Simpson. 34 saves and always was in the right position. Second star: Tochkin. Two goals and a few nifty passes that created scoring chances. Third star: Shane Harper, Everett. A nice goal that showed off his speed, he's scored in eight of Everett's 12 games during the streak. The Herald's honorable mention: Dominik Uher, Spokane. One assist, very active and much improved since last playing in Everett. Frankly, it's a travesty that Spokane didn't get a star as the Chiefs were good tonight aside from Reid. Mitch Wahl played an excellent game too, though he didn't get on the scoresheet. BOX SCORE Everett 3, Spokane 2 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Spokane: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Elynuik-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Kulchar Sohor? Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Minville, Iwanski. Notes: It looks as though the Tips may get defenseman Rasmus Rissanen back tonight. Rissanen was a late scratch from Friday's game at Portland because of an undisclosed injury. Paul Sohor is listed as a question mark, but no one else is, so I'm guessing he's taking the warm-up as insurance against Rissanen being unable to go again. Otherwise the lineup remains static, with Kent Simpson getting his third straight start in goal. SPOKANE Forward lines: Koper-Wahl-Beach Uher-Johnson-Brassart Miller-Kuhn-Letts Cratsenberg-Bardaro-Holmberg Defensive pairings: Bartman-Ulmer Cowen-Spurgeon Baldwin-Kichton Starting goalie: Reid Scratches: Mort, Gal, Marantz. Notes: Spokane plays without right wing Blake Gal, who's serving a one-game suspension for a charging major against Tri-City on Saturday. Defenseman Tanner Mort (head) and right wing Matt Marantz (leg) are out injured. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Shane Harper: Everett goal-scoring legend Congratulations to Shane Harper for breaking Everett's career goal-scoring record last night. His goal 16 seconds into Everett's 4-3 victory at Portland was the 88th of his career, surpassing the previous record of 87 set by Zach Hamill from 2003-08. Here's some facts about Harper's record: - Harper's 88th goal came in his 312th game for the Tips. Hamill scored his 87 in 250 games. - Harper has done the bulk of his work the past two seasons, when he's scored 62 of his 88 goals. He scored just nine goals total during his first two seasons in Everett, making him the classic late bloomer. - The record-breaking goal was Harper's 30th of the season, making him the first Everett player to record back-to-back 30-goal seasons. For that matter, he's the only Tips player with multiple 30-goal seasons, period. - Despite being Everett's all-time goal scorer, Harper has never potted a hat trick. He has scored two goals in a game 13 times in his career, including seven times this season, so he's had his chances. - Everett's record for goals in a season is 38, set by John Lammers in 2005-06. Harper has 23 games to work with if he wants to hold both of Everett's goal-scoring records. - Harper is from Valencia, Calif., and reader Rich Ross wanted to know whether any other Americans hold franchise goal-scoring records in the CHL. I can't speak for the OHL and the QMJHL, but in the WHL John Varga, who is from Chicago, holds the Kelowna/Tacoma Rockets record for career goals with 154. - As for where Harper ranks among Americans in the WHL/CHL (another Rich Ross question), I haven't a clue. What I do know is he's still behind Varga and Mike Modano (118), but he's now tops among his California Wave midget linemates Colin Long (76) and C.J. Stretch (74 and counting). Can anyone else help out with this one? ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Live blog: Everett at Portland Tonight's game is televised live on FSN, the third straight Friday an Everett away game is on FSN. I'm sure head coach Craig Hartsburg is getting his fill of mid-period interviews. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Winning streak factoids Some tidbits about Everett's 10-game winning streak: - The streak is the second-longest in franchise history. The only longer one was a 13-game winning streak in 2006 between Oct. 14 and Nov. 17. The next longest is an eight-game winning streak in 2005 from Oct. 22 to Nov. 4. Of these long streaks the current one is the first that's occurred in the second half of the season. Current Tips Shane Harper and Zack Dailey were a part of both those other winning streaks. - Everett has outscored its opponents 41-22 during the streak (including two goals awarded for shootout wins). That equals an average score of 4.1-2.2 (easy math on that one). - Leaders during the streak: Points -- Harper 15; goals -- Byron Froese 8; Assists -- Dailey, Tyler Maxwell 9; plus/minus -- Rasmus Rissanen, Chris de la Lande +12. Thomas Heemskerk has six of the 10 wins in goal, Kent Simpson has the other four. - Despite being the second-longest win streak in franchise history, it's not even the longest active streak in the WHL. Kootenay is in the midst of a 13-game winning streak. Everett's is the second-longest in the league this season. