Silvertips return home to Everett after grueling road trip

Published 6:09 pm Wednesday, October 26, 2016

EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips are happy to be home.

Their Eastern Division swing in mid-February still looms, but what the Tips just completed the past two weeks — playing six of seven on the road — was equally difficult.

“It was draining,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “We had two nights where we didn’t get to the city we were playing in until four in the morning. That just wreaks havoc on your sleep patterns, your health and your energy, so it was challenging for sure.”

That makes what the Tips accomplished in those seven contests all the more remarkable.

Everett was 5-1-1 in that stretch including two victories at previously undefeated Prince George, an overtime loss at perennial WHL power Kelowna, and a win over last year’s regular-season champion Victoria, a Royals squad that had scored nine goals in each of its previous two games.

“Part of it was good fortune — we had some bounces along the way,” Constantine said. “Part of it is goaltending. If you look at the third period of our game against Seattle at home and our third period in Victoria, that’s just goaltending. Part of it is a pretty good stay-after-it attitude as a team.”

Oh, and Everett successfully navigated that gauntlet with a number of key performers out of the lineup, including first-line center Matt Fonteyne, top-pair defenseman Lucas Skrumeda, and numerous role players like forwards Orrin Centazzo and Brian King.

“I think it’s really our character as a team,” Everett goaltender Carter Hart said. “We’ve lost a couple of really good guys to injury, but that hasn’t slowed us down at all. We’ve just had guys step in in different roles and step up their game and really just compete harder, and that’s good to see from all the guys.”

The Tips earned a boost Saturday as forwards Devon Skoleski and Eetu Tuulola returned from upper body injuries in Victoria.

Skoleski had been out since Everett’s 4-3 overtime win at Spokane on Oct. 14, while Tuulola had been on the shelf since Oct. 2, the same night he scored his first WHL in a 3-2 overtime loss at Tri-City.

Nevertheless, earning 11 of a possible 14 standings points in the past two-week stretch has helped the Tips keep a stranglehold on the U.S. Division lead.

“I think we just held each other accountable every night and just went out there and played hard,” said Noah Juulsen, Everett’s captain and top defenseman. “I think throughout the room it’s kind of everyone’s job, not just my job and the leaders, but I think as a team we did a great job.”

The Tips (9-2-2-0, 20 points) take a three-point division lead into tonight’s 7:05 matchup with second-place Tri-City (8-5-1-0, 17 points).

The Americans defeated Portland (8-6-0-0, 16 points) in overtime Tuesday to leapfrog the Winterhawks in the standings.

Tri-City has defeated Everett twice in three meetings this season, including one overtime game, so the Tips have a 1-1-1 mark against the Americans.

All three games occurred in a six-day period prior to Everett’s recent seven-game surge.

The Americans boast the league’s top goal-scorer in Michael Rasmussen, a projected first-round pick in next year’s NHL draft.

The 6-foot-5 native of Surrey, B.C., has 11 goals and four assists in 15 games this season, including two goals in Tri-City’s 4-1 win at Everett on Oct. 7.

The Tips continue their homestand Saturday as Victoria comes to Xfinity Arena. The puck drops at 7:05.

For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.