EVERETT — Devon Skoleski was a free agent invite to the Everett Silvertips’ camp this fall and only recently signed his first Western Hockey League player agreement.
On Saturday Skoleski showed why the Tips organization has faith in him when he scored his second goal of the year as Everett concluded its preseason schedule with a 3-1 victory over the Victoria Royals before several hundred fans at Xfinity Arena.
“Coming in just as an invite to being where I am right now — I’ve always dreamed of playing in the (WHL),” said the 18-year-old center. “I’m just trying to make that happen.”
The Silvertips (5-2) never trailed as they used a stout effort from goaltender Carter Hart to knock off the Royals (3-4) for the second time this preseason. Hart turned away 27 shots as Victoria’s lone goal came on a short-handed breakaway in the second period to briefly tie the game.
“I felt better out there than I have in my last few starts and everything was going good for me,” Hart said. “The team played really good tonight which really helped me feed off their confidence.”
The victory allowed Everett to end the preseason on a positive note after a disappointing 7-4 defeat to Portland at home on Friday.
“What we’re learning is we’re not very good when we have a whole week off which is exactly how the first month of our season is going to go before we get in the rhythm of playing three games a week,” head coach Kevin Constantine said. “We’re going to have to work on that.”
Constantine wasn’t entirely pleased with the way the defense played despite allowing only one goal. The Royals had two opportunities in the third period including a Hart glove save, and another breakaway swatted away by Hart.
“Carter had his best game of the preseason so that made us look good on the scoreboard,” Constantine said. “It was nice to see him play well.”
Saturday’s game was scoreless until Skoleski knocked home a loose puck for a 1-0 Everett lead at 4:42 with assists from Mackenzie Dwyer and Spencer Gerth.
The Royals drew even with a short-handed goal at 14:19 in the second when Matthew Phillips scored on a breakaway with assists from Tyler Soy and Ralph Jarratt.
The Silvertips reclaimed the lead at 19:16 in the second when Gerth deflected in Jake Christiansen’s shot from beyond the left circle.
Matt Fonteyne capped the scoring with his fourth goal of the preseason at 18:52 in the third with assists by Patrick Bajkov and Lucas Skrumeda. Fonteyne’s four preseason goals tied him with right wing Carson Stadnyk for the team lead.
A hard check along the boards sent Stadnyk to the ice with about 12 minutes to play. Stadnyk was down for a minute before he skated off with minimal assistance. He later returned to the bench though he didn’t play for the remainder of the game.
“We’re at the point in the season where we just don’t feel there is any benefit to slugging it out through a minor injury,” Constantine said. “We don’t want a minor injury in preseason to turn into a month-long injury, so we’re a little more cautious right now than we would be once the season starts.”
Gerth had a goal and assist, and Skrumeda had two assists to lead the Silvertips with two points apiece.
With Saturday’s victory the Tips matched last year’s preseason record at 5-2. They begin the regular season Friday at Prince George.
“You gotta get on to the next thing and the next stage is playing regular season games,” Constantine said. “I think we’re excited to get going on that.”
Follow Silvertips writer Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse
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