TALKING POINTS
Everett overcame a mistake-filled second period, scoring twice in the final 10 minutes of regulation to force overtime. Then the Tips won 2-1 in the shootout, continuing their tiebreaker success. Everett is 6-1 in shootouts this season and has always been successful in the shootout (I would give the historical numbers but the WHL website appears to be on the fritz). Not sure why the Tips have always been good at shootouts, despite the turnover in personnel and coaches.
I thought the Tips were doomed for sure when former Everett star Kyle Beach stepped up with a chance to win it in the third round. Beach is as good as it gets in those situations, and he beat Thomas Heemskerk clean with his shot. However, it came back off the post, giving Scott MacDonald the chance to win it for Everett.
Now catching up on some things after talking to Tips general manager Doug Soetaert:
– Soetaert tried to make a deal for another forward at today’s trade deadline, but nothing materialized. He said he wanted to do something without trading away a player currently on the roster and he thought he had something on the hook, but he needed another deal to happen for his deal to go through and that didn’t work out.
– It’s still questionable whether call-up forward Tyler Giebel will remain with the team the remainder of the season. The 16-year-old would need to play a pro-rated 40 games the rest of the way, and the Tips aren’t sure they can get him into enough games to make that happen. A decision is expected to be made soon.
– Dale Hunt was reassigned to the Dauphin Kings of the MJHL. Dauphin is this year’s host for the Royal Bank Cup, which is the junior A version of the Memorial Cup. Soetaert said the move was made because Hunt was passed in the depth chart by younger players, and as a 19-year-old needed to go somewhere where he would play.
– Everett goaltending prospect Luke Siemens, who was loaned to Prince George under emergency circumstances for Saturday’s game in Seattle, received notice just two hours before the game started. Prince George No. 1 Hudson Stremmel didn’t make the trip because of a concussion, and backup Alex Wright suffered a broken collar bone against Tri-City. It’s awfully convenient that the 17-year-old Siemens, who’s playing for Quesnel of the BCHL, just happened to be down the road in Everett practicing with the Tips. Interesting timing for Siemens’ visit, too.
TURNING POINT
Everett trailed 3-2 late in regulation when a remarkable sequence tied it up. First, Heemskerk made a miracle blind skate save to deny Levko Koper. The Tips went the other way, and after establishing the puck in the Spokane zone, defenseman Ryan Murray made a great move around a marker to get into the slot and fired into the top corner to tie it. It was sweet redemption for Murray, whose miscue in the second period led to a short-handed goal for Spokane’s Steve Kuhn.
HIT OF THE DAY
Late in the first period Everett’s Radko Gudas bowled over Beach as Beach was clearing the puck on the penalty kill, drawing thunderous cheers from the Comcast Arena crowd.
THREE STARS
First star: Tyler Maxwell, Everett. Assisted on all three Everett goals and scored in the shootout, though none of his assists had a whole lot to do with the goals.
Second star: Mitch Wahl, Spokane. A goal and an assist and also scored in the shootout.
Third star: Heemskerk. 33 saves, the late save probably earned him a star.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Beach. A goal and an assist, he was much better than in his first trip to Comcast as a member of the Chiefs.
BOX SCORE
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