Vancouver 3, Everett 0
Published 11:02 pm Wednesday, December 15, 2010
TALKING POINTS
This was not the way the Tips wanted things to go in their return to Comcast Arena after more than two weeks away. We never even got to hear the goal horn tonight.
I don’t know that I’d fault Everett’s effort. The Tips got after it OK. However, where it seemed Everett was lacking was in determination and focus. Vancouver was the more-determined team as the Giants won most of the puck battles. And the focus just wasn’t quite there for the Tips. Small lapses that turned into odd-man rushes, sticks weren’t quite ready to accept passes while in scoring position, those type of things. Because of those things Everett outshot Vancouver 36-29, yet never really had much in the way of scoring chances.
Kent Simpson was back in net for the Tips. Simpson took some criticism during recent live blogs, but after a few shaky moments early on he was fine tonight. There wasn’t really anything he could have done about any of the goals.
There’s one last thing that baffled me. Late in the second period Vancouver’s Luke Fenske put an absolutely brutal check from behind on Manraj Hayer (Hayer was fortunate to walk away from it and finish the game). Watching it real-time (admittedly from a ways away in the press area) it looked like the definition of a checking-from-behind major. Somehow it ended up being called a cross-checking minor by referee Pat Smith. In fact, there were a couple checks from behind tonight that were called cross checks (Everett’s Brennan Yadlowski had the other one). I know Gregg Drinnan is highlighting each checking-from-behind penalty on his blog as they’ve become a real hazzard to players’ health. Here’s two tonight that won’t make Drinnan’s list, but probably should. It makes me wonder how many other checks from behind are being labeled something else.
TURNING POINT
One minute into the second period of a scoreless game Everett’s Josh Birkholz committed a bad turnover in his own end, giving Vancouver a two-on-one. Mark Reners finished it off to begin what became a rough period for the Tips, and Birkholz spent most of the rest of the game skating on Everett’s fourth line.
HIT OF THE DAY
Midway through the first period Everett’s Parker Stanfield leveled Brendan Gallagher with crunching shoulder check behind the Vancouver net, prompting the Giants’ Wes Vannieuwenhuizen to drop the gloves in response.
THREE STARS
First star: Mark Segal, Vancouver. 36 saves for the shutout, but honestly he wasn’t tested much.
Second star: Gallagher. Two assists, no hangover from being cut from Team Canada.
Third star: Hayer. Gave his all, but I’m not sure he affected the game all that much.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Craig Cunningham, Vancouver. One goal, but more importantly he was the player who led the way in winning puck battles, beginning at the faceoff dot.
Long day mention: Ryan Murray, Everett. Murray was cut by Team Canada first thing this morning in Toronto, flew to Vancouver, missed his connection to Seattle because of a long line at immigration, and didn’t arrive in Everett until about 90 minutes before the game. Yet he was as good as always. In 2007 when Zach Hamill and Leland Irving were both cut by Team Canada, they also played in Everett the same night following a day of travel and had poor games. No sign of that with Murray.
BOX SCORE
