Portland 7, Everett 3, Tips reassign four
Published 10:56 pm Sunday, September 6, 2009
TALKING POINTS
An unimpressive game from the Tips tonight. Granted, Everett played without eight guys who would probably be members of the top three lines and top two defensive pairings, as well as its No. 1 goalie. But there really weren’t many positives to take away from an Everett standpoint, with coach Craig Hartsburg making clear following the game that it was an unacceptable effort level from the Tips.
In contrast, there were plenty of positives all weekend from Portland’s standpoint. This is not going to be a recognizable Winterhawks team when compared to the previous three seasons. They have size, speed, skill, effort, the total package. Based on what I saw, going from worst to first in the division is not out of the question.
It was also a game marred by some ticky-tack officiating that resulted in 21 power plays, killing any chance for the game to get into a rhythm. The power plays didn’t help Everett any as the Tips went 0-for-11, with Portland getting as many high-quality scoring chances on Everett’s power plays as the Tips.
After the game the Tips reassigned four players, none of those being a surprise. Heading out were 16-year-old forward Mitchell Loose, 16-year-old defenseman Evan Morden, 15-year-old defenseman Nicholas Walters and 15-year-old goaltender Andy Desautels. That leaves the Tips with 30 players — 18 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders. Six of those are currently at NHL rookie camps, with a seventh scheduled to depart during the week.
One interesting anecdote. Recently-acquired goaltender Luke Siemens arrived with a pretty beat-up mask, so they pulled one off a shelf in general manager Doug Soetaert’s office for Siemens to use. And let me just say, the artwork on that mask is the best I’ve ever seen on a Silvertips mask.
In the earlier games, Prince George beat Tri-City 2-1 thanks to a goal and an assist from former Everett defenseman Jeff Regier, and Spokane blanked Seattle 3-0.
TURNING POINT
The moment the second period started it was really all over. Even though the Tips took a 2-1 lead, the Winterhawks were dominating play, outshooting Everet 16-4 in the period, and finished the period up 4-2.
HIT OF THE DAY
Portland dished out several good hits, with the most memorable being when Taylor Peters hammered Alex Poulter into the wall during a first-period penalty kill.
THREE RISERS (Everett players who helped themselves)
Honestly, can’t say anybody really helped themselves tonight. Maybe Siemens, who in his first action in a Tips uniform made some good saves while allowing three goals on 13 shots in the third period.
LINEUP NOTES
Everett lineup: Dunstall, Van de Velde, Hunt, Winquist, Froese, Elynuik, Poulter, White, Parker, McCrea, McGrath, Tyrell, Theriau, Morden, de la Lande, Scherger, McDermott, Sohor, Simpson, Siemens.
Scratches: Maxwell, Harper, Iwanski, Tochkin, Dailey, Abney, Gudas, Minville, Rissanen, Murray, Walters, Heemskerk. Loose and Desautels are not on the tournament roster.
Portland lineup: Berglund, Boychuk, Francis, Gabriel, Johansen, Kopitar, Niederreiter, Peters, Rattie, Reddin, Ross, Schneider, Aronson, Bobbee, Morrow, Rutkowski, Watt, Wotherspoon, Curtis, Baadsvik.
Scratches: Basford, Bennett, Grecica, Jordan, Leier, Orser, Swenson, Valchar, Walker, Ehrhardt, Hanson, Johnston, Madsen, Ponich, Pouliot, Hamilton, Mucha.
