The Game (Story)
EVERETT – For 72 regular-season games Everett Silvertips backup goalie Mario Petit waited, making the occasional spot start or relieving star netminder Carter Hart in a blowout.
Then, in Game No. 73 Petit had a chance to show his teammates and the Xfinity Arena faithful what he could do.
With Hart sidelined with an undisclosed lower-body injury, Petit saved all 29 shots he faced as the Tips won the first game of their best-of-seven Western Hockey League first-round series against the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before 3,094 fans Friday.
“The theme on our team right now is that you have your partner’s back or your teammates’ back, and I just wanted to make sure I had my team because goaltending is a big key in the playoffs, and any game really,” Petit said. “Our team played extremely well, outshot Portland, but we can’t really dwell on the win too much because Portland is going to come out tomorrow even harder.”
Petit played in 15 games during the regular season while starting just nine. Four of those nine starts came in the final four games of the year after Hart went down to injury. Petit, a WHL rookie from Ile-Des-Chenes, Manitoba, added Friday’s win to the 3-2 overtime victory he garnered at Portland on March 8.
“He was a very patient man because he didn’t get to play much during the year – Hart was our No. 1 guy and was playing well, so we leaned on Hart,” head coach Kevin Constantine said.
“Mario really never was a distraction to the team during that time and that’s pretty frustrating for a guy not to get to play,” Constantine continued. “He just hung in there, man. He’s got such a great personality and he hung in there so it’s kind of cool to see him get an opportunity. He’s excited about it and it couldn’t happen to a nicer kid.”
Everett captain Dawson Leedahl was the offensive star as he tallied two goals while playing just his third game since breaking his hand Feb. 6 at Seattle. His second goal, a redirect of tic-tac-toe feeds from Carson Stadnyk and Kevin Davis, pushed Everett’s lead to 3-0 at 4:49 in the final period.
“This time I was in better shape for sure,” Leedahl said, referring to his brief two-game return from injury two weeks ago. “The coaches really grinded on me and I was skating without a stick for awhile, so I was in better shape now than I was then.”
The Tips were 5-5 against the Winterhawks during the regular season. The final four games of the 2015-16 campaign were decided by 3-2 scores with the Tips winning three.
Friday’s playoff opener was the most decisive of Everett’s six victories over Portland so far.
“They made it easy for me,” Petit said. “They stopped almost all the pucks and cleared anything else sitting in the crease and made it easy for me.”
While the humble Petit made it sound blasé, his teammates raved about the effort he turned in.
“All you gotta do is believe in the guy and he’ll turn some heads,” defenseman Brycen Martin said. “He’s a good goalie and I know he didn’t get an opportunity this year, but he was waiting for a chance like this… We’re not too thrilled that Carter’s hurt because we relied on him so much during the year, but Mario stepped up in a big way and he proved to us he means business back there. We trust him completely.”
The teams were scoreless through the opening period. Everett forward Brandon Ralph broke the deadlock when he skated into the high slot from the right circle and fired a wrist shot over Adin Hill’s left shoulder at 14:52 in the second. The go-ahead goal came promptly after the Winterhawks killed a 5-on-3 Everett power play.
That turned out to be the only goal Petit and the Tips would need, but Everett wasn’t done scoring.
Leedahl made it 2-0 at 18:13 in the second when he walked in from the right circle and flicked it over Hill’s left shoulder. Leedahl then sealed it less than five minutes into the third period.
Tempers flared early as the first period hit a sluggish patch at 5:15 when a quick succession of penalties for both teams disrupted the flow.
“It’s the playoffs and there’s going to be more hitting, (it’s) faster and everything,” said Leedahl, who was assessed both charging and interference penalties in the opening frame. “We obviously want to physical.”
Stadnyk assisted both of Leedahl’s goals. Everett outshot Portland 51-29 for the game including a 22-5 advantage in the second period when it took the lead for good.
Hill finished with 48 saves in the losing effort.
The series continues tonight beginning at 7 at Xfinity Arena.
Notes: The Tips recalled 16-year-old defenseman Montana Onyebuchi from the Eastman Selects of the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League.
The Game
The Tips clearly got a boost from the return of Leedahl, and it wasn’t just the two goals he scored.
“He adds an element of grit and grind to our team and he’s a captain,” Constantine said. “You’re going to be better with him in your lineup and our record is better when he plays. Our record wasn’t very good during the month he was out, and I don’t think that’s an accident.”
Martin also had a solid night while adding an assist. He played in the final three games of the regular season after missing about two weeks after suffering an upper-body injury at Seattle on Feb. 27.
The Tips now have a 1-0 series lead, but it’s worth noting they won the first game in last year’s second-round playoff series against the Winterhawks before losing four straight.
The Turning Point
Ralph’s goal was the only one Everett needed and it came with about five minutes remaining in the second.
Three Stars
1. Everett G Mario Petit: Petit recorded 29 saves and his first WHL shutout (not counting preseason games) as the Tips took a 1-0 series lead.
2. Everett F Dawson Leedahl: The captain scored twice in his return from injury.
3. Everett F Carson Stadnyk: A linemate of Leedahl, the fellow Saskatoon native assisted both of Leedahl’s goals.
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