Thursday notes
Published 4:29 pm Thursday, January 22, 2009
So the Tips got their busy travel weekend started a day early as they headed out this afternoon for Friday’s game at Tri-City. This weekend is probably Everett’s most challenging of the season, both in terms of travel and opponents, as the Tips play at U.S. Division-leading Tri-City on Friday, head to Western Conference-leading Vancouver on Saturday, then trek back to Tri-City on Sunday.
Making it even more difficult is the loss of center Paul Van de Velde. Van de Velde suffered a concussion on the hit from Spokane’s Blake Gal last night, a hit on which Gal was assessed a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct. Therefore, Van de Velde is out for the weekend.
With Daniel Bartek also out because of his foot fracture, it means the Tips face their most difficult weekend with the minimum 12 forwards, including just three centers. That probably means the occasional extra shift for Zack Dailey, Byron Froese and Jesse Burt.
The situation on defense is a little better. Chris de la Lande remains out with his groin injury, but the Tips still have a spare defenseman available.
