Everett Silvertips fall to Prince George Cougars (updated game story)
Published 12:31 am Saturday, December 5, 2015
The Game (Story)
EVERETT – At times hockey is a beautiful game, full of teamwork, crisp tape-to-tape passes and lightning quick pad saves.
Friday was not that time.
The Prince George Cougars prevailed over the Everett Silvertips 3-0 before 3,533 fans Friday night at Xfinity Arena in a game marred by four fights, 20 combined penalties and 77 combined penalty minutes.
“I think that was one of the more physical games we’ve played,” said Tips defenseman Noah Juulsen. “That’s kind of their style of hockey, right? After our loss on Wednesday we really wanted to come out and win. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted (Friday), but I think we played a solid game all around.”
Colby McAuley scored twice in the physical contest as Prince George (16-9-1-1, 34 points) won its fourth straight and sixth in its last seven contests.
Everett (14-9-0-2, 30 points) dropped its second straight home game after falling 4-1 to Tri-City on Wednesday night. The loss dampened the return of Silvertips captain Dawson Leedahl, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
“Having (Leedahl) out there and bringing his physical play and hardness to our team is huge,” Everett forward Carson Stadnyk said. “He’s a good character guy and he’s a captain. That’s why he leads us on and off the ice. He knows what he’s doing and people take after him.”
Leedahl’s night, as it turned out, was short-lived. The game featured four separate fights in the first period – near the conclusion of which Leedahl was assessed a game misconduct penalty and ejected.
Things nevertheless began benignly enough when Leedahl and Josh Anderson dropped gloves at 6:27 and were each given five-minute penalties for fighting. Juulsen and Jesse Gabrielle soon joined them following their own fight before things escalated at 15:05 in the first.
That was when two separate fights broke out involving Leedahl, Anderson and Everett’s Remi Laurencelle. Anderson and Laurencelle each received five-minute majors, while Leedahl got a five-minute major for the fight and a 10-minute game misconduct that sent him to locker room for the remainder of the game. Laurencelle also did not return to the ice.
“They were all over us in the first and we were playing their game,” Stadnyk said. “They’re a hard-working physical team. We couldn’t match them and they outplayed us the majority of the game.”
Prince George did not capitalize on the ensuing five-on-three or five-on-four power plays, however, and the game remained scoreless through one.
McAuley scored what ended up being the only goal the Cougars needed when he tipped in the game’s first goal off a blueline slap shot from Joseph Carvalho at 4:18 in the second for a 1-0 Prince George lead.
The Tips had two different five-on-three power play opportunities as the second period drew to a close, but Everett couldn’t score in either instance as the Cougars took the 1-0 lead into the third period.
“You gotta score on those to win hockey games,” Stadnyk said. “By not doing that we never got back in the game, and that hurt us.”
Thirty-six seconds into the third Kody McDonald fired a shot from the right circle that was deflected by Everett goaltender Carter Hart to a waiting McAuley, who gave Prince George the 2-0 lead from the left side of the crease.
McDonald added an empty-net goal at 18:30 of the final period to complete the scoring.
Hart finished with 27 saves, but Edmonds was perfect in turning aside 27 attempts to earn the shutout.
Prince George outshot Everett 29-27.
Everett will attempt to salvage the week when it plays host to Vancouver tonight at 7 in the final contest of the current three-game homestand.
The Game
The first period felt like the game might devolve into pugilistic turf (ice?) war. Four fights and 11 penalties meant the opening stanza took nearly an hour and featured more discussion among the officials than I’ve seen so far this season.
Big hits and fisticuffs seemed to be Prince George’s strategy, as Juulsen and Stadnyk alluded afterward, and it worked. The Tips actually came out very strong for the first five minutes or so with several quality scoring chances and impressive puck movement.
Then things went south quickly as Leedahl racked up 20 penalty minutes in 15:05 of clock time. The Tips outshot the Cougars early, but went without a shot for a long span as they had to kill off multiple penalties.
Although the Tips were held scoreless, it’s worth mentioning that Ty Edmonds and Hart are arguably the top two goaltenders in the league. Edmonds’ .938 save percentage is four points better than Hart and Edmonds’ 1.98 goals against average is second only to Hart’s 1.75.
Also of note: Kevin Davis skated and went through some drills prior to the game, so we’ll see if he returns tonight. Riley Sutter warmed up with Leedahl as a game-time decision.
The Turning Point
I suppose we’ll go with McAuley’s second goal during the open minute of the third period. That gave the Cougars a two-goal advantage.
Three Stars
1. PG F Colby McAuley: Scored twice for the Cougars on a tip-in and a rebound
2. PG G Ty Edmonds: Had 27 saves in the shutout
3. Everett G Carter Hart: Had 27 saves in a losing effort
