Everett 4, Seattle 0
Published 11:01 pm Friday, March 2, 2012
TALKING POINTS
Two months ago, if I’m to be completely honest, I had written the Silvertips off. They were 10 points off the bottom of the Western Conference standings and on a road to nowhere, and I was already bracing myself for the cold, rainy afternoons covering prep baseball in late March.
Well, tonight is the night Everett showed me up. By beating Seattle the Tips leapfrogged the T-birds in the standings and now occupy the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference. It’s certainly not a secure spot — Seattle has a game in hand and the Tips still have to travel twice to Kent. But I have to give the Tips a ton of credit for dragging themselves back into the race, regardless of how this thing plays out the rest of the way.
Tonight was a comprehensive victory for Everett. The Tips came out strong from the start, controlled play during the first two periods to build their four-goal advantage, then coasted home in the third. I didn’t get to watch last Saturday’s game in Kent, which Seattle won 3-0, but I’ve got to think this was a completely different Everett team.
Things started to get a little ugly toward the end as the T-birds looked to vent their frustrations, and I have to give the officials a lot of credit for preventing things from exploding into mayhem.
TURNING POINT
No turn in this one. Everett was the better team right from the start and well worth its lead.
HIT OF THE DAY
Late in the first period Seattle’s Jim Hickman rode Cody Fowlie hard into the boards, sending Fowlie high and horizontal.
THREE STARS
First star: Josh Birkholz, Everett. One goal and one assist, he’s owned the T-birds this season (eight goals and four assists in eight games).
Second star: Reid Petryk, Everett. One goal and one assist, he and Birkholz played well off one another.
Third star: Kent Simpson, Everett. 25 saves, it’s taken a while, but congrats on the first shutout of the season.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Josh Winquist, Everett. One goal, played with a little extra fire, especially early on.
BOX SCORE
