Everett 3, Sault Ste. Marie 2
Published 10:33 pm Friday, September 3, 2010
TALKING POINTS
What a fun way to get hockey season rolling. An opponent from another league, good intensity on the ice, and an exciting contest. It wasn’t the cleanest game you’re ever going to see, which you’d expect from the first game of the preseason. But overall it was a heck of a way to get things started.
It was the Scott MacDonald-Clayton Cumiskey show that pulled it out for Everett in the third period. The Tips trailed 2-0 with 12 minutes remaining. But MacDonald scored twice to tie it, then Cumiskey scored the game-winner on a give-and-go feed from MacDonald with 1:58 left. The Tips took full advantage of Sault Ste. Marie penalties in the third, scoring their final two goals on the power play.
In getting my first good look at the Tips — now that I’m back at my normal perch in the press area at Comcast Arena — the thing that stood out was the team’s skating. Watching practices at Lynnwood Ice Center, where my viewpoint was from behind one goal, it was difficult to get a read on players’ speed. Tonight I got a better look and Everett’s forwards definitely have a little more get-up-and-go this season. The moment that stood out most occurred in the first period, when the Greyhounds broke three-on-two. Landon Ferraro was caught deep. but he hustled back and just like that the odd-man rush was gone. His recovery speed was remarkable.
Speaking of odd-man rushes, the Tips allowed far too many. Everett dealt with all of them, either Ryan Murray breaking up the play or Kent Simpson making the save. But that’s something Everett will want to cut down significantly before the season begins.
And what about the Greyhounds? They looked solid. They worked hard and skated well in a game that was evenly played (both teams put out full-strength lineups). They also pressured harder on the penalty kill than any WHL team I’ve ever seen, flushing out the player behind the net every single time.
One cute little wrinkle to the tournament this year is that they’ve got the home goal songs for each U.S. Division team and they’re using them for when they score, at least in the first two games of the day. It was almost surreal settling into the press area when Spokane scored, and hearing that peppy European-sounding instrumental I’m used to hearing on the radio.
In the earlier games, Portland beat Seattle 4-1 in the opener. I didn’t see the game, but I’m told the Winterhawks kind of took the T-birds apart. Tri-City beat Spokane 3-2 in the second game, with both teams fielding young lineups.
TURNING POINT
Everett trailed 2-0 and was on the penalty kill midway through the third period. But Cumiskey stripped the puck from a Greyhound in the neutral zone and sent MacDonald on a breakaway. MacDonald finished into the top corner, getting the Tips on the board and opening the floodgates.
HIT OF THE DAY
Not a whole lot that stood out. Everett’s Markus McCrea had a nice crunching hit into the boards on Trevor Morbeck early in the third period. Landon Ferraro seemed to be on the receiving end of most of Sault Ste. Marie’s best hits.
THREE STARS
First star: MacDonald. Two goals and an assist, he’s a breakout candidate this season.
Second star: Cumiskey. One goal and one assist, he was strong on the forecheck.
Third star: Brett Findlay, Sault Ste. Marie. Opened the scoring for the Greyhounds.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Brett Thompson, Sault Ste. Marie. One assist and was a terror on the forecheck.
BOX SCORE
