EVERETT — Ask virtually any of the Canadians on the Everett Silvertips roster and chances are they recall fond memories of playing outdoor hockey with friends on the frozen ponds of Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba.
The Everett players were reminded of their pond hockey days during the Tips’ first overtime game of the season — a 5-4 victory against Spokane — and Everett’s first game under the new 3-on-3 overtime format.
“You try to have the puck as much as you can so you don’t have to chase (the opponents),” said Everett captain Dawson Leedahl. “You want to be aggressive. You can’t give them too much time or else they’re going to be able to make plays out there. There is lots of room so you want to take away time and space.”
The WHL adopted the new 3-on-3 overtime rule that was put in place by the National Hockey League this season. Prior to this year the WHL used a 4-on-4 format in overtime.
The idea was to cut down on the number of games ending in a shootout. Last season there were 64 WHL games that ended in overtime and 69 that went all the way to a shootout.
The American Hockey League, the NHL’s primary minor developmental circuit, last season introduced a seven-minute overtime period that begins at 4-on-4 for three minutes which switches to 3-on-3 for the final four minutes if necessary. Overtime games that progressed all the way to shootouts dropped from 65 percent during the 2013-14 season to 25 percent last season.
Thus far the Everett players and coaches seem happy with the new rule.
“I thought it was extremely entertaining,” Silvertips head coach Kevin Constantine said. “The fans should be thrilled with the chance to watch a little bit of it.”
The NHL took proactive steps to acclimate its players to the new system. The league played a 3-on-3 overtime session during preseason games regardless of whether or not the game was tied at the end of regulation.
That wasn’t the case during the WHL preseason, which left the Everett coaching staff scrambling to come up with a plan.
“The only thing you can do is call a few colleagues in the coaching business and brainstorm and ask questions,” Constantine said. “A couple of times we’ve practiced that and we’ve had a couple discussions of it. There is the theory you’ll get from colleagues and the experience you’ll get from doing it, but it may take two or three years to come up with a strategy.”
Teams have to play with a mix of conservatism and aggression. The Silvertips want to create scoring chances, but one errant pass or poor line change could have catastrophic consequences leading to an odd man rush or a breakaway — like being back on the frozen pond.
“You have to go back and drag the puck a little bit so your linemates can change and get fresh bodies out there,” Leedahl said. “(There is) not much hitting because if you miss a hit you’re going to be out of position. There’s a lot of room on the ice.”
And of course there is plenty of pressure on the goaltender in that situation. Everett netminder Carter Hart did not face a shot in the overtime victory against Spokane as the Silvertips created both scoring opportunities before Remi Laurencelle’s game-winner.
“You have to stay the same the whole game,” Hart said. “You can’t really think about any different situations. You just have to worry about stopping the puck. It’s definitely entertaining for the fans.”
So far in the WHL this season there have been 11 games settled in overtime and six games that have gone to a shootout. Last season Everett had a 5-2 record in seven games decided in overtime and a 1-4 mark in five games that finished with a shootout.
The Silvertips are off to a favorable start with a 1-0 mark in overtime games. Whether that is based on Everett’s systems or simple luck remains to be seen.
“We have no evidence,” Constantine said. “We don’t know if our theories are good or bad, but we’ve got a couple ideas that we’re trying to do.”
Follow Silvertips writer Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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