The Everett Silvertips had the day off Wednesday. Per head coach Kevin Constantine it was a day designed to get completely away from the sport and the rink. No team bonding activities were scheduled.

The Tips will skate tomorrow morning at Xfinity Arena before bussing to Kelowna where they will face a much different Rockets team:

Expect Chartier and Thurkauf back in line-up Friday and Soustal most likely to be back in line-up beginning Saturday #WHLRockets

— Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets) January 6, 2016

The Silvertips have won six of their last seven away from home and they’ll try to recreate that road magic with three straight road games this weekend. Everett will play eight of its next 11 games on the road including its second swing to the Central Division where the Tips will take on Edmonton and Red Deer.

Since it was an off day for the players, today is an excellent chance to check up on some links from around the league. Tim Pigulski who covers the Seattle Thunderbirds looks at Seattle’s recent flurry of trades. Gregg Drinnan in Kamloops interviewed Jamaican-born Blazer Jermaine Loewen and wrote about the growth of Jamaica’s hockey community. Yes, Jamaica has a hockey community.

Tips fans will cringe as Auston Matthews gets more love for his stellar play at the World Junior Championship in Finland, while the Finnish fans celebrated their gold medal like only Finns can. Having been in a Finnish sauna last May I can honestly say I’m not surprised.

That’s about it for today. Former Silvertips color man Dave Sheldon will be calling the action Friday in Kelowna. He will be pinch-hitting for regular play-by-play man Mike Benton, who will be at a funeral in California.