EVERETT — You couldn’t have faulted the Everett Silvertips if they had looked past Wednesday’s game against the Kootenay Ice to Friday’s showdown with Eastern Conference-leading Medicine Hat.
But the Tips didn’t give the 2,716 fans at Xfinity Arena a chance to form that impression as they handled the Ice 5-0 for their fourth consecutive victory.
Everett (19-3-4-0, 42) remains atop the Western Conference with the red-hot Tigers on deck at 7:35 p.m. Friday.
The Tips have struggled at times in mid-week contests, so getting on Kootenay (5-17-5-1, 16 points) early was an emphasis.
“It was definitely an extra point of focus, especially playing a Central (Division) team that we don’t play a lot,” Everett defenseman Kevin Davis said. “We talked about that and we talked in the room and tried to find a way for more energy.”
Bryce Kindopp scored twice, linemate Bradly Goethals added a goal, Eetu Tuulola had a goal and an assist and Davis added a pair of assists for the Tips.
“Different people contributed so it was a team effort, but that’s the nature of our team,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “It’s rarely just dependant on one guy or one line, so we’re a committee in terms of scoring and we got some goals from different people.”
Kindopp’s first goal opened the scoring at 8:24 in the first when his wrister from the right circle deflected off a Kootenay stick and past Ice goaltender Payton Lee. Kindopp added the game’s final goal at 18:21 in the third when he beat Ice defenseman Cale Fleury to the puck and buried it for a short-handed tally.
“Brad (Goethals) came in and I’ve had Orrin (Centazzo) on the left wing and they’ve both been playing really good and supporting me,” Kindopp said, referring to his linemates. “I think we’re really starting to click now and spending some time in the offensive zone and just working it down there and things are starting to click down there.”
Somewhat overshadowed by the outburst from players like Tuulola and Kindopp was the fact that Tips goalie Carter Hart recorded 20 saves for his third consecutive shutout.
Hart’s toughest test came in a second-period flurry that saw him sprawled out to knock away a pair of chances. The Ice also clanged a shot off the post in the second stanza.
“(Our goal is) not giving teams a lot of scoring chances and bearing down in the defensive zone,” Davis said. “We got a job to do and we just have to do our job, stick to our system and I think teams get frustrated when we do that.”
The Silvertips began to pull away in the second. Tuulola pushed it to 2-0 on the rush when he skated in from the Kootenay blue line, dangled and fired from the right circle at 10:27 in the second period.
Then Goethals snapped a wrister from the slot on the power play at 15:55 with assists from Centazzo and Tuulola for a 3-0 lead. Goethals now has two goals and an assist in four games with the Tips.
“Putting him on the power play was not a difficult decision because of what he had done at other levels,” Constantine said of Goethals, who led the Manitoba Midget League in scoring last season. “I don’t even know yet if we have him on the power play at the perfect spot for him. But he’s got enough talent, vision, passing (ability) to be on a power play and he’s done a nice job there.”
Patrick Bajkov made it 4-0 at 5:17 in the third on the power play when he skated into the slot, waited out the defenseman and snapped a shot over Lee’s left shoulder for his team-best 11th goal of the season.
The Tips killed both of Kootenay’s power play opportunities and finished with a 44-20 shot advantage.
Silvertips 5, Ice 0
Kootenay 0 0 0 — 0
Everett 1 2 2 — 5
1st Period—1, Everett, Kindopp 4 (Davis), 8:24. Penalties—No Penalties
2nd Period—2, Everett, Tuulola 6 (Skoleski), 10:27. 3, Everett, Goethals 2 (Centazzo, Tuulola), 15:55 (PP). Penalties—Pouliot Ktn (holding), 3:12; Fleury Ktn (kneeing), 15:36; Sidaway Ktn (tripping), 16:28; Zwerger Evt (roughing, 10-minute misconduct), 19:58.
3rd Period—4, Everett, Bajkov 11 (Davis, Fonteyne), 5:17 (PP). 5, Everett, Kindopp 5 18:21 (SH). Penalties—Fleury Ktn (tripping), 4:26; Alfaro Ktn (interference), 15:57; served by Tuulola Evt (too many men), 17:16.
Shots on Goal—Kootenay 8-6-6-20. Everett 10-15-19-44.
Power Play Opportunities—Kootenay 0 / 2; Everett 2 / 5.
Goalies—Kootenay, Lee 4-9-4-1 (44 shots-39 saves). Everett, Hart 14-3-3-0 (20 shots-20 saves).
A—2,716
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