REFLECTIONS: Silvertips enter break first in Western Conference
Published 1:30 am Sunday, December 17, 2017
It seems impossible, but the Everett Silvertips are in first place in the Western Conference.
With wins Saturday and Sunday (following a bad loss at Spokane Friday) the Tips leap-frogged Portland, Kelowna and Victoria, and their 44 points leads the entire conference.
OK, so Everett’s winning percentage is only fourth-best. Portland has three games in hand, Kelowna two and Tri-City somehow has five. Nevertheless the Tips lead the conference with 21 victories and officially in first place. It’s an incredible turnaround from where they were at the end of October.
UPDATE: Tips are now 17-4-0-1 since that trip to Kamloops.
They're first in the Western Conference as the WHL hits on its holiday hiatus. https://t.co/Ryivn3lgcc
— Jesse Geleynse (@JesseGeleynse) December 18, 2017
Sunday was as impressive a game as the Tips have played all season. Granted the Winterhawks were without Kieffer Bellows, Henri Jokiharju and Joachim Blichfeld (all with their respective World Junior teams), but Cody Glass was back after being cut from Team Canada. And of course Everett is missing its best player and perhaps the best player in the league in goaltender Carter Hart.
The second period was pure domination as the Tips almost seemed to score at will. Perhaps the most encouraging sign was that all four lines and the three defensive units contributed to the scoring effort. Everett needs all the depth scoring it can muster.
The game was chock full of story lines including Luke Ormsby’s first goal and first assist as a Silvertip:
The Turning Point
The second period. All of it.
Three Stars
1. Everett F Bryce Kindopp: Kindopp had two goals.
2. Everett F Luke Ormsby: The Monroe native had a goal and an assist.
3. Everett F Martin Fasko-Rudas: The import had a goal and an assist.
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