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 3, Vancouver 2 TALKING POINTS Everett's winning streak reached double digits after a hard-working effort tonight against a determined opponent in an intense game. The 10-game winning streak means the Tips have caught Vancouver for second place in the Western Conference. Passing the Giants would mean little to Everett in the first round of the playoffs as the division champions receive the top two seeds regardless of positioning within the conference. However, beyond the first round seeding is determined by points, so finishing ahead of the B.C. Division champion is still potentially significant. It was also a historic moment for Tips winger Shane Harper. Harper scored his 87th career goal for Everett. That gives him a share of the franchise record for career goals alongside Zach Hamill. It was an anti-climatic way to tie the record, however, as the goal was originally awarded to Chris Langkow before being changed during the intermission. Kent Simpson had a solid game in net for the Tips. Nice to see Simpson have a strong showing the night of the CHL Top Prospects Game, to which he wasn't invited. But Simpson had plenty of help tonight. Particularly in the third period when the Giants, pressing for the tying goal, weren't really allowed any good scoring chances. Note that despite Everett's streak, it isn't even the longest active streak in the league. Kootenay beat Swift Current 8-6 tonight for its 13th consecutive victory. TURNING POINT Vancouver had just opened the scoring midway through the second period when the Tips answered 1:02 later. Scott MacDonald sent a blind backhanded pass from behind the net out front, and Clayton Cumiskey snuck a shot through Vancouver goalie Mark Segal's five-hole to tie it up. The Tips went on to score three goals in seven minutes to take control of the game. HIT OF THE DAY Midway through the first period Everett's Radko Gudas lined up James Henry, but Henry ended up getting the better of it as Gudas was flattened into the boards. THREE STARS First star: Simpson. 28 saves and was well composed. Second star: Kevin Connauton, Vancouver. A goal and an assist, more involved offensively than any other defenseman I've seen this season. Third star: MacDonald. One assist, and that assist was a beauty. The Herald's honorable mention: Cumiskey. One goal as Everett's third line had another solid game. BOX SCORE Everett 3, Vancouver 2 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Vancouver: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Elynuik-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Kulchar Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Minville, Iwanski, Sohor. Notes: The Tips seem to have found a comfort zone as they keep the same lineup and combos for the third straight game. The one change is Kent Simpson gets the start in goal. Left wing Dan Iwanski will be out another week with his knee injury. VANCOUVER Forward lines: Bouma-Breitkreuz-Gallagher Burns-Cunningham-Vincour Lyon-Henry-Henke Barnett-Redmond-B. Scholten Defensive pairings: Connauton-Musil Manning-D. Scholten Vanniewenhuizen-Toigo Starting goalie: Segal Scratches: Fenske, Lamoureux, Kytnar, Hodder. Notes: All four of Vancouver's scratches are injury related. Defenseman Zach Hodder is out for the season with a shoulder injury, and fellow d-man Luke Fenske is out with a wrist injury, necessitating the call up of 7-year-old Wes Vannieuwenhuizen from Surrey of the BCHL. Center Milan Kytnar is out with a shoulder injury and right wing Greg Lamoureux is out with a pelvis injury. This is Everett's first look at Vancouver with forwards Tomas Vincour and Brett Breitkreuz, picked up from Edmonton at the trade deadline. The Giants are also without head coach Don Hay, who's serving a one-game suspension. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Giants won't be making Hay A quick word on Everett's opposition for Wednesday. The Vancouver Giants will be without the services of head coach Don Hay. Hay received a one-game suspension from the league because the Giants were involved in a line brawl Saturday against Prince George. That was Vancouver's third multiple-fight situation of the season, which must be the point where an automatic suspension kicks in for the coach. So the man who may be the greatest coach in WHL history will not be behind the bench when the Giants visit Wednesday night. Assistants Chad Scharff and Yogi Svejkovsky will take over for Hay, and we'll have to see whether that affects the Giants in any way. