EVERETT — Bryce Kindopp officially has his mojo back.
Kindopp, the Everett Silvertips’ leading scorer and captain, factored in all four of his team’s goals and scored the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Western Hockey League action Sunday at Angel of the Winds Arena.
Kindopp finished the game with two goals and two assists.
The overage forward scored Saturday in a 4-3 loss to Portland, snapping a five-game stretch without a point. It was the longest pointless stretch for Kindopp since a nine-game game scoring slump in November of the 2017-2018 season.
“It’s just nice to see that hundred-pound gorilla fall off his back with that first (goal),” Everett head coach Dennis Williams said. “It was good. I think for him, he’s your everyday workhorse out there. He brings it every night. I’m never worried he’s not getting those points because I know they’ll come, because he plays the game right.”
Kindopp native took the league by storm to start the season, posting eight goals and 14 points in his first six games. But other teams around the WHL started to get the memo and began to zero in on him.
Perhaps the added attention opened up the ice for some of Everett’s forwards and benefited the Silvertips in the long run, as Everett is 11-3-1 since Kindopp’s sweltering start.
Kindopp said he didn’t worry, despite the dip in scoring.
“Any time you get hot a little bit, teams are going to focus on you more,” he said. “It helps that we have a really good team that can sometimes help take the load off you. … Obviously, I have really good linemates (Gage Goncalves and Cole Fonstad) and it takes the load off a little bit, too.”
Kindopp’s game-winning goal was an unassisted tally at 3:52 in the overtime period.
It was a long-developing, solo effort on Kindopp’s behalf.
After Silvertips goaltender Keegan Karki made a blocker save, Kindopp corralled the puck, chipped it along the boards, chased it down in the neutral zone, started the rush, waited out a Tri-City player defending the two-on-one chance and snapped a shot past Americans’ net-minder Talyn Boyko for his 16th goal of the season.
“I’ve always said that he’s got that sneaky breakaway speed,” Williams said. “I’d put him straight-line skating against anyone in the league. Some people might look at it and say it’s not maybe as fluid as others, but you throw a puck down the ice, it’s not very often guys are going to get that extra half stride on him. If they do, he’s got such a good strong stick to lift up pucks and get it.
“For him to make that play in overtime and get some separation on the two-on-one and then to have the poise to pull it, have the (defenseman) drop and snap it all in one motion, that’s a big-time play from a big-time player.”
Kindopp’s first goal was also unassisted. The 20-year-old forward intercepted a pass in Tri-City’s zone and wristed a shot past Boyko to tie the game 1-1 at 6:25 in the first period.
“I kind of just read the play and put my stick in there and (the Tri-City defenseman) just kind of threw it (to a teammate) and it banked off my stick right in front of me,” Kindopp said. “I just kind of shut my eyes and whacked it and then it went in the right spot.”
There’s something about the Tri-City Americans that leads to massive point totals for Kindopp. In three meetings with the Americans, Kindopp boasts five goals and nine points.
Wyatte Wylie scored Everett’s other two goals. The first came at 0:47 in the second period to tie the game 2-2. The second came on the power play at 6:31 to put Everett up 3-2.
Tri-City’s Krystof Hrabik netted the equalizer at 17:43 in the third period, sending the game to overtime.
SNAP SHOTS
With Wylie’s power-play goal, the Silvertips have scored with the man advantage in four straight contests. … Fonstad’s assist streak of 11 games, which led the WHL, was snapped Sunday.
NEXT UP
The Silvertips host the Spokane Chiefs on Wednesday for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.
Josh Horton covers the Silvertips for the Herald. Follow him on Twitter, @joshhortonEDH
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