Published: Friday, March 26, 2010
Silvertips glad to be back home
Everett hopes to regain control of playoff series after losing twice on the road to Kelowna
EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips may have lost the initiative in their first-round playoff series against the Kelowna Rockets, but they’re hoping a little home cooking turns the tide once again.
The Rockets won both games in Kelowna to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. Game 5 is tonight in Everett, and the Tips hope the friendly confines of Comcast Arena prove kinder than those of Kelowna’s Prospera Place.
“That makes a huge difference,” Everett center Clayton Cumiskey said about returning home. “Playing in front of the home crowd is always an advantage, especially in Everett where the fans are so loud.”
Everett jumped out to a 2-0 series lead by winning the first two games at home. But the Tips dropped a pair of close ones on the road, falling 5-3 in Game 3 Tuesday in what was really a one-goal game, then losing 5-4 in a double-overtime thriller in Game 4 Wednesday.
So, Kelowna goes into Game 5 with momentum, but the Tips are determined to look ahead rather than behind.
“Everybody’s still excited,” Tips center Chris Langkow said. “We knew this was going to be hard, it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. Everyone’s excited to go and prove themselves.”
Everett had a golden opportunity to seize control of the series, grabbing an early two-goal lead in both Games 3 and 4. However, the Tips were unable to close the games out.
“I thought once we got the lead we were playing not to lose,” Cumiskey said. “We sat back and didn’t play our game, which is a pressure game. They were able to get a couple of goals and take it from there.”
Overall, the Tips didn’t play poorly in Kelowna, especially in Game 4 when Everett outshot the Rockets 43-35 and controlled stretches of the game. Yet the Tips still returned home with the series tied.
“I thought we played well at times, real well a times,” Langkow said. “At other times we made mental errors. There are some parts of the game where we’re not playing with as much desperation as we did in Everett. We have to get back to that.”
The glaring area where the Tips need to play with more desperation is on the penalty kill. Penalty killing was Everett’s main weakness during the regular season, finishing 19th in the 22-team WHL. But Everett showed a new-found desperation on the penalty kill during Games 1 and 2, allowing just one goal on seven attempts.
However, it was a different story on the road. The Rockets were deadly efficient on the power play in Games 3 and 4, finishing 4-for-5. Kelowna didn’t waste any time scoring those power-play goals, either. The lone Rockets power play the Tips killed was the only time Everett managed to get Kelowna’s No. 2. power-play unit on the ice — the No. 1 unit converted within 47 seconds on each of the other four.
Geordie Wudrick, who planted his big body in front of the goal, scored all four of those power-play goals. In both games, power-play goals helped the Rockets dig out of the early deficits.
“That’s one thing we have to work on,” Cumiskey said about the penalty kill. “We’re going to do a couple things to switch things up, and if we do that it should help us out.”
But Kelowna getting itself back in the series is no surprise. The Rockets are the defending league champions, and they finished with the sixth seed in the Western Conference mainly because of a rash of injuries during the regular season.
“They’re a good team,” Langkow said. “They were the best team in the league last year and some of those guys are still on the team. Good teams find ways to get back into games. We knew it was going to be a challenge and that’s what we’ve got. Now we have to respond.”
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
The Rockets won both games in Kelowna to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. Game 5 is tonight in Everett, and the Tips hope the friendly confines of Comcast Arena prove kinder than those of Kelowna’s Prospera Place.
“That makes a huge difference,” Everett center Clayton Cumiskey said about returning home. “Playing in front of the home crowd is always an advantage, especially in Everett where the fans are so loud.”
Everett jumped out to a 2-0 series lead by winning the first two games at home. But the Tips dropped a pair of close ones on the road, falling 5-3 in Game 3 Tuesday in what was really a one-goal game, then losing 5-4 in a double-overtime thriller in Game 4 Wednesday.
So, Kelowna goes into Game 5 with momentum, but the Tips are determined to look ahead rather than behind.
“Everybody’s still excited,” Tips center Chris Langkow said. “We knew this was going to be hard, it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. Everyone’s excited to go and prove themselves.”
Everett had a golden opportunity to seize control of the series, grabbing an early two-goal lead in both Games 3 and 4. However, the Tips were unable to close the games out.
“I thought once we got the lead we were playing not to lose,” Cumiskey said. “We sat back and didn’t play our game, which is a pressure game. They were able to get a couple of goals and take it from there.”
Overall, the Tips didn’t play poorly in Kelowna, especially in Game 4 when Everett outshot the Rockets 43-35 and controlled stretches of the game. Yet the Tips still returned home with the series tied.
“I thought we played well at times, real well a times,” Langkow said. “At other times we made mental errors. There are some parts of the game where we’re not playing with as much desperation as we did in Everett. We have to get back to that.”
The glaring area where the Tips need to play with more desperation is on the penalty kill. Penalty killing was Everett’s main weakness during the regular season, finishing 19th in the 22-team WHL. But Everett showed a new-found desperation on the penalty kill during Games 1 and 2, allowing just one goal on seven attempts.
However, it was a different story on the road. The Rockets were deadly efficient on the power play in Games 3 and 4, finishing 4-for-5. Kelowna didn’t waste any time scoring those power-play goals, either. The lone Rockets power play the Tips killed was the only time Everett managed to get Kelowna’s No. 2. power-play unit on the ice — the No. 1 unit converted within 47 seconds on each of the other four.
Geordie Wudrick, who planted his big body in front of the goal, scored all four of those power-play goals. In both games, power-play goals helped the Rockets dig out of the early deficits.
“That’s one thing we have to work on,” Cumiskey said about the penalty kill. “We’re going to do a couple things to switch things up, and if we do that it should help us out.”
But Kelowna getting itself back in the series is no surprise. The Rockets are the defending league champions, and they finished with the sixth seed in the Western Conference mainly because of a rash of injuries during the regular season.
“They’re a good team,” Langkow said. “They were the best team in the league last year and some of those guys are still on the team. Good teams find ways to get back into games. We knew it was going to be a challenge and that’s what we’ve got. Now we have to respond.”
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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