3 takeaways from the Silvertips’ win over the Saskatoon Blades

EVERETT — After honoring Saskatoon Blades head coach Mitch Love, the former Silvertips captain and assistant coach, before the game, the Everett Silvertips pummeled Love’s Blades, 6-1, on Friday night at Angel of the Winds Arena.

Here are the three takeaways:

1. Power play clicking

The Silvertips were lethal with the man advantage on Friday, converting 5 of 7 power-play chances. The five power-play goals tied a franchise record, set eight separate times and most recently in a 9-1 blowout over Lethbridge on Jan. 26 last season.

Gage Goncalves scored the first two, making himself comfortable in his spot in the right circle by sniping two shots past Saskatoon goaltender Nolan Maier’s gloveside.

Locked and loaded. #LetsGoTips @Fairbro24 pic.twitter.com/omfIyWtkRm

— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) November 23, 2019

Goncalves, known more for his above average passing ability, is displaying quite the scoring touch in his second year in the league, with 10 goals in 17 games this year.

🎯 pic.twitter.com/i9xYkneotC

— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) November 23, 2019

“Hopefully, like anything, it definitely breeds confidence,” Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams said. “When things are going for you in that manner, you probably see a lot of the net. Like that first one, I’m sure Maier wanted it back, I think it handcuffed him in between the body, but that second one was a big-time shot and release. The big thing for him is he was getting it off the stick quick. He wasn’t double clutching it, going forehand, backhand, forehand. He was able to catch the puck, turn and snap it.”

The Silvertips’ second unit did the rest.

Gianni Fairbrother clapped a slap shot from the right point under Maier’s glove to put the Silvertips up 3-1 in the second period and followed it up by burying another one-timer in the third period for the first multi-goal game of his career.

Locked and loaded. #LetsGoTips @Fairbro24 pic.twitter.com/omfIyWtkRm

— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) November 23, 2019

Jackson Berezowski swatted in Michal Gut’s rebound in the second period on the power play and was also the only Silvertip to score at even strength on Friday night, punching in a rebound off an odd-man rush.

Both of Everett’s power-play units, despite featuring different looks, looked sharp in terms of puck possession and movement.

“It’s something we’ve honed in a lot since we added a weapon there in Cole (Fonstad) coming in,” Williams said. “In practices, we try to work on it daily and just reiterating the importance of puck movement and puck support on it, not so much scoring on every one but creating chances and changing the momentum of the game and the mindset of our opponents. Today the guys were obviously feeling and it’s good to see both units.”

2. Seeley rewarded with career night

Ronan Seeley assisted on four of Everett’s six goals against the Blades, demolishing his career-high in assists and points, which was only one entering Friday.

The 2002-boorn defenseman has played with pace and poise for most of the season, but hasn’t been rewarded much with just four assists in 19 games entering Friday. But he doubled his season point total with his performance.

Williams said assistant coach Louis Mass made a comment to him during the third period that it reminded him of Seeley’s play during the preseason. Williams obliged.

“(He was) breaking the puck out, crashing the net, wheeling it out, he was really good,” Williams said. “You know what I think what happens with Ronan is he comes back as a second-year player and in his defense he didn’t play a ton of situations for us on the power play or penalty kill. So for him, it’s all new. But I liked his game five-on-five, I’ve liked it the last five, six, seven, eight games. I think he’s just going to continue to get better and better.”

3. Love ceremony goes swimmingly

Although it delayed puck drop by 13 minutes, Love’s pregame ceremony was both engaging and emotional for those in the building.

The most revealing part, though, was Love’s speech, which demonstrated his character and passion for the Silvertips organization, especially when he eschewed the speech he had prepared and spoke off the cuff.

“The players were kind of getting a little antsy to play the game, and I didn’t want to keep them waiting, because I had probably 10 minutes of stuff I wanted to say to people,” Love said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about the fans and what they did for this team that I was a part of the first few years and the coaching staffs I was apart of. And also at the end of the day it’s about the players and you could see the energy in the building tonight. It was a fun atmosphere, like it always is.”

Josh Horton covers the Silvertips for the Herald. Follow him on Twitter, @joshhortonEDH.