EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips spend no shortage of time together, but much of that time is spent at the rink, traveling to and from the rink, and at team hotels.
So every now and then a little team bonding away from the rink is needed.
On Wednesday, the Silvertips eschewed practice for the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island to take a tour and view how a different sort of team works together.
Everett’s team motto this season is “Warriors playing a team game” and the trip was the brainchild of Tips assistant coach Brennan Sonne, who set up the event with Commander Patrick McFadden of NAS Whidbey Island.
“The team atmosphere is similar,” Sonne said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie there. It’s good to get away from the rink and see how the Navy does it.”
The players learned about the aircraft stationed at the base. It turned out to be quite the learning experience for overage assistant captain Carson Stadnyk.
“I had no idea what any of those things were used for, how they worked when they’re in the air,” the 20-year-old forward said. “It was pretty cool how it translates from teamwork over there to teamwork on the ice. It’s pretty similar how everyone is pretty accountable for their jobs.”
Saturday’s home game against Vancouver is Veterans Appreciation Day at Xfinity Arena, and Veterans Day is next Wednesday. Sonne said the trip wasn’t planned in conjunction with those dates, but the timely coincidence helped emphasize another key idea for the players.
“We want to provide these guys with every opportunity to grow as hockey players and people,” Sonne said. “Being global citizens and understanding that there are people out there protecting them so they can play the game they love is very important to us.”
Wednesday’s experience was a sharp contrast to another bonding activity like, say, a 12-hour bus ride.
That was the trip the Tips made to open the regular season, and Friday night Prince George returns the favor as the Cougars (8-6-0-0, 16 points) come to Xfinity Arena for a 7:35 p.m game.
Prince George has won two straight and seven of its last 10. The Cougars are currently third in the B.C. Division and fifth in the Western Conference.
The two teams split their season-opening series — Everett winning 2-0 and Prince George winning 5-1 — but Silvertips head coach Kevin Constantine isn’t putting much stock in those results.
“I think the first game you play in the season is a throw-away game,” Constantine said. “There are too (many) nerves and hype, so I always throw the game out. I think it’s meaningless. They had guys who were returning from camps. We didn’t have (Noah) Juulsen. I don’t think there is a ton to take from it.”
Jesse Gabrielle (11 goals, four assists) leads the Prince George offense, while Brogan O’Brien (five goals, five assists), Brad Morrison (five goals, four assists) and Chase Witala (four goals, four assists) are key contributors. Tate Olson (eight assists) was listed as day-to-day on the injury report.
The Cougars have used a goaltender platoon of Ty Edmonds (5-4-0-0, 2.13 goals against average) and Mack Shields (3-2-0-0, 3.17 GAA, .883 save percentage). Prince George also acquired goaltender Nick McBride in a Wednesday trade with Prince Albert, but he isn’t expected to be with the team Friday.
Everett (6-4-0-1, 13 points) is tied with Tri-City for fourth in the U.S. Division although the Tips have played five fewer games. Everett is coming off a 2-1 win at Portland Sunday.
Remi Laurencelle (two goals, five assists) leads the Tips in points, while Devon Skoleski (three goals, three assists), Stadnyk (three goals, three assists), Patrick Bajkov (two goals, four assists) and Cole MacDonald (one goal, five assists) all have six points.
Notes
WHL co-founder Delbert ‘Del’ Wilson died Thursday morning in Campbell River, B.C., the league announced. Wilson helped create the league in 1966 with Jim Piggott, Bill Hunter and Scotty Munro. He was also a key proponent of bringing the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to form what is now known collectively as the Canadian Hockey League.
Follow Silvertips writer Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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