EVERETT — After the game, overagers Ben Betker and Brayden Low playfully feigned a fight, big smiles upon their faces.
That’s because they knew that after eight long years the banner drought was finally over.
The Everett Silvertips claimed the 2014-15 U.S. Division championship Saturday as they earned a point in their 4-3 shootout loss to Victoria at Xfinity Arena in their final home game of the regular season.
Everett went into Saturday leading Portland by two points with two games remaining. The Tips wouldn’t necessarily clinch the title even with a victory. However the point, combined with Portland’s 6-3 loss at Seattle, rendered Sunday’s game at Spokane academic.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Everett captain Kohl Bauml, who was named the team’s Most Valuable Player following the game. “Starting from where we were four years ago, kind of bottom dwellers in the division, then the progress we’ve made over four years, putting the pieces together, it’s just been an awesome ride. Being able to come back here and see a U.S. Division banner up there, something we accomplished as a group, that’s just an incredible and special feeling.”
Everett, as the division’s top seed, will face Spokane, the top wild card team, in the first round of the playoffs. The best-of-seven series begins Friday in Everett.
The division title was Everett’s first since 2007, when the team won 54 games and the Scotty Munro Trophy for having the league’s best record.
“I’ve never experienced anything quite like this,” Low said. “I’m speechless, it’s unbelievable. There were so many highs and lows through the year. We worked for it, we earned it and we got it.”
Graham Millar, Remi Laurencelle and Matt Fonteyne scored the goals for Everett (43-20-3-5). Carter Hart made 24 saves in net for the Tips.
Taylor Crunk had two goals and an assist to lead Victoria (39-29-3-1), which avenged its 4-3 loss to Everett in its home finale the previous night. Joe Hicketts also scored for the Royals, while Justin Paulic made 23 saves in net.
Victoria won the shootout 2-1 in four rounds, but just moments later Portland’s game went final to give the Tips the title. And as far as the Tips are concerned, it didn’t matter that the title came following a loss.
“Honestly, it didn’t,” Bauml said. “We played hard tonight. We knew what we needed to accomplish. It didn’t really matter how we accomplished it. At the beginning of the year that was our goal, to get that U.S. Division. It could be pretty, it could be ugly, it didn’t matter as long as we were sitting on top at the end. If we did it, even after a loss, it still feels awesome.”
The first period saw both teams manufacture a breakaway for their top offensive performer, but fail to get the puck on net. First, Victoria’s Brandon Magee had a clear short-handed breakaway, but decked his way wide. Then Everett’s Nikita Scherbak had a run at goal, only to lose control under late backchecking pressure.
Then the Royals took the lead on a goal Hart probably wants back. Crunk’s shot from the left off the rush seemed routine enough, but the shot handcuffed Hart, fluttered over the goaltender and into the net to give Victoria a 1-0 lead at 16 minutes, 51 seconds.
The game then heated up during a thrilling second period.
First, Everett scored twice to take the lead. Jake Mikitiuk made a good play behind the Victoria net, spinning out front and feeding a backhander for Millar to put away and tie the score at 2:38. Then at 10:12 it was more good work behind the Royals net, this time by Laurencelle as he hustled to maintain possession of the puck, then jammed a wraparound that just got through Paulic to make it 2-1.
Everett took penalties right on top of one another late in the period, and Victoria converted on the second of those to tie it back up at 2-2. Hicketts found a loose puck, cut across the high slot and buried a shot into the top corner at 17:46.
But just when it looked like the game would be tied going into the third, Everett struck again to regain the lead. With time winding down the Tips made one last rush into the Victoria zone. Nikita Scherbak feathered a centering pass into the path of Fonteyne, who snapped a one-timer into the top corner with 9.1 seconds remaining to make it 3-2.
The tension remained in the third period, and Victoria tied it again at 9:57. Crunk won a puck battle, then beat Hart up high from a tight angle to make it 3-3.
Victoria then got a power play late in regulation with a chance to win it, but Bauml created a short-handed breakaway and was taken down for a penalty shot. However, Paulic made a good save on the penalty shot and the game headed to overtime.
Victoria then got another power play in OT and had all kinds of chances, but kept putting shots wide as the Tips survived to head to the shootout.
Royals 4, Silvertips 3 (SO)
Victoria 1 1 1 0 —4
Everett 0 3 0 0 —3
Royals win shootout 2-1
First Period—1, Victoria, Crunk 9 (Brown, Fisher), 16:51. Penalties—Juulsen, Everett (charging), 2:24; Gagnon, Victoria (fighting), 5:39; Low, Everett (fighting), 5:39; Carroll, Victoria (cross checking), 8:49.
Second Period—2, Everett, Millar 13 (Mykitiuk), 2:38. 3, Everett, Laurencelle 23 (Low, Betker), 10:12. 4, Victoria, Hicketts 12 (Crunk), 17:46 (pp). 5, Everett, Fonteyne 7 (Scherbak, Davis), 19:50. Penalties—Laurencelle, Everett (hooking), 7:16; Reddekopp, Victoria (checking from behind), 10:27; Gagnon, Victoria (slashing), 13:13; Millar, Everett (hooking), 14:51; Leedahl, Everett (high sticking), 16:48.
Third Period—6, Victoria, Crunk 10 (Soy), 9:57. Penalties—Forsberg, Victoria (roughing), 4:54; Leedahl, Everett (hooking), 16:34.
Overtime—no goals. Penalties—Everett bench (too many men, served by Stadnyk), 2:22.
Shootout—Victoria 2 (Walker G, Crunk NG, Chase NG, Magee G); Everett 1 (Nikolishin G, Stadnyk NG, Scherbak NG, Laurencelle NG).
Shots on goal—Victoria 6-8-11-2—27. Everett 5-13-7-1—26. Power-play opportunities—Victoria 1 of 6. Everett 0 of 4.
Goalies—Victoria, Paulic 13-15-1-1 (26 shots, 23 saves). Everett, Hart 18-5-2-2 (27 shots, 24 saves).
A—7,918.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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