EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds have grown accustomed to playing low-scoring games.
And, that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon as Everett goaltender Carter Hart was unbeatable as he stopped all 33 Seattle shots as the Tips knocked off the T-Birds 1-0 before 6,867 fans at Xfinity Arena.
“I got a couple shots early that got me into the game and that’s always nice,” Hart said. “I feel like our team kept them pretty much to the outside and made my job a lot easier. It may not show on the scoreboard, but I feel like a lot of them were perimeter shots and we had a couple key blocks at the end there, and a big (penalty) kill.”
Seattle netminder Rylan Toth was nearly perfect as well. Like last Saturday’s contest in Kent, Everett’s only goal came on a first-period power play as Toth saved 13 of the 14 shots he faced before he was pulled with just over two minutes to play.
The U.S. Division-leading Silvertips improved to 29-6-7-1 and now have 66 points. The victory snapped a three-game Seattle winning streak in the season series as the Thunderbirds dropped to 24-15-3-1 (52 points). The loss also ended Seattle’s six-game winning streak.
“It’s good to get them back,” Hart said. “They’re a good hockey team and they have some good players and it was nice to get a win back. We’ve played these guys quite a bit lately and it was nice to get back in the win column.”
Hart was never better than in the final minutes when Seattle brought pressure. He finished with 16 saves in the final frame alone to shut out the Thunderbirds for the second time this season.
Trailing 1-0, the Thunderbirds initially thought they had tied the game at 9:03 in the period when Monroe native Luke Ormsby slid into Hart and the puck slid over the goal line. But the officials blew the whistle and the play dead, ruling that Hart had covered the puck.
“I think they like to crash the net a little bit and try to shove me in there,” Hart said. “But that’s the way Seattle always plays and I’m used to that by now.”
Friday was a physical battle and the fisticuffs began early. Everett’s Aaron Irving and Seattle’s Tyler Adams dropped gloves just 1:54 into the opening period and each went to the box for five minutes. Three minutes later, Everett’s Brian King and Seattle’s Nolan Volcan joined them following a second fight.
Meanwhile, the Tips took the lead on Orrin Centazzo’s power-play goal at 9:14 in the first. Centazzo’s slap shot from the top of the left circle through traffic got past Toth. The lead was noteworthy because the Tips never led in their previous three games — all defeats — to Seattle.
“It felt really good,” Centazzo said. “It was a big game to come back in our own barn and to get that win it felt really good.”
Seattle’s top scoring chance in the opening frame came when an Everett turnover and bad line change gave Volcan a breakaway opportunity. But Hart snatched Volcan’s shot out of midair to keep the game 1-0.
It remained 1-0 through a scoreless second period. The Tips killed off what amounted to a four-minute penalty as Sean Richards’ return from the penalty box precipitated Connor Dewar’s entrance to it by just 27 seconds.
Everett, which boasts the WHL’s top penalty-killing unit, killed off all four Seattle advantages. The Tips also finished 1-for-4 on the power play.
“I thought our kill was pretty huge tonight,” Hart said. “They have a good power play, but I thought our kill did a really good job.”
Kevin Davis and Patrick Bajkov each had assists for Everett.
The Tips continue their busy weekend with a game at 7:05 p.m. Saturday against the Tri-City Americans at the Toyota Center. Everett concludes its three-in-three with a 4:05 p.m. matchup Sunday back at Xfinity Arena against the Spokane Chiefs.
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.
Silvertips 1, Thunderbirds 0
Seattle 0 0 0 — 0
Everett 1 0 0 — 1
1st Period—1, Everett, Centazzo 4 (Bajkov, Davis), 9:14 (PP). Penalties—Adams Sea (major-fighting), 1:54; Irving Evt (major-fighting), 1:54; Volcan Sea (major-fighting), 4:57; King Evt (major-fighting), 4:57; Onyebuchi Evt (charging), 5:35; Strand Sea (interference), 7:24; Adams Sea (interference), 11:45.
2nd Period—No Scoring. Penalties—Strand Sea (hooking), 1:40; Richards Evt (holding), 6:14; Dewar Evt (tripping), 8:41; Kolesar Sea (roughing), 20:00.
3rd Period—No Scoring. Penalties—Juulsen Evt (tripping), 12:00.
Shots on Goal-Seattle 7-10-16-33. Everett 5-5-4-14.
Power Play Opportunities—Seattle 0 / 4; Everett 1 / 4.
Goalies—Seattle, Toth 20-15-1-0 (14 shots-13 saves). Everett, Hart 19-4-5-0 (33 shots-33 saves).
A—6,867
Follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @JesseGeleynse.
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