Reflections: Everett Silvertips bounce back in a big way
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, November 15, 2016
The Game
The Silvertips needed a bounceback performance after Saturday’s loss, and Tuesday’s dominating 6-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen was precisely that.
The Tips tied a franchise single-game record with five power play goals, last done against the Saskatoon Blades on Nov. 30, 2013.
Dominic Zwerger’s first power-play goal with one second remaining in the first period salvaged what had been a stanza of almosts and near-misses as Everett held a 14-7 shot advantage through the first period.
“I thought the start was OK, but it had a Tuesday night feel to it rather than a Saturday night feel to it, meaning we weren’t unbelievably good, but we were hanging in there,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “The hope is that you get your legs under you and you get in the game and gain some momentum somehow through the game. We’re generally a decent second period team, so I thought we had a good chance to do some good things in the second if we could get through the first, and then the power play just changed the whole game completely.”
Indeed it did as the Tips scored three more times on the power play in the second and later added two more goals in the third for their most lopsided win of the season. Everett remains one point behind Prince George for first place in the Western Conference, but the Tips have two games in hand of the Cougars.
One thing we’ll keep an eye on is the health of Noah Juulsen. The Everett captain took a big hit from Taylor Sanheim (who was ejected) at 19:51 in the first to set up the power play.
Juulsen went to the dressing room before returning for a couple of shifts in the second. Then he left again and finished the game up in the press box alongside the Everett scratches.
Juulsen said “I’m good” when I inquired, and indicated he’d been given the rest of the night off. Constantine told me after the game that he had “nothing to do” with Juulsen’s returning or leaving, and that he was planning to check on Juulsen after we concluded the interview. The team left for Kamloops immediately after the game so we’ll know more Wednesday if Juulsen suits up or not.
The Turning Point
The five-minute penalty. Most Tips games are a race to three goals and Everett scored four times on the power play to put the game out of reach.
Three Stars
1. Everett F Dominic Zwerger: The Austrian scored two goals and had two assists.
2. Everett F Patrick Bajkov: Bajkov had a goal and two assists.
3. Everett F Sean Richards: Richards had perhaps his best game of the season as he had a goal and two assists.
Honorable mention: Everett D Kevin Davis (one goal, one assist), Everett F Devon Skoleski (two assists), Everett G Carter Hart (27 saves on 28 shots).
