After record games, Silvertips fall to Giants

EVERETT — Friday wasn’t going to be like Wednesday.

There was no way the Everett Silvertips would be able to replicate their 11-goal onslaught against the Vancouver Giants two days earlier.

Indeed, they couldn’t as Vancouver topped the Tips 2-1 before 5,525 fans at Angel of the Winds Arena.

“It’s a tale of two games, isn’t it?” head coach Dennis Williams said. “You go from 11 (goals) to one. We knew they played a good road game… I didn’t think we played desperate enough hockey for 60 minutes. In that third period I think we started to play again (but) once we went up 1-0 – I wouldn’t say we sat back – but we didn’t keep consistency in our game. Hopefully that’s a good learning (experience).”

Vancouver goaltender David Tendeck looked like the reigning WHL Goaltender of the Week that he is, rather than a goalie who surrendered six goals in two periods Wednesday.

Tendeck finished with 34 saves as Everett outshot the Giants 35-25.

“He played well,” Williams said of Tendeck. “He made a lot of big saves. He definitely was the difference in the game, I thought.”

It was just the second loss for Everett (22-14-1-1, 46 points) in its past 13 games. Vancouver, which saw its six-game winning streak snapped Wednesday, improved to 19-14-2-2 (42 points).

The Giants scored twice in the second period to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead through two frames.

Dawson Holt tied the game with a quick wrister from the left circle at 6:43 to make it 1-1.

Then Tyler Benson deflected in a shot that dribbled through Everett goaltender Dustin Wolf’s legs to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead at 13:19 in the second.

“We had a lot of good looks, a lot of good opportunities,” Williams said. “Good things happen when you put pucks on the net and that’s what happened on Vancouver’s second goal… You never know what happens when you throw pucks there and that proved to be the game-winner.”

That was it for the scoring. Everett finished 0-for-3 on the power play while killing off both of Vancouver’s man advantages.

Everett took the initial 1-0 lead just 51 seconds into the second stanza. Patrick Bajkov found Matt Fonteyne at the right post off the rush and Fonteyne stashed it past Tendeck for his 18th goal of the season.

The Tips had ample opportunities to add to their goal total, but rang three shots off the post or crossbar in the second period, allowing Vancouver to take the lead.

Neither team scored in the opening period as both squads came up empty on power-play attempts. Everett outshot Vancouver 11-6 in the opening frame.

Wolf, Everett’s rookie 16-year-old netminder, saved 23 of the 25 shots he saw in a losing effort.

Everett returns to action Saturday as the Tips play host to Kamloops. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

Notes

Former Silvertips forward Brian King was at the game Friday. King played two seasons for the Silvertips and is now a freshman at the University of Alabama where he’s studying engineering and German … Silvertips prospect Ryan Robinson, a 2001-born forward, was also in attendance. Robinson, a seventh-round pick by Everett in the 2016 bantam draft, is a Texas native.

Giants 2, Silvertips 1

Vancouver 0 2 0 — 2

Everett 0 1 0 — 1

1st Period—No Scoring. Penalties—Benson Van (cross checking), 4:46; Sutter Evt (tripping), 13:43; Hardy Van (major-fighting), 14:42; Walker Evt (major-fighting), 14:42.

2nd Period—1, Everett, Fonteyne 18 (Bajkov), 0:51. 2, Vancouver, Holt 4 (McNabb, Watts), 6:43. 3, Vancouver, Benson 14 (Malm), 13:19. Penalties—Benson Van (checking from behind), 1:31; Centazzo Evt (tripping), 3:37.

3rd Period—No Scoring. Penalties—Kannok Leipert Van (slashing), 9:30.

Shots on Goal—Vancouver 6-11-8-25. Everett 11-15-9-35.

Power Play Opportunities—Vancouver 0 / 2; Everett 0 / 3.

Goalies—Vancouver, Tendeck 13-7-0-1 (35 shots-34 saves). Everett, Wolf 6-3-0-0 (25 shots-23 saves).

A—5,525