Original season-ticket holders are relishing Silvertips run

EVERETT — Doris and Tom Rupert waited a long time and put a lot of miles on their vehicle waiting for this moment.

The Stanwood couple was in Kelowna, B.C., in 2004 when the Everett Silvertips pulled off the unlikeliest of upsets, defeating the heavily-favored Kelowna Rockets in Game 7 of the WHL’s Western Conference championship series. They devoted the entire 2013-14 season to following the team, attending all 77 of Everett’s regular season and playoff games. And they were part of the crowd that welcomed the Tips back to Angel of the Winds Arena at 3 a.m. last Tuesday morning after Everett claimed this year’s conference title with a Game 6 victory over the Tri-City Americans.

They and the rest of the Tips’ original season-ticket holders have been a loyal crew, and now they’re all relishing Everett’s first return to the WHL championship series in 14 years.

“It’s been phenomenal, to go home and discuss every game and watch every win — and every loss, too.” Doris Rupert said prior to Tuesday’s Game 3.

Game 4 of the WHL championship series was Wednesday night at Angel of the Winds Arena. Everett went into the contest trailing the Swift Current Broncos 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. This is the Tips’ first trip to the league finals since 2004, when Everett defied the odds by reaching the championship series as an expansion team.

“I’ve enjoyed watching it,” said Ron Olsen of Everett, who with his wife Shirley has been a season-ticket holder from the beginning, and who helped get the booster club off the ground. “I’m missing a lot of golf, but I’m enjoying it.”

That’s the sentiment of all of Everett’s longtime season-ticket holders. Zoran Rajcic, the chief operating officer of Consolidated Sports Holdings, which owns the Tips, estimated there are about 1,400 seats that still belong to original season-ticket holders.

And for those fans it’s been a long time coming to cheer on a team playing for a WHL championship.

“We knew we’d get here someday, but I didn’t expect it to take this long,” said Craig Wood of Arlington, who along with his wife Kyoko were original season-ticket holders.

“Yeah, it’s been a wait,” said Teresa Sarsted of Everett, who with her husband Bill has been a season-ticket holder from day one. “There’s been teams in the past you thought were going to do this, the Peter Mueller and Zach Hamill years. But I just think this year’s team has it.

“It’s very exciting because the first year we went to the finals, but didn’t win,” Sarsted added. “This team is so exciting, and Mitch (Love, who played for the 2003-04 team) is an assistant coach, it kind of brings everything full circle.”

It’s been a different kind of fan experience for the originals this time around. In 2004 hockey was brand new to the area, and the Tips taught the sport to the community. Now those who were on board at the start are better able to appreciate the nuances of the game than they could 14 years earlier.

“As a fan I’m more invested in the team now because we’ve been fans since day one,” Sarsted said. “I think the fan experience for newbies is just as exciting as it was, but that first year we all came together because this was new for Everett and a chance to learn hockey.”

However, in some ways the fan experience is just the same as it was in 2004.

“It’s almost a real similar feeling because they were such underdogs in 2004, and at the beginning of this season these guys weren’t expected to make the playoffs by most people,” Tom Rupert said. “So it’s kind of an underdog story again, and it’s exciting.”

In 2004 Everett’s stay in the finals was a short one, as the Tips were swept by Medicine Hat in four straight. This year’s team has already eclipsed that team’s achievements by winning a game, and going into Wednesday’s Game 4 the margins were razor thin as each of the first three games was decided by a single goal, including two being decided in overtime.

“I’m so nervous right now,” Wood said. “It was really disappointing to get swept by Medicine Hat, they kind of dominated it. It’s all about expectations, and after those first two games (against Swift Current) I don’t know what to expect. This is a flip of a coin and really exciting. I never expected this team to be where we are right now, I did not see it coming.”

So which Everett team would win a seven-game series, the 2004 squad or this year’s edition? Opinions were mixed.

“I think Everett will win. Oh, you want me to pick a team!” Olsen quipped. “I think 2004. They were a little larger, and they were basically the kids nobody wanted, so they had a chip on their shoulder to prove that they could do it.”

“It’s such a different team,” Wood said. “I think I’d go with this team. It scores goals. In 2004 we were just trapping and slogging and grabbing and clutching, and it was a beautiful thing. But win or lose this is more fun to watch, I love the offensive activity.”

While the veteran fans may be divided on that question, they’re united in one hope: to see the Tips win their first WHL championship and advance to the Memorial Cup, which takes place May 17-27 in Regina, Saskatchewan.

“If they play like they can and keep at it, I think they can beat these guys,” Tom Rupert said.

To which Doris Rupert followed: “And the minute we know we’re going to the Memorial Cup, we’re on the phone for tickets.”

Follow Nick Patterson on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.