REFLECTIONS: Silvertips open Eastern swing with tough loss
Published 1:30 am Friday, February 10, 2017
The Game
The Tips ran into a hot goaltender as Logan Thompson of the Brandon Wheat Kings turned away 34 of Everett’s 35 shots in a 2-1 Tips loss Friday on the plains of Manitoba.
Everett scored its only goal on the power play, but finished just 1-for-6 on the man advantage. The Tips also allowed a power-play goal in the final minute of the first period, a frame in which they were scoreless despite firing 18 shots at Thompson.
Silvertips goalie Mario Petit got the start in his home province and held Brandon scoreless on 20 shots over the final two periods. But his teammates were unable to get that second goal after drawing to within 2-1 less than five minutes into the third.
“I thought was a pretty solid effort by our guys. I liked our energy, I thought we had some real quality, Grade-A scoring chances,” Everett assistant coach Mitch Love said in a post-game interview on 1380 KRKO-AM. “Maybe the second period we didn’t have as many good looks as we did in the first and the third, and your hat’s got to be off to Logan Thompson. He did a heck of a job in net for them.”
Captain Noah Juulsen and defensive partner Lucas Skrumeda (a Winnipeg native) returned Friday as did forward Connor Dewar (a native of The Pas, Manitoba). Prior to the game head coach Kevin Constantine told broadcaster Mike Benton that Juulsen is “back” from the injury he suffered at World Juniors and aggravated against Seattle 10 games ago. Constantine then drew contrast to Skrumeda, saying Friday was more of a test for the wiry blueliner who has already returned twice from his own lower-body injury only to be scratched the following game. So we’ll know more about Skrumeda’s health if he plays Saturday.
Dewar missed the first game of his career last Saturday with an upper body injury and appears good to go.
The Tips entered Friday’s game with a 21-4-5 record when Juulsen plays and have sorely missed their captain during his recent nine-game absence – a stretch in which they won just two times. Juulsen took a tough penalty in the first that led to what was ultimately the game-winning goal, but he assisted on Everett’s lone goal when Eetu Tuulola redirected his power-play wrister.
“I thought he was real solid tonight,” Love said of Juulsen. “Sometimes if guys are out for awhile… they tend to come back and try to do too much.
“I’ve really liked Noah’s game since he’s come back from World Juniors,” Love continued. “I think he’s really simplified his game. I think his role at World Juniors was different than it would be here, and I think he’s brought a lot of that back with him. That’s what he’s going to have to do when he plays at the professional level.”
The Turning Point
The Tips had two third-period power plays after slashing their deficit to 2-1, but the Wheat Kings killed off both to preserve the win.
Three Stars.
1. Brandon G Logan Thompson: Thompson saved 34 shots to earn the win.
2. Brandon F Connor Gutenberg: Gutenberg was plus-one for the night.
3. Everett G Mario Petit: Everett’s No. 2 netminder had 27 saves in a tough-luck loss.
