Injuries were too much for Silvertips to overcome

EVERETT – The Everett Silvertips gathered one last time at the Everett Events Center on Thursday.

Everett’s season came thudding to a halt Tuesday, the Silvertips being swept out of the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs by their 4-3 overtime loss to the Kootenay Ice.

But even the sudden nature of their exit couldn’t take the luster off what, in many ways, was a season just as remarkable as their record-breaking inaugural season.

“Amidst the frustration of being so close in each of those games (against Kootenay), there is reason to say what our players accomplished during the season was still special,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “Even though it wasn’t a Memorial Cup, it was still a heck of a thing to get done when you consider all the circumstances.”

On the surface, Everett’s second season in the WHL pales in comparison to its first.

During the regular season the Tips finished 33-28-9-2 and in third place in the U.S. Division, then beat Portland 4-3 in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out 4-0 against Kootenay.

A year earlier as an expansion team Everett won the U.S. Division title during the regular season, the Western Conference championship during the playoffs, and set just about every league record for an expansion franchise.

But the circumstances were far different in year two than in year one. Everett went from being the oldest team in the WHL to being the youngest, starting the season with seven 16-year-olds and finishing it with nine. Everett also had to deal with trying to live up to the impossible standards set during its first season. Most didn’t think the Tips could do it as Everett was picked by most preseason prognosticators to finish in the bottom three in the league.

Then the hits kept coming during the season. The Tips had their best player, center Riley Armstrong, unexpectedly wrenched from the roster on the eve of the season because Armstrong earned a professional contract. And Everett suffered an injury plague in the last half of the season that seemed biblical in proportions, with overagers Mitch Love and Tyler Dietrich missing almost the entire postseason.

Despite those obstacles, the Tips still became just the fourth expansion team in WHL history to record a winning record in its second season – and the first since the 1992-93 Tacoma Rockets – and Everett pulled off a spirited first-round playoff upset over Portland with a thrilling 3-2 victory in Game 7 in Portland.

“I think we exceeded a few expectations of people in the hockey world,” Love said. “With the youth of our hockey club and the injuries, to be the only team in major junior hockey history to have a winning record in its first two seasons is something to be very proud about.”

Everett’s season wasn’t without its bumps. The Tips suffered through a dire stretch in January, including a stretch of nine losses in 10 games. And Everett couldn’t shake the injury bug in the second half, with key players Love, Dietrich, Mark Kress and Zach Hamill missing significant time and several others playing through pain.

“I think we had the team, if everything was right, that maybe even could have won the league,” center Torrie Wheat said. “If everyone was healthy we had an unreal team. But we were so injury stricken that it just killed us.”

But there were more highlights than lowlights during the season. Among them:

* Goaltender Michael Wall, charged with replacing team MVP Jeff Harvey, filled in capably. Wall finished the regular season 24-22-8 and in the top five in the league in both goals against average (1.92) and save percentage (.931). Wall then stepped up his play in the postseason, at times carrying the team on his back.

* Right wing Alex Leavitt, acquired by trade in November, became the most dangerous offensive force in franchise history. Leavitt had 13 goals and 35 assists in 49 games with Everett during the regular season, then led the team with six goals and five assists during the playoffs.

* Wheat, taking over for Armstrong, transformed himself from a defensive right wing into the team’s top center. An offensive nonfactor the previous season, Wheat led the team in both goals (25) and points (57) during the regular season.

* Everett’s 1988-born class made an instant impact. Hamill was the top-scoring 16-year-old in the league with 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists), while right wing Brady Calla and defensemen Taylor Ellington and Jonathan Harty all played a regular shift. Leland Irving was spectacular as Everett’s backup goaltender.

All-in-all, it was a successful follow-up to Everett’s memorable expansion season.

“I think you can tell that we were way more competitive in games this year than last year,” Everett defenseman Shaun Heshka said. “Last year we were breaking boundaries. This year I don’t think we were taken lightly by anyone.”