Tips notebook: Andrusiak looking forward to facing former team
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, January 29, 2019
EVERETT — Zack Andrusiak harbors only positive associations about his time as a Seattle Thunderbird.
“I loved it there and I got to win a championship there” Andrusiak said. “I’m going to look back at my days in Seattle as a great time and I’m very thankful for everything that franchise has done for me.
“The crowd is always fun there, they’re always loud. It’ll be interesting to come out the other gate and get dressed on the other side. I’m looking forward to it, it’s going to be lots of fun. It will be interesting to see what type of reception I get.”
The overage forward, who the Everett Silvertips traded for on New Year’s Day in a blockbuster deal with Seattle, will return to that building for the first time in a Silvertips sweater when the two teams meet on Friday at the ShoWare center in Kent. Andrusiak is trying to keep his poise in preparation for what will most certainly be an emotional and exciting day.
“I’m just trying not to think about it too much,” Andrusiak said. “I’m just trying to prepare like any other game and obviously at first it might be a little bit weird, but you get that out of the way during warm-ups and I’ll stick to my usual routine.”
Wolf rediscovers groove
Silvertips netminder Dustin Wolf was named the Canadian Hockey League’s goaltender of the week on Tuesday, the second time he’s been honored with that award this season, just a day after picking up his fourth Western Hockey League goaltender of the week award. The 17-year-old is the first two-time CHL goaltender of the week recipient this season.
Wolf stopped 61 of 62 shots (.984 save percentage) and allowed only one goal over two wins against Tri-City and Lethbridge, respectively. His performance against the Americans on Friday was particularly impressive, as Wolf turned in a 36-save performance for his league-leading fifth shutout of the season.
“I think I was able to just get in my zone there,” Wolf said. “It was a pretty consistent pace through the whole game. I wasn’t sitting around like I do most games not seeing much. It was shots throughout the course of the game and I was just able to get in my zone and make sure the pucks don’t go in my net.”
