Everett 2, Spokane 0
Published 11:00 pm Friday, December 17, 2010
TALKING POINTS
Tips goaltender Luke Siemens came up with the right word to describe how important Everett’s victory was tonight: “monumental.”
Everett was staring at a major skid heading into the Christmas break. The Tips had lost three straight, and in the final weekend of the first half they were hosting formidable Spokane and Tri-City teams. Spokane, in particular, was red hot, having scored 34 goals in their past five games.
But Siemens, called on for the fifth time in the past eight games after starting just four of the first 27, came up with the goods again. He also got a lot of help from his defense, which kept the Chiefs to the perimeter, and from the officials, who gave Everett three five-on-three power plays and called the Chiefs twice on stand-alone dives (it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a stand-alone dive called, and I can’t recall ever seeing two in one game).
It’s a good thing the Tips were able to keep the Chiefs off the scoreboard, because the offense struggled yet again. Everett couldn’t take advantage of any of those five-on-threes. Tips captain Landon Ferraro is really having a tough time offensively. He missed a wide-open net on the first of those five-on-threes, and he’s now gone 16 games without a goal.
TURNING POINT
It looked like it was going to be one of those days where the Tips were destined not to score. But with just 29 seconds remaining in the second period Parker Stanfield created a turnover with a good hit in the corner, then quickly fed it out front where a wide-open Tyler Maxwell snapped it in for the breakthrough.
HIT OF THE DAY
The best hit of the day was an odd one as Spokane’s Corbin Baldwin flattened Ferraro while Ferraro had his helmet off, the puck bouncing to his feet as he was just trying to get off the ice. Ferraro didn’t take kindly to that and immediately challenged Baldwin.
THREE STARS
First star: Siemens. 27 saves, it was his second shutout in his past five outings as he’s taking full advantage of the added playing time.
Second star: Mac Engel, Spokane. 37 saves, he played very well, but it wasn’t quite enough for his first career WHL victory.
Third star: Maxwell. Two goals, including the late empty-netter, and played well on the penalty kill.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Rasmus Rissanen, Everett. He receives his share of abuse from the home fans, but he was a rock in his own end tonight.
BOX SCORE
