Published: Thursday, March 19, 2009
Upset not out of the question for Silvertips
Tri-City is formidable, but the Tips like how they match up with the Americans.
EVERETT -- Once the Everett Silvertips began spinning that playoff wheel of fortune several weeks ago, knowing they were assured of playing one of the Western Conference's lethal top four in the first round of the playoffs, they knew there was no winning slot on which to land.
However, if pressed to choose, the Tips would have willed the wheel to land on the Tri-City Americans.
Seventh seed Everett might be a heavy underdog in its series against No. 2 seed Tri-City, but the Tips believe they were delivered into the matchup that gives them the best chance at an upset.
"They're obviously a good team," Everett captain Zack Dailey said. "But all year they've been close games. We've done pretty well against them, so it should be really fun."
The numbers don't look good for Everett. The Tips won just two of the 10 regular season meetings between the teams, with one of those victories coming in a shootout. Everett has virtually no playoff experience on its roster, with 16 players who have never appeared in a playoff game and a grand total of 33 combined career playoff points. In contrast, Tri-City's Mitch Fadden has 29 career playoff points.
And Tri-City is a team loaded with weapons. The Americans have a seemingly endless supply of scorers, and in Chet Pickard they have the goalie who Wednesday was named the top netminder in the Western Conference.
So, why do the Tips like the matchup?
The biggest reason is because, despite the losing record, Everett played close games against Tri-City. Of the eight defeats, four were decided by a single goal, and in each of the other four the margin was augmented by empty-net tallies.
"It's just confidence," Everett coach John Becanic said. "When you're in games you have that confidence level, and I think our guys have some confidence against Tri-City because of the closeness of the games."
The other reason is based on Tri-City's playing style. The Americans are a smaller team that causes opponents fits with their speed and skill, and they augment those traits with hyper-aggressive offensive systems. That style has troubled Everett just as much as anyone else. However, it isn't as physically punishing as that of Everett's other potential first-round opponents: Vancouver, Kelowna and Spokane. The Tips, because they're younger and smaller, are susceptable to physical teams. Tri-City doesn't present quite the same challenge in that regard.
Because of that, Everett has been able to generate more offense against Tri-City than the other top teams.
"They'll trade scoring chances with you, so you're going to get offense," Becanic said. "Vancouver doesn't trade scoring chances with you, Spokane doesn't trade scoring chances with you. They're very quick and speedy up front, but you can potentially get offense off of them and I think that allowed us to stay in games with them."
For their part, the Americans acknowledge how closely the series was contested and aren't taking the Tips lightly.
"I think past history shows that we always have a hard time in Everett," said Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur, who listed Everett's special teams as a reason for concern. "Then in Tri-City they've been tight games with us winning in overtime and shootouts. So, I don't expect it to be an easy series. We know there's a lot of pride over there and that they're going to show up."
SLAP SHOTS
Nachbaur said he did not know whether Pickard, who hasn't played since Feb. 28 because of a concussion but has dressed as the backup, would be ready for Friday's Game 1. If Pickard can't go then Brett Martyniuk, who received the majority of the playing time in Pickard's absence, would be the likely starter. ... Everett left wing Tyler Maxwell was honored Wednesday when he was named the Western Conference's nominee for the league's Scholastic Player of the Year award. The 17-year-old Maxwell is a senior at Everett High School. ... The league also held its bantam draft lottery Wednesday, with Portland winning the first pick overall. Everett will pick eighth overall and seventh in each successive round. The Tips also own the 11th overall pick, acquired from Lethbridge in the Kyle Beach trade.
Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
However, if pressed to choose, the Tips would have willed the wheel to land on the Tri-City Americans.
Seventh seed Everett might be a heavy underdog in its series against No. 2 seed Tri-City, but the Tips believe they were delivered into the matchup that gives them the best chance at an upset.
"They're obviously a good team," Everett captain Zack Dailey said. "But all year they've been close games. We've done pretty well against them, so it should be really fun."
The numbers don't look good for Everett. The Tips won just two of the 10 regular season meetings between the teams, with one of those victories coming in a shootout. Everett has virtually no playoff experience on its roster, with 16 players who have never appeared in a playoff game and a grand total of 33 combined career playoff points. In contrast, Tri-City's Mitch Fadden has 29 career playoff points.
And Tri-City is a team loaded with weapons. The Americans have a seemingly endless supply of scorers, and in Chet Pickard they have the goalie who Wednesday was named the top netminder in the Western Conference.
So, why do the Tips like the matchup?
The biggest reason is because, despite the losing record, Everett played close games against Tri-City. Of the eight defeats, four were decided by a single goal, and in each of the other four the margin was augmented by empty-net tallies.
"It's just confidence," Everett coach John Becanic said. "When you're in games you have that confidence level, and I think our guys have some confidence against Tri-City because of the closeness of the games."
The other reason is based on Tri-City's playing style. The Americans are a smaller team that causes opponents fits with their speed and skill, and they augment those traits with hyper-aggressive offensive systems. That style has troubled Everett just as much as anyone else. However, it isn't as physically punishing as that of Everett's other potential first-round opponents: Vancouver, Kelowna and Spokane. The Tips, because they're younger and smaller, are susceptable to physical teams. Tri-City doesn't present quite the same challenge in that regard.
Because of that, Everett has been able to generate more offense against Tri-City than the other top teams.
"They'll trade scoring chances with you, so you're going to get offense," Becanic said. "Vancouver doesn't trade scoring chances with you, Spokane doesn't trade scoring chances with you. They're very quick and speedy up front, but you can potentially get offense off of them and I think that allowed us to stay in games with them."
For their part, the Americans acknowledge how closely the series was contested and aren't taking the Tips lightly.
"I think past history shows that we always have a hard time in Everett," said Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur, who listed Everett's special teams as a reason for concern. "Then in Tri-City they've been tight games with us winning in overtime and shootouts. So, I don't expect it to be an easy series. We know there's a lot of pride over there and that they're going to show up."
SLAP SHOTS
Nachbaur said he did not know whether Pickard, who hasn't played since Feb. 28 because of a concussion but has dressed as the backup, would be ready for Friday's Game 1. If Pickard can't go then Brett Martyniuk, who received the majority of the playing time in Pickard's absence, would be the likely starter. ... Everett left wing Tyler Maxwell was honored Wednesday when he was named the Western Conference's nominee for the league's Scholastic Player of the Year award. The 17-year-old Maxwell is a senior at Everett High School. ... The league also held its bantam draft lottery Wednesday, with Portland winning the first pick overall. Everett will pick eighth overall and seventh in each successive round. The Tips also own the 11th overall pick, acquired from Lethbridge in the Kyle Beach trade.
Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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