Cue up Willie Nelson. The Everett Silvertips are On the Road Again.
Or perhaps the Beatles’ Long and Winding Road would be a more appropriate title.
Whatever one’s musical taste, the Silvertips are just beginning their most-daunting road trip of the season.
Tonight’s game in Prince Albert is the first stop on Everett’s five-game, 11-day sojourn through the Western Hockey League’s East Division, a road trip that’s certain to test the Silvertips’ resolve.
“I think it’s a challenge to go out on the road,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “I always think it’s the mark of whether you’re a good team or not when you have an extended road trip. So I look forward to seeing how the guys react to that.”
The trip, which Everett began immediately following Tuesday night’s 3-0 home loss against Prince George, will cover approximately 3,000 miles and require about 60 hours on the bus. Overnight stops include Spokane, Saskatoon and Regina (twice) in Saskatchewan, and Brandon in Manitoba. In addition, the Tips make Saskatchewan day trips to Prince Albert and Moose Jaw.
And all that travel takes its toll on the players.
“It’s hard traveling,” Everett center Mark Kress said. “You get tired and drained from all these games and you’re not really practicing, you’re just playing games all the time. So you really have to be on top of your game all the time.”
This road trip is the longest and most extensive in franchise history. Last season the Silvertips broke their Eastern Conference road trip into two, and those trips involved less distance because the swings were through the Central Division rather than the East Division.
Everett fared reasonably well in its two trips out east last season, going 2-1 on the first one and 1-1 on the second one.
This time the Silvertips are taking care of their Eastern Conference swing in one shot, and the Silvertips are out to do more than just survive. With three teams well under .500 – including winless Moose Jaw – on the schedule, Everett is looking to come away from the trip with its share of points.
“You hear a lot in sports that you want to go on the road and finish .500. That’s totally not true,” Everett captain Mitch Love said. “You want to go out there and win as many games as you can and leave everything out on the ice.”
But then, the Silvertips really don’t know what to expect from their East Division foes.
“I think a lot of it is you don’t know the teams, you don’t know their tendencies and what they like to do out there,” Everett center Torrie Wheat said. “You just have to stick to your own game plan and play that to the best of your ability and hope things go well.”
One of the positive aspects of the trip east is it gives several of the players a chance to play in front of their families. The Silvertips have five players from Saskatchewan and one from Manitoba, as well as another five from Alberta whose families take advantage of the shorter drive.
Also, the trip gives the coaches a chance to check in with the future of the team. Several of Everett’s young prospects plan on spending time with the team during the trip. Sixteen-year-old defenseman Zach Sim and 15-year-old forwards Keegan Bourelle, Mitchel Wall and Jesse Burt will practice with the team in Saskatoon, while 15-year-old goalies Chris Ward and Shayne Barrie and 15-year-old defenseman Michael Alexander will join the team in Regina.
And there’s nothing better than a lengthy road trip to get the players bonding.
“I’m looking forward to going out there,” Love said. “It’ll be my last calling in that neck of the woods in my WHL career and it’s always nice to see those barns again. The only thing I don’t really like is the bus ride, but it’s got to be done and every junior team does it. It’ll be fun, a little more bonding for our team to get closer together before Christmas.”
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