The Game
This one had all the makings of a division game from last season. The Tri-City Americans scored off a defensive breakdown in the first and the Everett Silvertips answered with a 5-on-3 power play goal in the second. That’s how it stayed until late in the third.
Devon Skoleski found Connor Dewar in the slot at 14:41 in the third, but Dewar seemed to misfire on the shot. Dewar got just enough of the puck that it slid over to Graham Millar who was crashing to the left post, and Millar potted it for the game-winner.
“I was just coming from the corner so I didn’t expect him to see me anyway,” Millar said. “But yeah, it just bounced to my stick.”
Defenseman Lucas Skrumeda then blocked a shot on the other end by sprawling across the ice in the slot in front of Everett goalie Carter Hart. Noah Juulsen added an empty-netter for insurance with 28 seconds to play.
Wednesday was Juulsen’s first regular-season game with the Tips this season. He returned Sunday from Montreal Canadiens training camp and was named team captain prior to Wednesday’s game.
“It’s a huge honor to be named captain with this team,” said Juulsen. “I’m just excited to lead these guys.”
In addition to scoring his first goal as a Tip, Austrian overager Dominic Zwerger got into a tussle or two with Tri-City defenseman Parker Wotherspoon. That dates back to Zwerger’s days with Spokane, a team that plays Tri-City a dozen times each season.
“I’ve seen them enough in my career,” Zwerger said. “We know how they play. They’re a hard-working team. We knew we could shut them down if we worked harder than them, and I think we did.”
The Turning Point
The Americans came out with intensity in the final period and Morgan Geekie had a great look on an open net from the left post at 2:50. But Geekie missed and the score remained tied until Millar scored the go-ahead goal.
Skrumeda’s blocked shot was also big.
Three Stars
1. Everett F Graham Millar: The overager scored the game-winner.
2. Everett F Dominic Zwerger: The newly acquired winger scored his first goal as a Tip and finished plus-one.
3. Everett D Kevin Davis: The blueliner had an assist and was plus-one.
Honorable mention: Tri-City G Beck Warm (30 saves on 33 shots); Everett D Noah Juulsen (one goal, one assist, plus-one rating).
The Box Score
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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