REFLECTIONS: Silvertips conclude Eastern swing with 5-1 mark
Published 1:30 am Saturday, February 18, 2017
The Game
It will be a jubilant bus trip back to Everett Sunday as the Silvertips concluded their six-game road trip with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Swift Current Broncos Saturday night.
Eetu Tuulola gave Everett just its third overtime win of the season to finish with a 5-1 record on the road trip and a 10-2 mark against the Eastern Conference overall.
“We knew how important this trip was going to be to our group just like we mentioned last night – getting away from home, we had a tough stretch there for about a month,” Everett assistant coach Mitch Love said in a post-game interview on 1380 KRKO. “The impressive part for me is that even though we lost to Brandon 10 days ago we played six really good hockey games on this trip. We were healthy, knock on wood, we got some really good goaltending on this trip. Things aligned themselves perfectly and that’s why I think you saw five out of six.”
Everett goalie Carter Hart allowed a goal less than two minutes into the game, but the Tips scored single goals in the first and second periods to take a 2-1 lead into the final stanza. The Broncos took advantage of a sixth attacker and a perfect screen on Hart with less than two minutes to play that tied the game 2-2 and forced the extra session.
Devon Skoleski had a goal and two assists, and Noah Juulsen scored on a power play that tied the game 1-1 in the first as the Silvertips finished 1-for-3 on the man advantage. They’re 3-for-7 on the power play in the last two games – a positive sign after they were just 2-for-46 going into Friday’s game at Prince Albert.
With Orrin Centazzo out for a while with an upper body injury the Tips used defenseman Ian Walker as a forward on the fourth line with Brian King and Brandson Hein. Defenseman Jake Christiansen also has some experience at forward, but he seems to be well entrenched among Everett’s six defensemen and Love seems content to play him there.
Seattle defeated Portland Saturday night so the Tips remain three points up on the Thunderbirds after briefly taking a five-point lead.
The Turning Point
Tuulola scored the game-winner at 2:53 in overtime. It was Everett’s first OT victory since Oct. 29 (not including two shootout wins).
Three Stars
1. Swift Current F Glenn Gawdin: Gawdin scored twice.
2. Everett G Carter Hart: The Tips netminder earned a star for the fourth straight game with 27 saves on 29 shots.
3. Swift Current G Taz Burman: The former Seattle goaltender saved 30 of Everett’s 33 shots.
Honorable mention: Everett F Devon Skoleski (one goal, two assists, plus-one), Everett D Noah Juulsen (one goal), Everett F Eetu Tuulola (GWG).
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