EVERETT — Extended winning streaks tend to be rare in the WHL, though right now the upstart Victoria Royals, defending WHL champion Kelowna Rockets, the Spokane Chiefs and the Kamloops Blazers all have not lost in regulation in at least five games.
The Everett Silvertips (8-5-0-1, 17 points) have yet to win more than three consecutive games — a feat they’ve accomplished twice during the regular season — and fell victim to the red-hot Chiefs 3-0 Wednesday at Spokane Arena.
The final tally was not indicative of how close the game was for the first two-plus periods. The Chiefs scored on their first power-play chance at 16:10 in the second, and added an insurance goal with the man advantage at 12:10 in the third. The last goal came in the final minute after Everett pulled goaltender Carter Hart.
The Tips saw their previous three-game winning streak snapped in dominating fashion by Portland Oct. 16, a 5-1 setback at the Moda Center. Head coach Kevin Constantine noted Wednesday during his pregame radio show on KRKO 1380 that Everett’s other 5-1 loss, at Prince George in the second game of the regular season, came following a regular-season opening victory and two victories to close out the exhibition season — another three-game winning streak, if you will.
The more disconcerting thing for the Silvertips, however, is that after creating 11 shots in Wednesday’s first period, the Tips mustered just 13 the rest of the way while Spokane finished with the 32-24 advantage in the contest.
The output was the lowest for Everett since it had 22 in its 3-2 shootout home loss to Brandon Oct. 28 six games ago.
Constantine mentioned complacency as something the Tips were hoping to avoid heading into Wednesday’s game, and that becomes a challenge for teams when they have won several games in a row.
Complacency should not be a problem coming off Wednesday’s loss, and the Tips don’t have to wait long for another crack at the Chiefs.
The two teams square off at 7:35 p.m. Friday night at Xfinity Arena in their third meeting of the season. Both teams are 1-1-0-0 against one another.
The Chiefs’ Kailer Yamamoto (six goals, 19 assists) is tied for second in the Western Conference in scoring with 25 points. The Spokane native had a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s victory.
The homestand continues Saturday when the Tips play host to Swift Current before embarking on a four-game road trip to Alberta next week to take on the Central Division.
Follow Silvertips writer Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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