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Reader poll: streaking The Everett Silvertips are on a roll, having won nine straight. That's the longest winning streak of the season, more than double the second longest. However, it's still four short of the franchise record of 13 set early in the 2006-07 season. Just how long can this streak continue? Here's the upcoming schedule: 1/20 vs. Vancouver 1/22 at Portland 1/24 vs. Spokane 1/29 vs. Portland 1/30 vs. Kamloops ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 4, Seattle 3 (OT) TALKING POINTS The Tips didn't play a particularly good game overall tonight, but an excellent game by the fourth line and a special goal in overtime by Shane Harper extended Everett's winning streak to nine. Harper's goal was a thing of beauty, look for it in the WHL's plays of the week on Friday. Everett's fourth line -- consisting of Markus McCrea, Josh Winquist and D.Jay McGrath tonight -- probably had as good a game as I've seen this season. The Tips fourth line typically sees limited minutes. However, it received more shifts than usual, probably because Everett was playing its third game in three nights, and it cashed in twice in four minutes during the second period to give Everett a 3-1 lead. But Seattle gained the upper hand after that, aided by a bad goal surrendered by Tips goaltender Thomas Heemskerk (who did not have his best game), and the T-birds were well worth their point. Had Seattle won I'd say the T-birds deserved the two points, particularly since they were playing without leading scorer Prab Rai because of an unspecified injury. Everett's Byron Froese was held goalless, ending his franchise-record streak of six straight games with a goal. It wasn't because he didn't have any chances. I have no idea how he didn't score on a wraparound attempt in the third period. That must have been some save by Seattle goaltender Calvin Pickard (I didn't have a great view). In the alumni department, it was good to see former Everett goaltender Leland Irving drop the first puck tonight. I saw him briefly during the first intermission. He was able to come down from Abbotsford, because the AHL is in its all-star break. Finally, I've received several inquiries regarding what was said about Harper during the television broadcast Friday night. Shaw color commentator Bill Wilms said Harper was close to signing with an NHL team. I asked Harper about that tonight and I guess that was a bit of an exaggeration. Harper is in talks with some NHL teams, but nothing is imminent. He said if anything happens it wouldn't be until after the end of the season. TURNING POINT Everett was up 3-1 and looked like it was going to cruise to victory until 12:26 of the second period. Seattle's Brenden Silvester sent what appeared to be a harmless shot toward goal as he crossed the blue line. Heemskerk went to stick it away and missed, the puck ending up in the back of the net. Seattle was the better team after that and went on to earn a point. HIT OF THE DAY Everett's Radko Gudas drew the oohs and aahs, but for my money the best hit came from Seattle's Lindsay Nielsen. Midway through the second period Nielsen caught Zack Dailey flush in the chest while Dailey was off balance, driving Dailey into the ice. THREE STARS First star: Harper. Two goals, he's now just one short of Zach Hamill's franchise record for career goals. Second star: Charles Wells, Seattle. One assist, but I personally didn't notice him a whole lot. Third star: McCrea. A goal and an assist, he had his best game in some time. The Herald's honorable mention: Colin Jacobs, Seattle. One goal and the 16-year-old was strong on the puck. BOX SCORE Everett 4, Seattle 3 (OT) ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Seattle: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Elynuik-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Kulchar Starting goalie: Heemskerk Scratches: Minville, Iwanski, Sohor. Notes: Same 20 for the third straight night for Everett. The only change is that Thomas Heemskerk goes back in goal for his fourth start in Everett's past five games. Left wing Dan Iwanski remains sidelined with a knee injury. SEATTLE Forward lines: Silvester-Rouse-Gallimore Sentyurin-Nielsen-Wells Lund-Lockhart-Ciolfi Elliot-Jacobs-Alos Defensive pairings: Dillon-Ramsay Schappert-Muth Fleming-Aasman Starting goalie: Pickard Scratches: Bonsor, Rai, Tutt. Notes: Seattle plays without its top offensive player, left wing Prab Rai. No one in the press area knows (or is saying) why Rai isn't playing tonight. He played a full game Saturday night against Kamloops. Mikhail Sentyurin slots into Rai's lineup spot. Newcomers Burke Gallimore and Robbie Ciolfi face Everett for the first time as T-birds. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 5, Chilliwack 1 TALKING POINTS Excellent performance by the Tips tonight. After an early spell of penalties Everett dominated play, particularly during the second period when the Tips held the Bruins without a shot on goal for more than 10 minutes. Yet the Tips weren't able to snap a 1-1 tie until 13:24 into the second when Byron Froese scored on a two-on-one. That opened the floodgates and the final score was reflective of the way the game went. The victory was Everett's eighth straight, and Froese is on quite the streak himself. That was Froese's sixth straight game with a goal, which sets a new franchise record. The previous record of five was shared by Zach Hamill, Kyle Beach and Shane Harper (whose streak came earlier this season). The win, combined with losses by Spokane and Portland, catapulted the Tips from fourth to second in the U.S. Division. The thing that was most noticeable to me is that Everett outskated the Bruins tonight. Everett doesn't have the most-gifted skating team in the league, but the Tips were flying around the ice tonight. The Bruins have a mean team and they like to