Everett 3, Seattle 1
Published 11:30 pm Friday, October 16, 2009
TALKING POINTS
Good effort put forth by the Tips tonight. For a while there was a chance Seattle might throw a wrench in the proceedings, as the Tips outshot the T-birds 43-22 yet led by a single goal most of the way. But a tremendous goal sequence (see below) made sure the Tips didn’t fall victim to puck luck.
Kent Simpson got the start in goal for Everett tonight. Though he played fine, the bigger eye-opener was that he started at all. It was his second consecutive start after taking over early for Thomas Heemskerk on Sunday against Portland. It’s possible Everett planned on giving each goaltender one start this weekend and felt it was better to use Heemskerk in the away game against a superior Kelowna team. But it was still worth noting.
Still not convinced by Everett’s penalty killing. Seattle was 1-for-5 tonight, but generated chances. Outside its power play, the T-birds really didn’t do much of anything offensively tonight.
TURNING POINT
Not so much a turning point, but a securing point. It was 2-1 late in the third period and Seattle was starting to even the play out, if not create much in the way of scoring chances. But when Jonathan Parker carried the puck into the Everett zone, Tips defenseman Radko Gudas flattened Parker with a tremendous open-ice hit. That started the play the other direction, with Ryan Murray skating the puck into the Seattle zone on the right and threading a pass across to Tyler Maxwell, who fired past Seattle goaltender Calvin Pickard to clinch the victory with 2:12 remaining.
HIT OF THE DAY
Gudas’ hit on Parker was probably the best hit I’ve seen the past two seasons. An absolute full-speed steamroll job in open ice.
THREE STARS
First star: Simpson, Everett. 21 saves in his second straight start, but didn’t have a whole lot to do.
Second star: Pickard. 40 saves, it seems you have to do something special to beat him.
Third star: Murray. Two more assists for the 16-year-old, though I’d like to get a look at his birth certificate for proof. 16-year-old defensemen do not play like this.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Gudas. One assist and the hit of the season so far. He probably would have been a part of hits No. 2 and 3, too.
BOX SCORE
