EVERETT — It’s hard to call them kids any more, since Kellan Tochkin, Byron Froese and Tyler Maxwell are no longer 17-year-old rookies. But Wednesday night the Everett Silvertips trio was back to the magical form that earned them their “Kid Line” moniker last season.
Tochkin, Froese and Maxwell combined for nine points in the first period, leading the Tips to a 5-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders at Comcast Arena.
Maxwell had two goals and an assist, Froese had a goal and two assists, and Tochkin had three helpers as the trio rediscovered the chemistry that was their trademark last season during a breathtaking first-period display.
“The first period of today’s game it definitely felt like the old ‘Kid Line’ was back,” said Tochkin, “which was nice because whenever we’re going the team usually wins. It’s always nice to help out.”
Chris Langkow and Shane Harper each added a goal and an assist for Everett (4-2-0-0), and Kent Simpson made 31 saves in net for the Tips, who went ahead early and coasted home.
But it was Tochkin, Froese and Maxwell who created the highlight moments during a first period that gave Everett a firm grip on the game. Three times they whipped the puck around the offensive zone, causing the defenders’ heads to spin before putting the puck in the net.
“I think it was (teammate Alex) Theriau who said, ‘Every goal you guys are just tic-tac-toe,’ and that’s because we know where each other are,” Maxwell said. “It felt good to be clicking.”
Jordan Hickmott scored the lone goal for Prince Albert (5-7-0-0), while Garrett Zemlak stopped 26 shots in net for the Raiders.
Last season, Tochkin, Froese and Maxwell came out of nowhere to form the Tips’ most-effective line, with Tochkin leading the league in scoring among rookies, Froese finishing fourth and Maxwell eighth.
Now they’re no longer unknown youthful commodities. Froese was drafted by the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, Tochkin signed a free-agent contract with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and Maxwell attended rookie camp with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
But the same chemistry wasn’t quite there during the season’s first three weeks, and it reached the point where Everett coach Craig Hartsburg separated them at the start of Everett’s previous game Sunday against Portland.
However, they were reunited after one period Sunday and showed flashes of their former selves. Then during the first period they were back in full flow. Froese opened the scoring 4 minutes, 18 seconds into the game by banging in a rebound after the puck was worked to Tochkin in the high slot. Maxwell made it 2-0 on the power play at 8:09 as the trio played a one-touch triangle around the Prince Albert net. Then after a brief interruption when Hickmott scored at 10:01, they were at it again at 16:51, precision passing in transition setting up Maxwell’s second goal.
“They scored some nice goals, but the key was how they played,” Hartsburg said. “They played a simple game, they didn’t turn it over, they moved their feet and they attacked. When they get themselves in trouble is when they start to try and be too cute and try to make plays standing still. But in the first period when they were moving their feet and driving to the net, they looked really good.”
The Tips slowed down after the first period, but Langkow and Simpson made sure Everett’s lead was never in jeopardy with their second-period efforts. First, Langkow put in a rebound of a Ryan Murray shot at 6:23 to make it 4-1. Then at 12:41 Langkow won a faceoff in the Prince Albert zone going forward and pulled a pass back for Harper to put past a stranded Zemlak. Finally, Simpson made a flurry of saves during the final minute when the Raiders kept the Tips hemmed in their own zone, making sure Prince Albert didn’t take any thoughts of a comeback into the third period.
“I liked our start, we came out with some energy and played real smart in the first period,” Hartsburg said. “I thought after that we let off a little bit. After it was 4-1 or 5-1 I think we started to get a little lazy. I’ve seen that happen lots in hockey, especially early in the year because your habits are still building.”
Silvertips 5, Raiders 1
Prince Albert100 — 1
Everett320 — 5
First Period — 1, Everett, Froese 3 (Tochkin, Maxwell), 4:18. 2, Everett, Maxwell 5 (Tochkin, Froese), 8:09 (pp). 3, Prince Albert, Hickmott 5 (Cedergren), 10:01. 4, Everett, Maxwell 6 (Tochkin, Froese), 16:51. Penalties — Ruopp, Prince Albert (slashing), 7:09; Herle, Prince Albert (tripping), 19:04; Abney, Everett (holding), 19:04.
Second Period — 5, Everett, Langkow 3 (Murray, Harper), 6:23. 6, Everett, Harper 4 (Langkow), 12:41. Penalties — Cameron, Prince Albert (diving), 0:45; Gudas, Everett (cross checking), 0:45; Dailey, Everett (interference), 8:33; Langkow, Everett (tripping), 13:16; Button, Prince Albert (cross checking), 16:10; Harrison, Prince Albert (roughing), 16:10; Tochkin, Everett (roughing), 16:10; McGrath, Everett (roughing), 16:10.
Third Period — No goals. Penalties — Dailey, Everett (tripping), 2:59; Hunt, Everett (holding), 12:37; Herrod, Prince Albert (tripping), 14:07; Herle, Prince Albert (hooking), 18:39; Herrod, Prince Albert (roughing), 19:09.
Shots on goal — Prince Albert 7-13-12 — 32. Everett 16-7-8 — 31. Power-play opportunities — Prince Albert 0 of 4. Everett 1 of 4.
Goalies — Prince Albert, Zemlak 5-4-0-0 (31 shots, 26 saves). Everett, Simpson 2-1-0-0 (32 shots, 31 saves).
A — 3,525.
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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