Silvertips score 5 power-play goals in 6-1 win over Calgary

Published 10:23 pm Tuesday, November 15, 2016

EVERETT — The Calgary Hitmen boast one of the top penalty-killing units in the Western Hockey League.

The Everett Silvertips could not have cared less.

The U.S. Division-leading Silvertips scored five power-play goals to tie a franchise record and cruised to a 6-1 win over the visiting Hitmen before 3,012 fans Tuesday at Xfinity Arena in the only meeting this season between the teams.

“They lost their last game and we lost our last game — I think it’s just whoever responds better,” said Everett forward Dominic Zwerger, who finished with two goals and two assists. “Both teams came out hard and I think we did a pretty good job of playing tonight.”

Everett (15-2-3-0, 33 points) now has points in nine straight games. Calgary (7-7-0-0, 16 points) has now allowed 15 goals in its last two games, losses to Portland and Everett.

Patrick Bajkov and Sean Richards each had a goal and two assists, Eetu Tuulola and Kevin Davis each had a goal and an assist, and Devon Skoleski added two helpers for Everett.

Four of Everett’s power-play tallies came on a five-minute man advantage that spanned the first and second periods as the Tips built an insurmountable lead.

“The five-minute power play was make-or-break-it time in the game,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “I’ve seen where a team kills off all of that and they get the momentum of the game because it energizes you that you got the kill. At the same (time) when you get a five-minute power play, if you get at least one and maybe two that can be the game. I think that was the turning point of the game.”

With the score tied 0-0 and nine seconds to go in the opening period, Calgary winger Taylor Sanheim checked Everett captain Noah Juulsen into the boards in the Everett defensive zone. Juulsen was slow to get up and immediately went to the locker room. Sanheim wasn’t far behind as he was assessed a five-minute penalty in addition to a game misconduct and was ejected from the game.

Eight seconds later, Zwerger deked Calgary goalie Cody Porter and finished with a backhand on the power play for a 1-0 lead right before the horn signaled the end of the period.

“You don’t want to see anyone go down like that, especially our captain,” Zwerger said. “I think we t0ok advantage of the five-minute power play we had and the penalty kill they had, and I think we executed pretty well there.”

Juulsen returned for the second period and even assisted Zwerger’s second goal at 3:05 in the second when the Austrian dangled as his defender went sliding by him on the ice, then fired past Porter for the 2-0 lead.

Zwerger’s second goal started the deluge. Just 35 seconds later Skoleski found Tuulola all alone at the left circle and Tuulola’s one-timer beat Porter and prompted a Calgary timeout.

It didn’t seem to help as Davis capped the power play with a wrister from the slot at 4:09 in the second to give Everett a 4-0 lead. Juulsen, meanwhile, left the game again after Everett built the lead.

Calgary leading scorer Matteo Gennaro got one back for the Hitmen when he roofed a shot past Everett goalie Carter Hart’s right shoulder at 15:04 and the Tips took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission.

Bajkov tipped in Richards’s shot from the slot at 1:02 in the third on the power play to push Everett’s lead back to four goals, and Richards added his own goal at 7:07 when he tapped in a loose puck following Tuulola’s shot from the right side of the crease.

The Tips lost some of their discipline in the final period as they took four penalties, a fact that left Constantine less than thrilled.

“Our theory is ‘Do it right every time,’ and we don’t try to look at the scoreboard,” Constantine said. “Whether we’re up or behind we’d be interested in doing what we should do on the ice right, and we got away from that a little bit. Certainly in the third period, I mean, taking all those penalties means you’re not into it the way you should be, and you don’t want those habits to happen.”

Hart stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his 11th win of the season. The Tips return to action Wednesday at 7 p.m. as they take on the Kamloops Blazers.

For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.

Silvertips 6, Hitmen 1

Calgary 0 1 0 — 1

Everett 1 3 2 — 6

1st Period—1, Everett, Zwerger 9 (Davis), 19:59 (PP). Penalties—Kastelic Cgy (cross checking), 5:30; Gordon Cgy (interference), 14:41; Sanheim Cgy (major-check/behind, game misconduct), 19:51.

2nd Period—2, Everett, Zwerger 10 (Bajkov, Juulsen), 3:05 (PP). 3, Everett, Tuulola 5 (Skoleski, Richards), 3:40 (PP). 4, Everett, Davis 2 (Bajkov, Zwerger), 4:29 (PP). 5, Calgary, Gennaro 5 (Stallard, Twarynski), 15:04. Penalties—Christiansen Evt (slashing), 17:53.

3rd Period—6, Everett, Bajkov 9 (Richards, Zwerger), 1:02 (PP). 7, Everett, Richards 4 (Tuulola, Skoleski), 7:07. Penalties—Gennaro Cgy (high sticking), 0:14; Richards Evt (checking to the head), 1:11; Wylie Evt (tripping), 3:15; Wylie Evt (tripping), 7:20; Twarynski Cgy (cross checking), 9:13; Onyebuchi Evt (roughing), 15:53.

Shots on Goal—Calgary 7-7-14-28. Everett 14-14-10-38.

Power Play Opportunities—Calgary 0/5; Everett 5/5.

Goalies—Calgary, Porter 5-5-1-0 (34 shots-28 saves); Dumba 2-2-1-0 (4 shots-4 saves). Everett, Hart 11-2-2-0 (28 shots-27 saves).

A—3,012