play physical, but they had a tough time catching up with the Tips. Chilliwack coach Marc Habscheid was ejected in the third period. Habscheid was upset the linesmen were slow to break up a fight between Everett's Clayton Cumiskey and Chilliwack's Dylen McKinlay after Cumiskey gained the upper hand. TURNING POINT Everett was banging on the door, but no one was letting the Tips in before Froese's second-period goal. It was a nice one as he beat Chilliwack goalie Lucas Gore high to the short side with a shot on a two-on-one, banging it in off the underside of the crossbar to open the floodgates. HIT OF THE DAY You know, it was a very physical game tonight with a lot of solid hits. And yet, I couldn't find one hit that really stood out to me. A lot of good, solid hits, but none that caused me to jot down the details. THREE STARS First star: Froese. Two goals and an assist, his scoring streak just keeps going. Second star: Chris Langkow, Everett. Two goals and was too much for the Chilliwack defensemen to handle. Third star: Shane Harper, Everett. Two assists and was always dangerous. The Herald's honorable mention: Zack Dailey, Everett. Two assists, the Roaring 20s Line (credit to Comcast announcer Adam Gordon for that suggestion) continues to roar. BOX SCORE Everett 5, Chilliwack 1 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Chilliwack: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Elynuik-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Kulchar Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Minville, Iwanski, Sohor. Notes: Everett sticks with the same 20 players who dressed in Chilliwack last night. The one change is Kent Simpson gets the start in goal after Thomas Heemskerk started the previous three. Left wing Dan Iwanski (knee) is the only injury scratch. CHILLIWACK Forward lines: Wiklund-Horak-Howse McKinlay-Sundher-Crooks Neigum-Collins-Grant Wentworth-Traber Defensive pairings: Delahey-Craige Manning-Einhorn Stahl-Habscheid Topping Starting goalie: Gore Scratches: Belohrad. Notes: Chilliwack also fields the same lineup as the previous night. The Bruins dress seven defensemen and 11 forwards. Center Travis Belohrad, the team's only current spare player, is out with a knee injury. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Live blog: Everett at Chilliwack Tonight's game is televised live on FSN, so we can all watch this one together as the Tips go for their seventh straight victory. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Central Scouting, etc. (updated) The NHL Central Scouting Bureau released its midterm rankings for the 2010 NHL draft earlier this week. Three Everett players are ranked: defenseman Alex Theriau is 74th among North American skaters, defenseman Radko Gudas is 131st among North American skaters, and goaltender Kent Simpson is seventh among North American goalies. Those rankings would put Theirau and Simpson in the mid rounds and Gudas on the bubble. It's important to remember, however, that Central Scouting's list is far from foolproof. Theriau's stock seems to have risen a bit. In the preliminary rankings he was 23rd among WHL skaters. Now he's the 17th-highest WHL skater. Simpson has stayed about the same (second WHL goalie) and Gudas has slipped a tad (to 27th WHL skater from 21st). In other news, 16-year-old center Tyler Giebel has returned to the Regina Pat Canadians of the SMAAAHL. Giebel was called up last week to help cover for injuries up front and got into one game. The Tips would have liked to have kept Giebel with the team the remainder of the season. However, 16-year-olds are required to play in 40 games a season, and the Tips weren't certain they could get Giebel into the required number of pro-rated games the rest of the way. Also, former Tips defenseman Drew McDermott has left the Lethbridge Hurricanes after two games. Everett dealt the rights to the 18-year-old McDermott to Lethbridge last week in exchange for a conditional seventh-round bantam draft pick. I think it's safe to say that pick will be returning to Lethbridge. --- UPDATE, 5:30 p.m. Three Everett prospects have been named all-stars in their respective midget leagues. Forwards Jari Erricson (second round 2009) and Brett Mulcahy (listed 2008) were honored in the BCMML, while Giebel was honored in the SMAAAHL. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Reader poll: trade deadline over The trade deadline passed with Everett standing pat. We now know exactly what Everett has for the rest of the season, and we've had ample opportunity to see what this team can do with its current personnel. The Tips are 25-16-2-1, which puts them in fourth place in the Western Conference with 28 games remaining. Just .018 percentage points separate the four teams between second and fifth. Vancouver and Portland both made trades at the deadline to upgrade their teams, but we'll have to see how much of an upgrade Vancouver made and Portland's upgrade doesn't take effect until March. So given the rosters that are now locked in the rest of the way, what does Everett's future hold? ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment |
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