Silvertips open second round with win over Kelowna

Published 1:00 am Saturday, April 11, 2026

EVERETT — Landon DuPont stood all by himself deep in the right corner of the Everett Silvertips’ zone.

As the Kelowna Rockets skaters turned back towards their own end following a takeaway from Matias Vanhanen late in the second period at Angel of the Winds Arena on Friday, DuPont received a pass from Vanhanen and scanned the open ice in front of him. It took less than two seconds for the 16-year-old defenseman to make his move.

Spotting Julius Miettinen cutting through the neutral zone, DuPont fired a perfect stretch pass up the middle right on the 18-year-old forward’s tape, timing it so the puck arrived with Miettinen already behind the defense but before he crossed into Kelowna’s zone. With no one but the goalie to beat, Miettinen skated in and popped a shot to the top left corner to extend Everett’s lead to 3-1 at 16:14 of the second period.

“(Vanhanen) made a nice play to me behind the net, and I kind of picked up my head and saw ‘Big Jules’ making his way down there,” DuPont said. “And I honestly thought it was going to get picked off by one of their D-men, but luckily it made it there, and he made an unreal move on the finish. …

“I think just having those instincts and trying to pre-scan plays before they happen, try to get out of the hole as quick as possible. And it helps when you have great players like (Miettinen) and other guys on the team that get open.”

Following a shutdown third period and an empty-net goal from Vanhanen, the Silvertips captured a 4-1 win in Game 1 of the WHL Western Conference semifinals. Vanhanen tallied two goals and one assist to lead the scoring, while DuPont (two assists) and Miettinen (one goal, one assist) each had a multi-point night. Goaltender Anders Miller made 21 saves, allowing a single goal to Kelowna’s Ty Halaburda.

Everett had nine days off following its first-round sweep of the Portland Winterhawks, and it took little time to get back into rhythm against the Rockets, who swept the Kamloops Blazers in the first round. With all that time to prepare, the players felt the coaching staff prepared them to face a heavy but fast Kelowna team.

“When you have a 68-game sample size, you’re not going to make massive changes to the way they play (or) the way we play,” Silvertips coach Steve Hamilton said. “So we get a pretty good book on one another, and then it comes down to execution.”

After what Hamilton described as “a little rusty” start, the Silvertips struck first on the power play at 11:50, with Shea Busch firing a one-timer from the inside edge of the right circle off a cross-slot pass from Miettinen.

Busch has three points in three games since returning from a wrist injury he sustained in late October. After scoring 13 goals in 12 games before the injury, the 18-year-old forward picked up right where he left off. His first two games were in Portland, so Friday marked his first in Everett since October, and also his first time back on the top power-play unit.

Busch said his wrist still is not fully healed even after months of intense conditioning and rehab, so while medically cleared to play, he’s constantly keeping up with maintenance through stretches and postgame treatment. The adrenaline is helping, too.

“The smile was on my face the whole game,” Busch said. “Just having so much fun out there. … It was great for me just to get like a practice week in with the team. That was also really important for me, so I can kind of come into this series with a couple games under my belt, couple practices, and be ready to go.”

The Rockets appeared to tie the game at 13:40 of the first period, crashing the net on Miller as forward Dawson Gerwing knocked the puck through after the initial stop, but the play immediately went under review. Officials initially indicated a good goal, but after a second look, it was determined Gerwing kicked the puck in and the goal was overturned.

Everett responded with a strong presence in the offensive zone until defenseman Luke Vlooswyk committed a hooking penalty at 18:12. The Silvertips penalty kill held up into the intermission, but Kelowna tied it 1-1 just 23 seconds into the second period shortly after play returned to even strength. With Everett still regrouping in its own end, Halaburda picked up the puck off Vlooswyk in the left circle and snuck a shot past Miller.

The Rockets carried that momentum into the early minutes of the frame, hemming the Silvertips into their own end for an extended offensive zone sequence, aided in part by Kayd Ruedig breaking his stick and being unable to clear the puck out. Just when it seemed like Kelowna was poised to take the lead, Everett had other plans.

After finally re-establishing possession in Kelowna’s zone, defenseman Brek Liske flung a puck on net. Tied up with Halaburda in front, Vanhanen managed to get his stick on the rebound and punch it to the back of the net at 4:20 while getting pulled to the ground.

“They’re a great team. They’re going to push,” Busch said. “I think we’re a great team though, too. So I think (that) we’re staying on top of their pushes and know what they’re doing.”

Rockets forward Shane Smith nearly leveled it again just under a minute later, sending a shot off the right post and across the goal line but not quite crossing before it was cleared away. The Silvertips killed off a penalty midway through the period before DuPont and Miettinen connected to extend the lead to 3-1 later in the frame, and Everett had to withstand another Rockets power play beginning at 16:54.

Once again, Miller came up with a handful of big stops, including a lunge to keep out a rebound from forward Tij Iginla’s wide shot off the end boards.

The two sides traded penalties through the first half of the third period, but both teams’ kills were up to the task. In addition to the Silvertips penalty kill finishing the night a perfect 5-for-5, Everett allowed just two shots on goal from Kelowna in the third period, shutting down any opportunity to make a comeback before Vanhanen iced the game with his empty-netter at 18:17.

Hamilton felt the team’s defensive structure finally clicked in the third, with his side playing in the right positions and holding the Rockets’ top offensive threats at bay.

“Obviously when they’re down by two, they’re going to try to be more offensive,” DuPont said. “And not cheat, but try to stretch on some plays, and I think our neutral zone just collapsed. That held them to make them dump in pucks, and I feel like we did a good job of holding them to that.”

As the Silvertips prepare for Game 2 on Saturday, all eyes will be on the status of captain Tarin Smith. The 20-year-old defenseman exited early in Everett’s series-clinching win in Portland on April 1, and he was not ready to return for the start of the second round. Hamilton declined to comment on Smith’s status going forward, but he felt the rest of the defensive corps played well in his absence.

“‘Smitty’ is obviously irreplaceable,” Hamilton said. “You’re going to have to do that by committee, and we played a month with (Liske earlier this season) and that was a similar challenge. I thought the guys handled it well, and we’re going to need to be better tomorrow.”