Everett 4, Seattle 0
Published 11:06 pm Friday, February 13, 2009
TALKING POINTS
A lot of good things to talk about from Everett’s standpoint tonight. The Tips snapped a franchise-record six-game home losing streak. They gave themselves a three-point cushion over Seattle for sixth place in the Western Conference. And the players put on a good show for their parents.
But most importantly, that was the most solid effort the Tips have produced in a while. A team that’s been giving up a ton of shots recently, Everett sat back and only allowed 24. Then when given the chance on the power play the Tips capitalized, scoring three times with the advantage.
And Everett may have fixed the kid line. Daniel Bartek joined Bryon Froese and Kellan Tochkin for the first time tonight (meaning it can no longer be considered a kid line) and the trio looked good, though it may take Bartek a couple games to get to the point where he’s anticipating the pass to the far post.
Did you ever think you’d see defensemen Taylor Ellington, Graham Potuer and Mike Alexander all score in the same game?
Finally, that was the poorest performance I’ve seen from Seattle defenseman and captain Thomas Hickey in four years (about 40 games). He must have been sick or something because he was definitely not himself out there, the way he was turning the puck over and getting beat. Seattle goes as Hickey goes, and that was in the wrong direction for the T-birds tonight.
TURNING POINT
Everett scored on the power play on either side of the first intermission, Froese in the last minute of the first period and Ellington less than two minutes into the second, to give the Tips a 2-0 lead and control of the game.
HIT OF THE DAY
Everett’s Dan Iwanski put a major hurt on Luke Lockhart midway through the first period, a crunching hit that unseated Lockhart into the boards.
THREE STARS
First star: Froese. A goal and two assists, apparently he’s made a habit of scoring in front of his parents.
Second star: Thomas Heemskerk, Everett. 24 saves for his second shutout as a Tip, though he wasn’t overly tested.
Third star: Shane Harper, Everett. Two assists as he continues to be Everett’s most dangerous forward.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Bartek. One assist and several chances, his return from injury is huge for the Tips.
LINEUP NOTES
Everett was missing forwards Tyler Maxwell (knee) and Paul Van de Velde (shoulder) because of injury. Defensemen Alex Theriau and Drew McDermott were healthy scratches as Chris de la Lande returned to his accustomed spot on the blue line.
Seattle played without three veteran forwards as David Richard (hand), Lindsay Nielsen (ankle) and Devon LeBlanc (hip flexor) are all out injured. That meant eight players listed as defensemen were in the lineup for the T-birds, though Sena Acolatse has converted to forward full-time.
