Final day of the Best of the Tips poll. Don't forget the other categories that are past the jump and not on the home page:







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The Silvertips did indeed introduce Garry Davidson as their new general manager at today's press conference. Davidson was the Portland Winterhawks' director of player personnel the past four years. Before that he spent seven seasons as the owner, GM and sometimes head coach of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL.

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The Silvertips have called a press conference for 3 p.m. today at the Everett Events Center to introduce their new general manager. Gregg Drinnan of the Kamloops Daily News reports that Garry Davidson is expected to be the man at the podium. Davidson has been the Portland Winterhawks' director of player personnel since 2008, helping resurrect the franchise from the doldrums that kept Portland in the Western Conference basement for three straight...

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On to day three of the Best of the Tips poll. Remember, there are more polls in the individual post than are shown on the blog homepage:







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Day two of the Best of the Tips poll:









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The Tri-City Herald's annual Best of the West poll was released this weekend. Everett had three category wins, with defenseman Ryan Murray winning for Best Skater and Best Pro Prospect, while defenseman Josh Caron won for Toughest Player.

And, of course, the arrival of the Best of the West means it's Best of the Tips week on the blog. So it's time to get your voting shoes on.

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TALKING POINTS

That was some old school Everett vs. Vancouver, reminiscent of the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons when every game between these two teams resulted in fireworks. Friday night's game in Vancouver was ill-tempered, and after Vancouver's Brendan Gallagher blew kisses to the Tips bench following Friday's game, tonight's rematch was even more heated. The only thing missing was Jeff Harvey calling Pacific Coliseum a library (thanks to Zoran Rajcic for reminding me of that one).

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EVERETT

Forward lines:

Erricson-Petryk-Birkholz

Harrison-Bauml-Fowlie

Chynoweth-Winquist-Lofthouse

Boyd-Samoridny

Defensive pairings:

Caron-Murray

Walters-Bittner

Morden-Adam

Grayson

Starting goalie:

Simpson

Scratches: Yadslowski, Barnett, Hayer, McPhee.

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Tonight's game is being televised live on ROOT.



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Here's where the teams stand in the race for the Western Conference's final two playoff spots, following Everett's two-game sweep of Victoria:

7. Seattle, 53 GP, 40 Pts

8. Victoria, 56 GP, 40 Pts

9. Everett, 54 GP, 37 Pts

10. Prince George, 52 GP, 34 Pts

Everett is the hottest of the four teams, having won six of its past 10. Victoria has won three of its past 10, while Seattle and Prince George have both won two of their past 10.

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The Tips go for the two-game sweep tonight.



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The first of Everett's two crucial games at Victoria is tonight.



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The league came down hard on Everett's Brennan Yadlowski, handing the overage defenseman a 10-game suspension for his actions following Friday's 7-3 loss at Portland.

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Cleaning up a few of things from the past few days:

- First, Everett coach Mark Ferner on Everett's firing of general manager Doug Soetaert last Thursday: "Doug is a great man and a great hockey person. We all feel terrible what happened, no question. He brought us all here. As a coach and as players we have to take some of that responsibility in that we haven't done a good enough job as a group. Unfortunately, someone lost their job because of it."

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Two big ones coming up when Everett travels to Victoria for games Tuesday and Wednesday.





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Here's how the race stands for the Western Conference's final two playoffs spots following the weekend's games:

7. Victoria, 54 GP, 40 Pts

8. Seattle, 51 GP, 38 Pts

9. Prince George, 52 GP, 34 Pts

10. Everett, 52 GP, 33 Pts

Victoria, Seattle and Prince George all lost Saturday night when Everett was idle. All three pretty much used up their games in hand over the Tips this week without making up much ground. Everett's two-game trip to Victoria on Tuesday and Wednesday looms large.

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Obviously much to discuss during tonight's game, which is being televised live on ROOT.



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The Silvertips announced a stunner this evening with the news that general manager Doug Soetaert has been fired.

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OK, here's a snapshot of the race for the Western Conference's final two playoff spots as we head into the weekend:

7. Victoria, 52 GP, 39 Pts

8. Seattle, 49 GP, 38 Pts

9. Prince George, 50 GP, 34 Pts

10. Everett, 51 GP, 33 Pts

That's right, over the course of the week the Tips slipped back into 10th. Everett didn't have any weeknight games. Meanwhile, Victoria and Prince George played a doubleheader and Seattle had a game against Spokane.

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The CHL Top Prospects game takes place tonight in Kelowna. Everett defenseman Ryan Murray is captaining Team Cherry. The game's progress can be followed on the official website.

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After a weekend that went very well for Everett, the Tips are officially back in the playoff race. With 21 games remaining, Everett has moved off the bottom of the Western Conference standings and is just four points out of playoff position -- with plenty of head-to-head opportunities against the two teams immediately ahead. Will the Tips pull it off?

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The Tips go for the two-game sweep tonight.



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First of back-to-back games at Prince George is tonight.



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Yes, the playoffs don't officially begin until the fourth week of March. However, for the Silvertips they may as well start with their two-game trip to Prince George this weekend. Here's how the bottom four teams in the Western Conference currently stand:

7. Seattle, 45 GP, 36 Pts

8. Victoria, 48 GP, 35 Pts

9. Prince George, 46 GP, 32 Pts

10. Everett, 49 GP, 29 Pts

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TALKING POINTS

There was no dramatic third-period comeback for the Tips against Spokane this time. The last time the Chiefs visited Everett the Tips had a stunning comeback, scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation before winning it in overtime. This time Everett trailed 3-1 with less than five minutes remaining before Josh Birkholz pulled Everett within one. The Tips pressed for the equalizer, but came up short.

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EVERETT

Forward lines:

Fowlie-Petryk-Birkholz

Harrison-Bauml-McPhee

Erricson-Winquist-Lofthouse

Boyd-Chynoweth

Defensive pairings:

Caron-Murray

Walters-Bittner

Yadlowski-Adam

Grayson

Starting goalie:

Lotz

Scratches: Morden, Barnett, Hayer, Samoridny.

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UPDATE

Sorry, but circumstances are such that tonight's live blog has been canceled. The Tips are back in action at home Wednesday against Spokane. The next live blog will be Friday when Everett travels to Prince George for the first of two games against the Cougars.

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For the first time in a while Everett has several players producing offensive simultaneously. Josh Birkholz already has a solid lead in points, but it could be a horse race on who accumulates the most points over the season's final eight weeks. So:





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TALKING POINTS

There's a part of me that just wants to cancel the rest of the schedule and have Everett and Seattle play one another the rest of the way. It's just such great entertainment. And the sellout crowd of 8,456 tonight at Comcast Arena not only provided a tremendous background, the fans were treated to a thriller.

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EVERETT

Forward lines:

Fowlie-Petryk-Birkholz

Harrison-Bauml-McPhee

Erricson-Winquist-Lofthouse

Samoridny-Chynoweth-Grayson

Defensive pairings:

Murray-Yadlowski

Walters-Bittner

Morden-Adam

Starting goalie:

Simpson

Scratches: Barnett, Boyd, Hayer, Caron.

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