EVERETT — It had been nearly three weeks since the Everett Silvertips had a chance to play in front of their own fans. Therefore, they were determined to give the home crowd something to cheer about.
Everett got off to a blistering start and rode that the rest of the way as they defeated the Spokane Chiefs 5-3 in Western Hockey League action Friday night at Xfinity Arena.
Everett, coming off a 5-1 road trip through the WHL’s East Division, hadn’t played a home game since Dec. 27. Friday night the Tips had a homecoming moment that resembled families reuniting at Naval Station Everett following a long deployment, with an emotional outburst that saw the Tips score three times in the first eight minutes upon being reacquainted with the home fans. That provided the boost Everett needed to win its third straight.
“That was huge,” said Tips defenseman Ben Betker, who had a career night offensively with four assists. “History shows that coming off a long road trip, especially a very successful one like that, that it can be hard to start well at home the next game. Our start was critical, and it showed with the first three goals.”
Dawson Leedahl set the tone by scoring during the game’s first shift, and Patrick Bajkov and Matt Fonteyne scored the goals that completed the fast start.
Jake Mykitiuk and Remi Laurencelle scored the other goals for Everett (27-12-3-1), which increased its lead atop the U.S. Division to seven points. Carter Hart earned the win in goal with 27 saves.
Curtis Miske, Markson Bechtold and Adam Helewka scored for Spokane (23-16-3-1), which dropped a place in the standings and is now one point behind Portland for second in the U.S. Division. Tyson Verhelst stopped 10 of the 14 shots he faced in the first period before being replaced by Garret Hughson, who stopped 15 of 16 the rest of the way.
For Betker, the four-point night continued an upward offensive trend. Known primarily as a stay-at-home defenseman, he now has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in his past nine games. Prior to that he had seven points in 28 contests.
Friday night he earned his points in multiple ways, both by creating rebounds with a booming shot from the point, and even jumping into the rush and creating with the pass.
“I was just throwing pucks at the net and guys were fortunate enough to put them in,” Betker said. “I couldn’t have done it without those guys scoring. It feels good, though, I’m not going to lie.”
An all-action first period featured just about everything: six goals (including two short-handers), two fights and plenty of hitting. When the dust settled Everett emerged with a 4-2 lead.
Everett threatened to blow the lid off the game right from the start, taking a 3-0 lead less than eight minutes in. The Tips scored on the game’s first shift as Leedahl put home a rebound just 28 seconds after the puck drop. It was 2-0 at 4:17 as Kevin Davis’s drive from the point deflected off Bajkov and looped over Verhelst. Then Fonteyne put in his own rebound on a short-handed three-on-two at 7:40, a play that was set up by Betker.
But Spokane regrouped and scored just before its power play expired, Miske scoring from the slot after a faceoff win at 8:36. Then the Chiefs got a short-handed goal of their own at 10:39, Bechtold beating Hart after a steal on the forecheck by Helewka.
However, Everett wasn’t done, and Mykitiuk scored on a rebound at 14:37 to get the Tips back up by two. It was yet another rebound created by a Betker point shot.
“It was pretty wild,” Betker said of the first period. “We might have given them a bit there to allow them to get back into it. But we stayed pretty composed all game and just sort of played the game the right way for 60 minutes tonight.”
Play remained end-to-end in the second period, but only one goal was scored as Spokane pulled back within one again at 13:15. Tyson Helgesen shot from the left point and Helewka tipped it under Hart to make it 4-3.
The Silvertips got a crucial power-play goal early in the third to give themselves some cushion. Cole MacDonald, on the rush, slipped around the defense on the left, then centered a pass that Laurencelle one-timed into the top corner to make it 5-3 at 2:32. Spokane pressed the rest of the way, particularly after Hughson was pulled for an extra attacker with nearly four minutes remaining. But Hart kept everything out to secure the victory for the Tips.
Slap shots
Fonteyne’s short-handed goal was Everett’s first of the season. The Tips were the last team in the WHL to score short-handed. … Helewka’s goal gave him nine straight games with a goal. That tied the Spokane franchise record, accomplished three times previously. … The Tips continue to be without winger Logan Aasman, who is a long-term casualty because of an upper-body injury. … Spokane played without overage center Calder Brooks because of an upper-body injury. Brooks is second on the team in scoring with 39 points in 37 games.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson
Silvertips 5, Chiefs 3
Spokane210—3
Everett401—5
First Period—1, Everett, Leedahl 6 (Juulsen, Betker), 0:28. 2, Everett, Bajkov 15 (Davis, Nikolishin), 4:17. 3, Everett, Fonteyne 4 (Betker), 7:40 (sh). 4, Spokane. Miske 2, (Olynek), 8:36 (pp). 5, Spokane, Bechtold 5 (Helewka), 10:39 (sh). 6, Everett, Mykitiuk 1 (Laurencelle, Betker), 14:37. Penalties—Helewka, Spokane (checking to the head), 1:22; Pfeifer, Everett (hooking), 6:39; Whittingham, Spokane (boarding), 9:21; Laday, Spokane (fighting), 11:44; Low, Everett (fighting), 11:44; Fiala, Spokane (fighting), 14:12; Leedahl, Everett (fighting), 14:12.
Second Period—7, Spokane, Helewka 26 (Helgesen, Playfair), 13:15. Penalties—Stadnyk, Everett (hooking), 3:58; Charif, Spokane (slashing), 4:11.
Third Period—8, Everett, Laurencelle 9 (MacDonald, Betker), 2:32 (pp). Penalties—Ka. Yamamoto, Spokane (holding), 2:15.
Shots on goal—Spokane 10-8-12—30. Everett 14-10-6—30. Power-play opportunities—Spokane 1 of 2. Everett 1 of 4.
Goalies—Spokane, Verhelst 8-5-0-0 (14 shots, 10 saves), Hughson (16 shots, 15 saves). Everett, Hart 9-3-2-0 (30 shots, 27 saves).
A—5,414.
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