EVERETT – It shouldn’t have been this easy, considering what the Everett Silvertips needed to do and who they were playing.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Nevertheless, the Silvertips came out on fire Sunday, able to shrug off a disheartening 3-2 loss Friday night in double overtime to the Kelowna Rockets.
Sunday’s 6-2 Tips victory that clinched a berth in the Western Conference finals against the Vancouver Giants was a mugging – a kick of sand into the face of the defending WHL champions.
From the drop of the puck to begin the game, the theme of the night was clear. Everett outskated, outpassed and outhustled the mighty Rockets.
If anyone had any question whether Friday night took the legs out of Everett’s players, the Tips answered 6 minutes and 16 seconds into the first period when Peter Mueller beat goalie Derek Yeomans on a two-man advantage.
That Kelowna found itself on the business end of a 5-on-3 situation said much. How does a heady veteran such as Blake Comeau get his stick up in Torrie Wheat’s face when the Rockets already were a man down?
And how does a great team like Kelowna, with all its magnificent legacy and tradition, knowing its playoff life was on the brink, lay such an egg on this Easter Sunday?
Credit Everett for taking it to the Rockets from the opening seconds and sustaining it most of the game. More than anything, the vast disparity of energy between the two teams allowed the Tips to knock off the Rockets and win the Western Conference semifinal series, four games to two.
“We just knew we had to get on them early,” Tips defenseman Cody Thoring said. “They’re an unbelievable team. We knew we had to get on them early or they were going to do the same thing to us.”
Conventional wisdom was that Kelowna finally gained some momentum by beating Everett in Friday night’s marathon.
Momentum? Forget it. Kelowna appeared emotionally and physically exhausted in Game 6. The Rockets were a step slow to the puck, committed brainless penalties and, in what was one of the biggest surprises of the series, allowed Everett to play a more physical game than the Rockets.
“The Kelowna Rockets are the team to look up to in the WHL,” center Zach Hamill said. “They’re the hardest-working team in the league and we had to bring our A game. They weren’t going to quit. We had to play the same way they do.”
The difference was depth. Everett was able to consistently roll out four complete lines, thanks much to the fact that so many young players saw so much action in the regular season because of injuries and illnesses to front-liners. Everett, throwing 18 skaters at the Rockets, was more rested than Kelowna, which played just three lines.
The difference, after five games and a double overtime Friday night, was obvious.
“Just to match their energy, I don’t think we could ever have done it with three lines,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said.
Kelowna was a special group, gunning for its fourth straight Memorial Cup appearance before eight of its 10 19-year-olds and both its over-agers would exit for good.
It was a collection of truly great players seeking its last hurrah. But Kelowna’s energy couldn’t match that of the Tips.
By the time Rockets coach Jeff Truitt mercifully pulled Yeomans for Kristofer Westblom 3:57 into the second period, Everett had built a 5-0 advantage and held a 21-9 lead in shots on goal.
Contrary to every expectation, the game was 40 minutes of garbage time. While many may have had the thought of never counting out the defending champions, even after a 3-0 first-period deficit, Kelowna couldn’t get back into the game.
The Rockets were spent, discouraged and, ultimately, thoroughly beaten. Forget their two second-period goals. Kelowna was done. The goals they scored were representative of a defending champion’s pride that still couldn’t overcome a disastrous initial 25 minutes.
“When you’re sown like we were, a lot of adrenaline comes into it,” Rockets forward Troy Bodie said. “Knowing the situation, you feel the legs just go.”
So what does it mean for the Western Conference finals between Everett and Vancouver?
Probably nothing. But after dispensing of Kelowna, Everett proved it’s capable of beating anyone.
“It’s the passing of the torch,” rookie forward Kyle Beach said. “We’re going to try to take over from where they left off. We’ve got to come out next series and try to do the same things.”
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