EVERETT — The 10 matchups each season between the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds bring a unique excitement.
Chapter 1 of the 2017-18 season unfolds at 4:05 p.m. this afternoon when the T-birds visit Xfinity Arena for the first of five meetings between the teams in Everett.
“They’re off to a good start so it’s going to be fun to play against those guys,” Everett co-captain Kevin Davis said. “They’re heavy forwards. They like to get on the forecheck so we’ve just gotta do a good job of breaking out pucks.”
Seattle entered Saturday’s game against the Moose Jaw Warriors with a 4-3-0-1 record and nine points in the standings. The Thunderbirds are the two-time defending Western Conference champions and won the WHL title last season, but feature plenty of roster turnover.
Forwards Ryan Gropp, Mathew Barzal and Keegan Kolesar, and defenseman Ethan Bear were Seattle’s top four scoring threats a season ago. All four are now in the professional ranks.
The T-birds also have a new head coach in Matt O’Dette, who was promoted from his assistant coaching position when Steve Konowalchuk took an assistant coaching job with the Anaheim Ducks.
Finnish winger Sami Moilanen had eight goals and three assists while defenseman Austin Strand had four goals and seven assists entering Saturday’s game. They were the two top scorers for Seattle. Matt Berlin (3-2-0-1, .885 save percentage, 3.82 goals-against average) has played in six games. Liam Hughes (1-1, .886, 4.49 GAA) has made three appearances.
Everett (4-8-1, nine points) is looking to snap a three-game losing streak. The Tips fell 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday as 15-year-old goaltender Blake Lyda made his WHL debut. Everett then dropped a 6-3 decision to Moose Jaw Friday despite tallying 48 shots.
Patrick Bajkov (five goals, 14 assists), Matt Fonteyne (eight goals, eight assists) and Kevin Davis (two goals, 12 assists) have done the bulk of the scoring. Connor Dewar (five goals, eight assists) and Riley Sutter (seven goals, four assists) have also been key contributors.
Following Sunday’s game the Tips are off until Friday when they play at Kamloops. Everett returns home Friday, Nov. 3 against Prince George.
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