REFLECTIONS: Tips let one slip away; still tied for WHL’s top spot
Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 8, 2016
The Game
The Everett Silvertips saw their five-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday as the Tri-City Americans came back from a two-goal deficit to win 4-3 in overtime.
You can watch the highlights below:
TIPS TV / The full highlights, the 1st period thrills, the rally.
? ยป https://t.co/Un9Btd1VMD pic.twitter.com/iK7vipeQrT
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) December 8, 2016
Special teams were key for the Americans, who scored the game-tying goal on the power play and held the Tips to 1-of-6 on the man advantage.
Tri-City boasts the WHL’s third-best power play unit (28.6 percent entering Wednesday) and the fifth-best penalty killing group (83.6 percent). Everett is tied for second in penalty killing (85.6 percent) and eighth on the power play (23.7 percent).
The Tips took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, but seemed content to sit on that lead as the Americans chipped away. It was the second consecutive game in which the Tips allowed a team back into the game after going up two or more goals. Last Friday the Medicine Hat Tigers scored two goals in the final period to close a 4-1 deficit to 4-3 before the Tips held on.
On Wednesday Everett wasn’t as fortunate.
“We didn’t play as aggressively or as focused or as into it as the first,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “So I thought the second we should have just kept right on doing what we were doing in the first. I thought we just weren’t quite as focused in the second.”
Everett goalie Carter Hart wasn’t particularly sharp with 16 saves on 20 shots faced. His .800 save percentage for the night was the second-lowest he’s posted in a game this season and just the sixth time his percentage has been under .900 in 23 games this season. As a result his goals-against average “ballooned” to a (league-best) 1.76, while his save percentage fell to .932 and is now second to Kamloops netminder Connor Ingram’s .935.
“(Hart) is such a good goalie that when he gives up three, you’re like ‘man, that’s not very good,’ (even though) three is actually pretty good, number-wise,” Constantine said. “But the expectations for what he can do is so high that sometimes if he doesn’t look sharp you’re thinking he’s not as into it as he has been at other times.”
In short it was an off-game for Hart, but the Philadelphia prospect has set that standard so high that a 4-3 overtime loss seems like a disaster.
Finally, Graham Millar returned after missing a dozen games due to injury. He skated on the fourth line alongside Orrin Centazzo and Bradly Goethals.
The Turning Point
Morgan Geekie’s power-play goal at 8:36 in the third period tied the game at 2-2.
Morgan Geekie ties the game for the @TCAmericans! Hart didn't even see that. pic.twitter.com/QhmUpjZNwe
— mary mae (@marymaeg) December 8, 2016
Three Stars
1. Tri-City F Morgan Geekie: Geekie had two goals and an assist and was plus-three.
Geekie’s first goal:
Morgan Geekie scores the @TCAmericans's first goal of the night. Some nice momentum for the Ams heading into the third. pic.twitter.com/BvrBv7FUr9
— mary mae (@marymaeg) December 8, 2016
2. Everett D Noah Juulsen: The captain scored Everett’s first goal.
3. Everett F Patrick Bajkov: Bajkov scored the game-tying goal on the power play with less than two minutes to play and added an assist.
Honorable mention: Everett F Dominic Zwerger (two assists), Tri-City D Parker Wotherspoon (two assists), Tri-City F Kyle Olson (one goal, plus-two), Tri-City F Jordan Topping (GWG, plus-two).
