Updated Silvertips game story and final Friday thoughts
Published 12:48 am Saturday, October 31, 2015
The Game (Story)
On Friday the Portland Winterhawks dealt the Everett Silvertips the heartbreak the Tips had eluded in Wednesday’s shootout loss to Brandon.
Rodrigo Abols’ power play goal at 18:09 in the third period broke a 1-1 tie and the Winterhawks (7-6-0-0) held on for a 2-1 over the Silvertips (5-4-0-1) who dropped their fourth game in its past five contests before 3,788 fans at Xfinity Arena.
“I would have been heartbroken if we hadn’t gotten at least a point against Brandon, so that’s how I feel tonight,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “We played hard, did a good job (but) we needed to score on something – more than one goal. You can’t win a lot of games on one goal.”
The final goal came on Portland’s second power play of the night. Compounding the frustration was the fact Everett had effectively limited Portland’s chances during the entire game.
“We did an unbelievable job of killing it,” Constantine said. “They really did not have any chances at all until about two seconds left and they took a shot. It was a nice tip on their part – almost a high stick, but a nice tip.”
The Silvertips had a prime opportunity to take the lead midway through the third period. At 9:39 Keoni Texeira was sent to the box for four minutes for high sticking. Two minutes later Caleb Jones joined him to create a 5-on-3 opportunity for Everett.
But Portland goaltender Adin Hill and the Winterhawks killed both penalties to keep the game tied.
“Any time you don’t score in a 5-on-3 it’s pretty deflating,” Tips captain Dawson Leedahl said. “The momentum swings to the other team. It would have been nice to get one there.”
Everett hasn’t scored more than two goals in a game since its 5-2 win over Prince Albert on Oct. 11. The Tips have scored just six goals in their last five games, a stretch in which they’ve gone 1-3-0-1.
On Friday the Tips ran into one of the best goaltenders in the conference. Hill, the reigning CHL Goaltender of the Week recorded 37 saves and blocked Everett’s first 19 attempts.
“Their goalie played well,” Leedahl said. “At the same time we need to find a way to get traffic and get some pucks in the net.”
Everett’s lone goal didn’t come via conventional means. With the score tied 0-0 at 5:19 in the second period Hill went behind the net and attempted to pass it to a Portland defenseman.
But Hill’s teammate wasn’t there, and Devon Skoleski was. Everett’s 18-year-old rookie collected the puck and with the wide-open net converted for a 1-0 lead.
Paul Bittner tied it for Portland at 5:29 in the third period when he took a centering pass from Jones and knocked it past Hart from the slot.
Jones later assisted on the game-winner to finish with two assists on the night. Keegan Iverson also had an assist.
The Tips out-shot Portland 38-13.
“We gotta find a way to turn those into goals,” Constantine said. “But as a coach what you grade is energy, effort – that’s the primary thing you want. After that you have to get into the strategy and all that, but from an energy and effort standpoint the guys worked their butts off.”
The Silvertips, who entered the game third in the conference in the power play, finished 0-for-6 on the night. Portland entered 13th and finished 1 of 2.
Everett completes the weekend home-and-home with the Winterhawks Sunday with the teams’ fifth match-up of the season in Portland beginning at 5.
The Game
The Tips need to score goals. That’s the proverbial long and short of it. A somber Leedahl said that in his post-game interview, and Constantine reiterated it several times in his. Everett created all kinds of chances – including the ill-fated 5-on-3 – but could only convert when a Portland passing gaffe resulted in an open net for Skoleski.
Constantine noted that this was Everett’s first two-man advantage of the season. In fact the Tips coach called timeout to address the opportunity, but Everett obviously failed to convert.
“It’s not something you’re in a rhythm of doing, but you would have got more out of that,” Constantine said.
The Turning Point
Abols’ goal with just under two minutes to play. Pretty straightforward.
Three Stars
1. Portland G Adin Hill: Recorded 37 saves to stymie the Tips
2. Everett F Devon Skoleski: Scored his third goal of the season. All three have come against the Winterhawks
3. Portland F Paul Bittner: Scored the tying goal at 5:29 in the third period.
