EVERETT – There’s a certain level of repetitiveness about the WHL.
The Everett Silvertips get to know their U.S. Division rivals perhaps a bit too well by the time the season’s ends, considering they play each no fewer than eight times apiece. Even the B.C. Division teams become familiar after four to six meetings every year.
But tonight the Silvertips receive a breather from their Western Conference routine.
For the first time this season the Everett Events Center plays host to a Central Division team when Everett squares off against the Calgary Hitmen tonight.
It also means the Silvertips have their first encounter with what may be the strongest division in the league.
“It’s going to be nice to see some new blood,” said Everett left wing Brennan Sonne, whose younger brother Brett plays for the Hitmen. “Especially some home-grown family blood.”
But the freshness is accompanied by threat. The five Central Division teams have a collective record of 76-43-7-4. The top four – Medicine Hat, Kootenay, Calgary and Red Deer – are all at least six games over .500. Those four are all ranked in the top nine in the latest Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association poll.
And it’s not like the Central Division has just been beating up on the East Division, either. When Vancouver, Everett’s rival for the best record in the league, made its trek through the Central Division three weeks ago, the Giants won just two of their four games, with both victories coming in overtime.
“They give the appearance of being the strongest division,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said of the Central. “I kind of compare them to the way the B.C. Division was last year. The B.C. Division had four teams well over .500, and that’s what’s going on in the Central now. Kootenay is really strong and Med Hat is really strong and Red Deer is having a rebound year. Even (last place) Lethbridge is smoking offensively. We just think it’s going to be very challenging to win against teams in that division, so we expect a really tough game (tonight).”
Calgary’s arrival also gives the Everett fans their first opportunity to catch a glimpse of a slightly different brand of hockey, one that wasn’t as influenced by the methods Everett brought when it entered the league in 2003.
“(The Central Division) is a little bit more wide open, maybe not as defensive as the U.S. Division has become,” Everett general manager Doug Soetaert explained. “A couple years ago you never saw teams blocking shots. Now out here you see everyone blocking shots, guys paying the price.
“The Central is a very competitive division, a very hard-working division,” Soetaert added. “But I think there’s a little bit more offense in that division than what we’re used to.”
For Sonne, tonight’s game is even more special. Nine family members are traveling down from his home in Maple Ridge, B.C., to watch he and his brother play. That group includes his grandparents, who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
Tonight is the first time Brennan and Brett have faced one another in their WHL careers. They played once four seasons ago when Brennan played for Ridge Meadows and Brett played for Port Coquitlam in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League. Brennan holds the sibling edge 1-0 and intends to keep it that way.
And if Sonne has the chance to line his brother up for a big hit?
“I’ll make sure it’s clean,” he said. “If I hit him in the head I’m sure my mom won’t be too happy with me.”
Slap shots: Everett center Zack Dailey is not expected to play tonight. Dailey, who suffered a twisted ankle in an off-ice stumble, is listed as day-to-day. With center Damir Alic also out for an extended period with a separated shoulder, wingers Jesse Smyke and Jesse Burt will continue to fill in at center. … Backup goaltender David Reekie finally matches the rest of the team as he received his new pads, which fit into the Silvertips’ color scheme. His previous pads were designed with Regina’s colors.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
