Vancouver 8, Everett 0

Published 10:41 pm Wednesday, February 25, 2009

TALKING POINTS

Ugh. What an awful game from Everett’s perspective. It actually wasn’t that bad for one period. Everett played a solid first and was unfortunate to be trailing 2-0. The Tips then got an early power play in the second with a chance to make it a game again, but gave up a short-handed goal. It went downhill in a hurry from there for Everett. The Tips were in full panic mode the rest of the way, and that played right into Vancouver’s hands.

Everett also may have lost another forward to injury. Tyler Parker was shaken up on a second-period hit from Craig Schira and headed straight to the locker room. Although he later returned to the bench, he took one shift and called it a night. We’ll know more about him tomorrow.

That past two games between these two teams Vancouver has outscored Everett 15-0. That’s just ugly. Hard to believe it was just two seasons ago that these two teams had perhaps the most heated and competitive rivalry in the league.

Let me just wrap this up by saying I’ve never seen a player get a roughing penalty for tongue lashing an opponent until Everett’s Cameron Abney was mysteriously whistled for that late in the game.

TURNING POINT

That shorty was it. On the play Everett’s Taylor Ellington was skating the puck up the ice when he was stripped by Brent Regner. Regner was put under pressure, yet he somehow managed to feed the puck out front to Craig Cunningham, who beat Thomas Heemskerk five-hole to begin the rout.

HIT OF THE DAY

Late in the third period Everett’s Graham Potuer put a shoulder charge into Garry Nunn, planting Nunn’s back into the boards.

THREE STARS

First star: Nunn. Hat trick, including the first two goals of the game.

Second star: Cunningham. Two goals, including that all-important third.

Third star: James Wright, Vancouver. One goal and several other good scoring chances.

The Herald’s honorable mention: D.Jay McGrath, Everett. He wasn’t really better than the rest of Vancouver’s players, but I thought he deserved recognitionfor a good effort in his WHL debut.

LINEUP NOTES

Everett continues to be without key forwards Daniel Bartek (hand), Tyler Maxwell (knee), Dale Hunt (concussion) and Paul Van de Velde (shoulder) because of injury. Sixteen-year-old call-up forward McGrath made his WHL debut, while Drew McDermott continued to skate as a forward. Defenseman Paul Sohor was a healthy scratch.

Vancouver was missing No. 1 defenseman and captain Jonathon Blum (shoulder) because of injury. Forwards Lance Bouma (hand) and Mike Piluso (shoulder) are also injured. Forward Mikhail Fisenko was a healthy scratch.