EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips’ overager battle looks like it’s going to go down to the wire.
All three of Everett’s overage forwards found the net Friday night as the Tips defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-1 in a preseason contest at Xfinity Arena.
Everett has four 20-year-olds on the roster, but can keep just three. Defenseman Ben Betker, who’s currently at rookie training camp with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, is a lock for one spot. The other two will come from the trio of Brayden Low, Kohl Bauml and Zane Jones. Low scored in the first period, Bauml scored in the second, and Jones scored in the third.
Carson Stadnyk also scored and Tyler Sandhu added two assists for Everett, which won its third straight to improve its preseason record to 4-2.
Goaltender Carter Hart, in his first appearance of the preseason after missing the first four games because of a groin strain, turned in a solid performance in making 29 saves. Hart is engaged in Everett’s other main roster battle as he, Nik Amundrud and Mario Petit slug it out for the Tips’ back-up goaltending spot.
Ryan Gropp scored the lone goal for Seattle (3-3). Taran Kozun started in goal for the T-birds and stopped nine of 12 shots. Danny Mumaugh played the second half of the game and saved seven of eight.
Everett opened the scoring 3 minutes, 47 seconds into the game. Sandhu powered his way out of the corner and put a backhander on goal. Low planted himself in front, and he banged in the rebound to give the Tips an early 1-0 lead. Everett should have made it 2-0 late in the period when Kozun turned the puck over to Stadnyk right in front of goal, but Stadnyk somehow missed an open net and it remained a one-goal game.
The Tips then scored twice in the second to make it 3-0. Bauml redirected a nice feed from Low past Kozun in transition at 6:08. Then on the power play Stadnyk, who struggled to the bench injured just three minutes earlier, scored with a wrister from an impossible angle at 14:46.
Seattle got on the board with a power-play goal of its own at 18:00. Mathew Barzal stickhandled his way through the Everett defense, then fed Gropp who made it 3-1.
But Jones made Everett’s lead secure by scoring 4:26 into the third, one-timing a shot past Mumaugh after a lunging poke pass by Remi Laurencelle.
Slap shots
Everett was missing three veteran players who are away at NHL rookie training camps. In addition to Betker, No. 1 goaltender Austin Lotz is with the Vancouver Canucks and winger Dawson Leedahl is with the Boston Bruins. … Seattle was without two players who are at NHL rookie camps, defensemen Shea Theodore (Anaheim) and Evan Wardley (Montreal). The T-birds were also without winger Justin Hickman, who was originally scheduled to attend camp with the Winnipeg Jets, but had to back out after getting injured in practice.
Silvertips 4, Thunderbirds 1
Seattle 0 1 0 — 1
Everett 1 2 1 — 4
First Period—1, Everett, Low 2 (Sandhu), 3:47. Penalties—Smith, Seattle (holding), 5:59; Runey, Everett (hooking), 9:30; Bauml, Everett (interference), 14:04.
Second Period—2, Everett, Bauml 2 (Low, Sandhu), 6:08. 3, Everett, Stadnyk 1 (Nikolishin), 14:46 (pp). 4, Seattle, Gropp 2 (Barzal, Henry), 18:00 (pp). Penalties—McKechnie, Seattle (holding), 7:16; Bear, Seattle (kneeing), 12:50; Fonteyne, Everett (holding), 16:25.
Third Period—5, Everett, Jones 1 (Laurencelle), 4:26. Penalties—Volcan, Seattle (tripping), 1:56; Eansor, Seattle (tripping), 7:03; Hauf, Seattle (fighting-game misconduct), 16:39; Osterman, Seattle (roughing), 16:39; Jones, Everett (fighting-game misconduct), 16:39; Nikolishin, Everett (roughing), 16:39.
Shots on goal—Seattle 11-9-10—30. Everett 7-6-7—20. Power-play opportunities—Seattle 1 of 3. Everett 1 of 5.
Goalies—Seattle, Kozun 1-2-0-0 (12 shots, 9 saves), Mumaugh (8 shots, 7 saves). Everett, Hart 1-0-0-0 (30 shots, 29 saves).
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at NickHPatterson.
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