Pair of 3rd-period goals lift Silvertips over Americans

EVERETT — Like they always say: The 57th try is a charm.

After Tri-City goaltender Beck Warm stopped the Silvertips’ first 56 shots of the game, Zack Andrusiak potted Everett’s first goal with 10:40 remaining in the third period. The floodgates opened after that, as Bryce Kindopp buried the game-winner with 48.6 seconds remaining to lift Everett to a 2-1 win over Tri-City on Friday at Angel of the Winds Arena.

Silvertips forward Bryce Kindopp from Everett Herald on Vimeo.

“You could see they were frustrated in between the second and third periods,” Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams said. “We just told them, ‘Relax, keep playing. it’s going to come.’ Sometimes the game is unfair. It’s unfortunate. But to their credit, they hung in there and got two by the final buzzer.

“I was really happy with our resiliency, our commitment. I told our kids, ‘Hey, we were great for 60 minutes.’”

Artyom Minulin fired a shot from the point and Kindopp snuck up backdoor to bury a one-timer past Warm to put the Silvertips on top for good.

Kindopp’s teammates gravitated toward him during the postgame handshake line, hugging him and patting him on the head for sealing the win in regulation and ensuring a key two points for the Silvertips in the standings.

Sooooo… want highlights? #LetsGoTips pic.twitter.com/v05txknJcF

— x Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) March 2, 2019

The Silvertips set a franchise record with 62 shots. The Americans registered just 22.

Andrusiak tied the game with 10:20 remaining, parking in front of the net and clapping a one-timer off a feed from Wyatte Wylie.

“Yeah, it was definitely a relief,” Andruisak said. “We had a tough time finding the back and to finally get one and show us it wasn’t going to be one of those nights for us.

“It was kind of a broken play. Wyatte made a great play to chip it in along the wall and beat the defensemen. I was able to lose my man, get lost in front of the net and pot it.”

Andrusiak let out a roar and a vigorous fist pump after notching the Silvertips’ first goal of the night. Wylie picked up the primary assist, skating behind the net to direct the Americans’ defensive attention and threaded the needle to Andrusiak for the equalizer.

“Both of those defensemen followed me, I’m not sure what they were thinking there,” Wylie added. “They left him wide open and I was able to make the pass.”

Nolan Yaremko put the Americans up 1-0 at the 7:25 mark in the first period. The overage forward potted his 24th goal of the season by rushing the puck up the right wall and snapping a shot over Dustin Wolf’s glove. Tom Cadieux picked up the assist.

Warm made a season-high 60 saves for the Americans.

Wolf made 21 saves in his 38th win of the season, which surpassed Leland Irving (2005-2006) for the franchise record for wins in a season.

“It’s pretty cool,” Wolf said. “Obviously to look back at some of the guys that played for the team and put up so many wins, it’s an honor and I can’t do it without the guys in front of me.”

Next up

Seattle visits Everett for the ninth of 10 regular-season matchups between the two rivals and the last at Angel of the Winds Arena. The Silvertips are 6-1-1 against the Thunderbirds this season, but have dropped two straight.

Notes

Connor Dewar and Dawson Butt both returned to Everett’s lineup on Friday. Dewar, who missed four games with an upper-body injury, started the game centering the Silvertips’ top line with Gage Goncalves and Kindopp along the walls. Butt, who’s been out since Feb. 2 with an upper-body injury, started on the right wing of Everett’s third line.

Josh Horton covers the Everett Silvertips and AquaSox for The Everett Daily Herald. Follow him on Twitter (@joshhortonEDH) or reach out to him over email (jhorton@heraldnet.com).