TALKING POINTS
Two games against Seattle to open the second half, two shootout losses, and Everett’s playoff chances are on life support. The Tips opened the second half in last place in the Western Conference, nine points behind Seattle, which occupied the eighth-and-final playoff position. With a pair of regulation wins Everett could have put itself back within striking distance. But now the Tips find themselves 11 points behind, and it’s going to be a real challenge for Everett to get back in the race.
It was yet another shootout defeat for the Tips, who are now 1-7 in shootouts this season. Everett has converted just six of its 30 attempts in the shootouts, and five times (including tonight) the Tips have lost shootouts by a 1-0 score.
It wasn’t that long ago that Everett was the best shootout team in the league. I looked it up after the game and discovered from 2005-2010 the Tips were 32-12 in shootouts, the best mark in the WHL. The past two seasons Everett is 2-11. Where have you gone, Brennan Sonne?
Everett actually played a reasonable game. The Tips dug out of a 3-1 hole, were the better team in the third period and the more-likely team to score in overtime. But those shootouts …
This also wasn’t a vintage Kent Simpson-Calvin Pickard goaltending match-up. These are a pair of 19-year-olds who are second-round NHL draft picks who are in their fourth season in the league. They’ve faced one another countless times and had some great battles — Tuesday being a good example. But in the spirit of the holiday season both handed gifts to the opposition tonight.
Finally, congratulations to Tips defenseman Brennan Yadlowski for his 300th game in the WHL. The 300-game mark is considered pretty special for a WHL player. To reach 300 a player needs to be good enough to play as both a 16-year-old and an overager, then durable enough to stay in the lineup. Shane Harper and Zack Dailey are the only players who played 300 games as Silvertips. I think a few other former Tips reached the mark playing for multiple WHL teams (Torrie Wheat? Brady Calla? Dane Crowley? Moises Gutierrez?). Any way you look at it it’s quite an accomplishment.
TURNING POINT
Good lord, I don’t know. How does one even go about choosing a turning point in a game where one team rallies from a 3-1 deficit, then loses in a shootout in a game that was pretty much a must-win in regulation? Any ideas?
HIT OF THE DAY
Midway through the first period Everett’s Cody Fowlie put a hit on Seattle defenseman Braeden Laroque that caused a glass panel to come dislodged.
THREE STARS
First star: Ryan Harrison, Everett. Two goals and one assist, was the recipient of Pickard’s gift.
Second star: Luke Lockhart, Seattle. Two goals and the shootout winner, was the recipient of Simpson’s gift.
Third star: Josh Winquist, Everett. Two assists, dug the puck out well on both plays.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Fowlie. No points, but this guy’s becoming quite the hitter.
BOX SCORE
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