The Silvertips built a lead and managed to keep the game out of reach Saturday night as they remained perfect in the preseason with a 4-0 win over the Spokane Chiefs.
You can check out our game coverage here and the box score here.
The defense was much improved and a lot of the credit has to go to goaltender Mario Petit who made 31 saves in the shutout.
“He was unbelievable,” Tips defenseman Mackenzie Dwyer said. “He plays like that all the time. I’ve played against him in Manitoba as a kid. He always put together games like that against us. I’ve been on the receiving end of those shutouts and it’s not very nice.”
Dwyer, another rookie trying to make the team, helped his cause with a goal and an assist Saturday night.
“It’s great getting the opportunities they’re giving me,” he said of the Silvertips organization. “I haven’t really gotten that anywhere else I’ve been, so it’s very confidence-boosting to have that kind of support from the coaches.”
Head coach Kevin Constantine lauded the competitiveness at camp that manifested itself Saturday in the dominating victory.
“We have over 30 players still here, and we can’t keep much more than 23,” Constantine said. “We got to make those decisions and having the competition to make those decisions is important. It keeps the pace of the camp high; it keeps the competitiveness high.”
Dwyer also noted the physicality of Saturday’s match. There were 17 penalties assessed – 10 for Spokane and seven for Everett. Nearly half the penalties (eight) came in the scoreless first period.
“Guys were saying in the room in intermission that that was the most they have ever been hit in a hockey game,” Dwyer said.
Riley Sutter, Carson Stadnyk, Nik Malenica, Connor Dewar, Gunnar Wegleitner, Noah Juulsen, Cam Dykstra, Tristen Pfeifer, Alexander Scherbakov, Tyler Fraser, Lucas Skrumeda, Jordan Wharrie and Austin Lotz were scratched from Saturday’s game. The lines and defense pairings for Saturday’s game were as follows:
SILVERTIPS LINES Bajkov – Fonteyne – Mallonee
Millar – Skoleski – Kindopp
Gerth – Chorney – Khomenko
Leedahl – Laurencelle – King
SILVERTIPS PAIRINGS MacDonald – Leslie
Dwyer – Onyebuchi
Christiansen – Davis
Everett wraps up play at the Holiday Inn Classic Sunday at 7 against Portland.
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