RED DEER, Alberta — The Everett Silvertips needed a period before they got going Saturday night. Thomas Heemskerk held down the fort until his teammates reached full speed.
The Everett goaltender turned in a stellar performance, turning away all 41 shots he faced, and the Silvertips defeated the Red Deer Rebels 3-0.
The shutout was the first of the season by the Tips. It was also the first time Red Deer was shut out this season.
Red Deer dominated the first period as the Tips started slow, but Heemskerk made 20 saves to keep Everett in the game. Then the Tips recovered, with Radko Gudas scoring twice and Dan Iwanski also scoring as Everett (8-4-0-0) improved to 2-0 on its trip through the WHL’s Central Division.
Heemskerk’s play made sure the Tips won comfortably, despite being outshot 41-23 and giving up six power plays versus earning just two.
Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves in goal for Red Deer (8-9-0-0).
It looked like it was going to be a long night for Everett in the first period. Red Deer dominated play, kept the puck trapped in the Tips’ zone, and created all kinds of scoring chances. The Rebels outshot the Tips 20-6 in the period, and it was only Heemskerk’s efforts that kept the score tied.
Everett came out a different team in the second period and needed just 1 minute, 12 seconds to grab the lead. Gudas shot from the right point through heavy traffic, and the puck found its way past Kuemper to make it 1-0.
The Tips then doubled their lead late in the second. Good work in deep by the Everett forwards opened up an opportunity for Iwanski in close. Iwanski’s first attempt was saved, but he was able to jam the rebound past Kuemper to make it 2-0 at 16:55.
Everett then put the game away at the 5:12 mark of the third period. On the Tips’ first power play of the game, Gudas delayed his shot from the center point until a screen gave him sight of the corner of the net, and he wristed the puck into the opening to give Everett a three-goal cushion.
Red Deer had some late power plays with an opportunity to make a game of it, but Heemskerk again closed the door to secure the shutout.
Silvertips 3, Rebels 0
Everett 0 2 1—3
Red Deer 0 0 0—0
First Period—No goals. Penalties—Rissanen, Everett (interference), 11:50.
Second Period—1, Everett, Gudas 6 (Maxwell), 1:12. 2, Everett, Iwanski 3 (Dailey, Hunt), 16:55. Penalties—Langkow, Everett (hooking), 3:28; Maxwell, Everett (hooking), 11:43.
Third Period—3, Everett, Gudas 7 (Tochkin, Maxwell), 5:12 (pp). Penalties—Persson, Red Deer (tripping), 3:23; Cowen, Red Deer (slashing), 5:25; de la Lande, Everett (roughing), 7:10; Gudas, Everett (elbowing), 12:23; Harper, Everett (tripping), 15:48.
Shots on goal—Everett 6-13-4—23. Red Deer 20-8-13—41. Power-play opportunities—Everett 1 of 2. Red Deer 0 of 6.
Goalies—Everett, Heemskerk 5-2-0-0 (41 shots, 41 saves). Red Deer, Kuemper 6-8-0-0 (23 shots, 20 saves).
A—4,335.
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