Everett 3, Tri-City 2
Published 10:55 pm Friday, January 7, 2011
TALKING POINTS
The long wait is finally over for Landon Ferraro. Everett’s captain hadn’t scored in more than two months, with his last goal coming way back on Oct. 22 in Kelowna. In between were 20 games without a goal. But Ferraro ended his frustration tonight by scoring twice, including what proved to be the game winner. This came one day after I wrote a story about Ferraro’s drought, so do I get to claim a little bit of the credit?
This was huge for Ferraro, who the Tips need to score goals if they’re to be any kind of a threat this season. Perhaps this is the spark he needs to jump-start his season.
It was a huge win for the Tips, too. Everett has a challenging three-in-three weekend against the Western Conference’s top three teams: Tri-City, Spokane and Portland. With key players out — leading scorer Tyler Maxwell and No. 1 goalie Kent Simpson are both out sick — the Tips were staring at the possibility of a six-game losing streak heading into Monday’s trade deadline. But Everett put together a good performance tonight and deserved the victory over a quality opponent. Interestingly, Everett is 4-1-0-1 against Tri-City this season.
Rasmus Rissanen was back in the lineup for Everett after serving his time with Team Finland at the World Junior Hockey Championships. His presence was a big boost for the Tips as he was a big part of a solid defensive performance.
Finally, there was a great crowd in the building tonight. Lots of energy and enthusiasm from the fans.
TURNING POINT
Tri-City had pulled within one with 6:33 remaining and was preparing for a big push down the stretch when Brendan Shinnimin took a checking-from-behind penalty with 1:57 remaining. That took the steam out of any Tri-City comeback attempt, and the Americans showed their frustration the rest of the way, with the game ending with a brief melee.
HIT OF THE DAY
Early in the game Everett’s Nick Walters, just back from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, put a good open-ice shoulder charge on Neal Prokop as Prokop tried to enter the offensive zone.
THREE STARS
First star: Ferraro. Two goals and a big sigh of relief.
Second star: Luke Siemens, Everett. 29 saves, with Simpson out he came up big.
Third star: Drew Owsley, Tri-City. 36 saves, he’s been fantastic in games in Everett this season.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Ryan Murray, Everett. One assist, just exudes class.
BOX SCORE
