Tips beat Chiefs in shootout

Published 11:50 pm Friday, February 15, 2008

EVERETT — Someone grab a towel and fan Leland Irving off. He certainly earned a bit of a breather.

The Everett Silvertips goaltender worked overtime Friday night, stopping 53 shots as the Tips defeated the Spokane Chiefs 3-2 in a shootout in a frenetic contest at Comcast Arena.

Irving has seen a lot of rubber during his 187 games over four years with Everett, but it’s doubtful he’s ever been peppered the way he was Friday. His efforts helped the Tips earn two points they scarcely deserved.

“This is a first for me,” Irving said about the barrage he faced. “It was just one of those nights where Spokane was going, and they were throwing everything at the net. Even though there were 50-some shots, they weren’t all quality scoring chances whereas some nights you get 20 shots and they’re all quality scoring chances.

“If you’re able to get in there and feel the puck you’re able to kind of get into a groove, and I felt that way tonight.”

Zach Hamill scored with 1 minute, 17 seconds remaining in regulation to tie it up for Everett and force overtime. Then in the shootout Kyle Beach and Dan Gendur scored and Irving turned away two attempts as the Tips prevailed 2-1.

Beach finished with a goal and an assist and Shane Harper added two assists for Everett (33-25-0-2), which won its fourth straight despite being outshot 55-30. The Tips are also 4-2 this season against the Chiefs (39-13-1-5), who at one time were the top-ranked team in the entire Canadian Hockey League.

“Against a team like Spokane any time you can get two points out of a game you have to feel pretty good about yourselves,” Irving said. “That’s a really good hockey team over there. They’re well coached, extremely hard working and they deserve the reputation they’ve got.”

Judd Blackwater scored both goals for Spokane, with David Rutherford assisting on both, as the Chiefs swarmed throughout. Drayson Bowman tallied in the shootout and Dustin Tokarski stopped 28 shots in goal for the Chiefs, who dropped their fourth straight.

Everett and Spokane meet twice next week.

Everett survived the first period, but only just. After an uneventful first 12 minutes Everett took three straight penalties to put the Chiefs on the power play just about the rest of the period. However, the Tips managed to kill off all three, with defensman Jonathan Harty diving behind Irving at the end of the third one to prevent a goal. Spokane outshot Everett 16-4 in the period.

But that couldn’t have prepared anyone for a second period that had just about everything. Thirty-eight shots on goal (21 by Spokane, 17 by Everett), more big hits than the 2001 Seattle Mariners, and a match penalty for attempt to injure when Spokane’s Mitch Wahl’s cross checked Harty in the face in retaliation for a big hit.

It even had a couple goals as each team found the net. Spokane struck first when, on the power play, Justin Falk’s shot from the point was deflected by Rutherford right to Blackwater for the easy put-in at 14:11. Everett tied it up at 17:38 when Vitaly Karamnov came away with the puck from a scrum along the boards, feathered a shot on goal that Tokarski couldn’t hold, and Beach dived in to poke in the rebound.

It looked as though Blackwater had won it for Spokane when, at 14:04 of the third period, he beat Irving with a slap shot from 45 feet on the power play.

But the Tips, despite being dominated in the third, scratched out a late goal with Irving pulled for an extra attacker. A scramble ensued in front of the Spokane net, and Hamill was able to slip a shot through traffic and through Tokarski to make it 2-2 with 1:17 remaining, forcing overtime.

Slap shots: Everett defenseman Graham Potuer returned to the lineup after missing four games because of the flu. Defensemen Taylor Ellington (foot) and Mike Alexander (shoulder) remain sidelined because of injuries. … Spokane played without forwards Tyler Johnson (flu) and Curtis Kelner (shoulder) because of physical ailments. Then center Justin McCrae left the game early in the third period and did not return after falling heavily into the boards.

Silvertips 3, Chiefs 2 (SO)

Spokane0110—2

Everett0110—3

@5. NHL box :Everett won shootout 2-1

First Period—No goals. Penalties—Regier, Everett (holding), 12:42; Potuer, Everett (high sticking), 15:01; Beach, Everett (boarding), 17:50.

Second Period—1, Spokane, Blackwater 22 (Rutherford, Falk), 14:11 (pp). 2, Everett, Beach 26 (Karamnov, Harper), 17:38. Penalties—Bruton, Spokane (roughing), 0:28; McCrae, Spokane (boarding), 5:20; Wahl, Spokane (tripping), 10:50; Potuer, Everett (roughing), 13:27; Karamnov, Everett (high sticking), 14:20; Wahl, Spokane (major-cross-checking-match penalty-attempt to injure), 18:22.

Third Period—3, Spokane, Blackwater 23 (Rutherford), 14:04 (pp). 4, Everett, Hamill 21 (Beach, Harper), 18:43. Penalties—Potuer, Everett (holding), 13:59.

Overtime—No goals. Penalties—None.

Shootout—Everett 2 (Beach G, Gendur G, Hamill NG); Spokane 1 (Spurgeon NG, Bowman G, Rutherford NG).

Shots on goal—Spokane 16-21-16-2—55. Everett 4-17-7-2—30. Power-play opportunities—Spokane 2 of 6. Everett 0 of 4.

Goalies—Spokane, Tokarski 23-8-0-2 (30 shots, 28 saves). Everett, Irving 23-21-0-2 (55 shots, 53 saves).

A—6,176.

Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog