Tips win 10th straight
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, November 8, 2006
BRANDON, Manitoba – The streak has reached double digits. The Everett Silvertips chalked up their 10th straight victory, defeating the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2 Wednesday night.
Peter Mueller, Jonathan Harty and Kyle Beach scored goals as Everett (15-1-0-1) continued its rampage through the Western Hockey League’s East Division. The Silvertips have won all five of their games during their swing through the East, with only Friday’s game at Swift Current remaining.
Everett goaltender Leland Irving made 17 saves, including several big stops in the final 10 minutes as the Tips had to kill off three straight penalties against the best power-play team in the league.
Everett center Zach Hamill had an assist, but still saw his consecutive games with a point streak snapped. Hamill lost his assist in Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Moose Jaw due to a scoring change, thus ending his streak at 15 games.
Brandon (10-8-0-2) was considered Everett’s toughest test on the trip. The Wheat Kings are in first place in the East Division and feature the league’s most-efficient power play, scoring at a 27-percent clip.
But Everett staked itself to an early lead. The Tips scored first on the power play at 17 minutes, 56 seconds of the first period. On the faceoff immediately following a penalty, Hamill won the puck back to Mueller, who floated a shot through a screen and into the net to give the Tips a 1-0 lead.
Everett made it 2-0 6:03 into the second period with a controversial goal. Wheat Kings goalie Tyler Plante became tangled up with Beach, allowing Harty to score into an unguarded net from the point as the crowd howled in protest.
However, the Wheat Kings showed just why they have the best power play in the league later in the period. First, at 9:48 while on a five-on-three advantage, good puck movement helped create an open shot that Daryl Boyle buried to cut the lead to 2-1. Then at 14:14 with the Wheat Kings again on the power play, Juraj Simek was allowed to walk out front and stuff the puck past Irving, tying it up at 2-2.
But Everett grabbed the lead back just 24 seconds into the third period. The Tips were on a short power play and Mueller’s shot from the point deflected off Beach’s leg and in to make it 3-2.
Silvertips 3, Wheat Kings 2
Everett111-3
Brandon020-2
First Period-1, Everett, Mueller 6 (Hamill), 17:56 (pp). Penalties-Irving, Everett (interference, served by Beach), 1:26; Erb, Brandon (delay of game), 13:00; Yeo, Brandon (interference), 14:49; Dittmer, Brandon (interference), 17:52.
Second Period-2, Everett, Harty 2 (Gutierrez), 6:03. 3, Brandon, Boyle 3 (Burki, Kohn), 9:48 (pp). 4, Brandon, Simek 14 (Burki, Derlago), 14:14 (pp). Penalties-Reaves, Brandon (interference), 2:06; Yeo, Brandon (unsportsmanlike conduct), 6:03; Sonne, Everett (interference), 8:27; Fransoo, Everett (holding), 8:43; Yeo, Brandon (checking from behind), 11:12; Alic, Everett (tripping), 13:55; Beach, Everett (tripping), 17:48; Tolpiko, Brandon (holding), 18:24.
Third Period-5, Everett, Beach 9 (Mueller, Doyle), 0:22 (pp). Penalties-Mueller, Everett (delay of game), 10:28; Everett bench (too many men, served by Beach), 13:10; Harper, Everett (tripping), 16:46.
Shots on goal-Everett 9-13-3-25. Brandon 6-7-6-19. Power-play opportunities-Everett 2 of 7. Brandon 2 of 8. Goalies-Everett, Irving 12-1-0-1 (19 shots, 17 saves). Brandon, Plante 9-6-0-2 (25 shots, 22 saves). A-3,149.
