EVERETT – It all comes down to this. One game, do-or-die, winner takes all.
There’s nothing quite like Game 7.
When the Everett Silvertips take the ice tonight against the Portland Winter Hawks in Game 7 of their Western Hockey League playoff series at the Rose Garden, they do so knowing that if they win, their season will continue, and if they lose, they’re going home.
“It’s the most exciting thing in sports, at least that’s what any hockey player would tell you,” Everett center Torrie Wheat said about Game 7. “Seventh games are special. The rivalry’s so heavy and it’s do or die for both teams. It always ends up being a good show.”
In a Game-7 situation where both teams’ season is on the line, tension levels increase just that much more and the significance of every goal, every penalty, every play is amplified.
“It is a little tense, but you’ve got to go out there and have the approach that you’re going to grab it for yourselves,” Everett captain Mitch Love said. “You can’t wait for the other team to make a mistake or let them capitalize. You have to earn it yourself.”
The Tips were hoping it wouldn’t get to this point. Everett had a commanding 3-1 series lead, but a late game-winning goal in Game 5 by Brian Woolger and an overtime winner in Game 6 by Darrell May helped the Winter Hawks twice stave off elimination.
But the Tips are trying not to let those lost opportunities affect their morale.
“After Game 6 everyone was pretty disappointed,” Wheat said. “It was probably the most disappointing loss of my career so far. But our coaches came in and did a good job of getting us ready, trying to get that off our mind and get us excited for Game 7. I think that’s the main thing. If we’re excited to play and we really want to play and really want to win, I think we’ll do all right.”
If there’s one thing the Tips can take heart from, it’s the way the quality of their performances have improved as the series has progressed. Given Portland’s domination in the first four games, Everett felt lucky to lead the series 3-1. The Tips picked up their play and matched the Winter Hawks in Games 5 and 6, but the key bounces fell Portland’s way, much like they fell to Everett earlier in the series.
Therefore, Everett doesn’t feel any need to change its approach in Game 7.
“You can’t change anything,” Love said. “I think we played two of our best games of the series the last two and haven’t been given the results. So you’ve just got to hope for a good bounce and work our way towards that with some hard work.”
One thing the Tips do need to do is come out of the chute a little faster. Everett has generally been outplayed in the early going of periods, and at times that’s proven costly to the Tips. It becomes all the more crucial when one considers that the team that’s scored first in each game has gone on to win.
“I think starts of periods haven’t been great, meaning the first few shifts of each period,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “For example, in Game 5 they scored in the first two minutes and then they scored in the first minute of the third period the other night. So if you look at the first three or four minutes of periods they’ve been a little better than us.”
Portland has the advantage of being at home, meaning the Winter Hawks will have both crowd support and the final say on line matchups after stoppages.
But Everett can draw upon its experience, both of having won four games in Portland this season during the regular season and playoffs, and also from having won its only other Game 7 in franchise history, last season in the Western Conference finals at Kelowna.
“For the guys who were a part of that last year, we have to bring that valuable experience to the lineup tomorrow,” Love said. “With the addition of all the younger guys this year on our hockey club, it’s a good chance for them to see what a Game 7, do or die, is all about. The other guys have to lead the way and hopefully they’ll follow suit.”
Everett has been banged up throughout the series, but the Tips should be near full strength for tonight’s game. Love, who suffered a bruised knee in Game 3 and sat out Games 4 and 5, fought through the pain in Game 6 and will give it a go again tonight. The only likely scratch among Everett’s regulars is left wing Tyler Dietrich, who has only played in Game 3 as he continues to recover from a fractured ankle.
Everett made one addition to its roster for Game 7. Center/defenseman Derek Lewis, who played in 40 games for the Tips before being reassigned to Penticton of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League, has rejoined the team.
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