EVERETT — In their final regular season home game, with the WHL’s top playoff seed already locked up, the Everett Silvertips could have coasted against the Wenatchee Wild at Angel of the Winds Arena on Friday.
With nothing to gain against a non-playoff team but momentum heading into the postseason, the Silvertips (47-12-4-4) rolled to a 4-0 lead in the first period before ultimately winning 5-0 against the Wild (23-36-7-1). Shea Busch scored twice, and Kaden Hammell, Tarin Smith and Julius Miettinen each had two assists. Goalie Jesse Sanche stopped all 19 shots faced, while the Silvertips put 52 shots on goal.
Final: Silvertips win 5-0
A dominant way to close out the reg. season home slate for the #Silvertips. 52 SOG and a shutout in front of a raucous sellout crowd.
Busch w/ 2g, Sanche 19/19 in net. Everett faces the Wild in Wenatchee tomorrow, then the playoffs.@HeraldNetSports
— Joe Pohoryles (@Joe_Poho) March 22, 2025
No cruise control in this vehicle. The Silvertips are flooring it into the postseason.
“I think that’s part of what we pride ourselves on, is just being professional in our approach,” Everett coach Steve Hamilton said. “Just taking care of business and being business-like. That’s kind of the standard we wanted all year long, so you could sense the guys were ready to go today.”
Busch opened the scoring by batting in his own rebound out of the air from the left side at 7:14 of the first period, and defenseman Landon DuPont doubled the lead 22 seconds later with a net-front tap-in.
“Honestly, I kind of just misplaced my shot,” Busch said about his first goal. “I saw it coming back at me off the goalie’s pad, and just swung at it and just hoped it worked, and yeah, it was a lucky one, but I was happy it went in.”
Busch scored his second of the night at 10:02, tipping in Smith’s bullet from the left point, to make it 3-0. The Wild called a timeout to regroup, trailing by three and having recorded just one shot on goal to Everett’s 10.
It was more of the same in the remaining 10 minutes of the period. Busch nearly got a hat trick around the 12:30 mark, but Wenatchee goalie Brendan Gee (47 saves) just barely got his blocker on it to push it away.
After a Brayden Pankey tripping penalty put the Silvertips on the power play, winger Dominik Rymon made it 4-0 with a one-timer from the high slot at 16:01, his 30th goal of the season. By the end of the period, Everett led by four and outshot the Wild 24-2.
“It’s definitely more of a statement within our own room,” forward Tyler MacKenzie said. “We wanted to come out and play the right way tonight. Just because we have things locked up and the position can’t really move — it’s a nice thing to have happen — but we want to just play our game, focus on (playing) like who we are. And the little details that are going to go a long ways in the playoffs, it’s going to keep the habits in shape.”
The Wild showed some life in the second period, but ultimately Everett kept racking up shots and applying pressure.
The Silvertips’ most vulnerable moment came in the third period, when Zackary Shantz was called for tripping at 8:53, and Brek Liske committed a delay of game penalty at 10:37, which left Wenatchee with 18 seconds of a 5-on-3 penalty.
In that short span, the Wild managed to throw a tough shot on Sanche, but the 18-year-old goalie trapped it between his legs to preserve the shutout.
“(Sanche) did exactly what he needed to do,” Hamilton said. “It wasn’t a ton of work, but there was a couple pretty good looks they had, and he was rock solid, so always nice to see. And it’s probably a good thing that he’s not getting a ton of work. It means we probably have done some positive things in front of him.”
Cole Temple tacked on the final goal at 14:55, with Shantz finding him in front of the net, and the Silvertips cruised to victory. After facing the Wild in Wenatchee on Saturday, all that’s left will be the postseason.
“Two games this weekend to kind of work on our game,” forward Austin Roest said. “Play the game we want to play, and be all ready to go for playoffs. I think tonight we showed a good example of that, and hopefully we can do it tomorrow.”
— — — — — —
Carter Bear headlines team awards as MVP and two more honors
The Everett Silvertips are on the tail-end of one of the best seasons in their 22-year history, but their most valuable player was not on the ice for their 5-0 win against Wenatchee on Friday, the regular season home finale. Instead, he rolled around Angel of the Winds Arena in a knee scooter, wearing a gray suit, black beanie and a massive wrap around his ankle.
Carter Bear, the 18-year-old forward, is out long-term after suffering a lacerated Achilles in Everett’s 3-2 shootout loss to Portland on March 9.
Despite his season being cut short, Bear leads Everett in goals (40) and points (82), which earned him the leading scorer award, Team MVP and the F.I.E.R.C.E Predator award, which is bestowed upon the player who, “most exemplifies the spirit of the bear: fortitude, resolve and perseverance, both on the ice and off the ice.” The team handed out those awards, among others, directly after the game on Friday.
The Spirit of the Bear… personified.
This year’s F.I.E.R.C.E. Predator Award goes to Carter Bear! pic.twitter.com/NT3DurO5n5— xyz – Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) March 22, 2025
With Bear only able to sit by the bench and unable to skate to the award table like the other recipients, for obvious reasons, defenseman Kaden Hammell retrieved both the F.I.E.R.C.E. Predator and Leading Scorer trophies and skated them back to Bear. For the MVP award, general manager Mike Fraser, head coach Steve Hamilton, and assistant coaches Dean DeSilva and Mike Field walked across the ice to hand Bear the trophy directly as the crowd roared.
Along with Bear’s awards, exceptional status defenseman Landon DuPont earned team Rookie of the Year. The 15-year-old was the first overall pick in the 2024 WHL Bantam Draft, and he became the second rookie defenseman to record 50 points in a WHL season, joining Hockey Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer (1989-90). DuPont had 17 goals and 60 points entering the final game of the regular season on Saturday.
Below is the full list of award winners:
F.I.E.R.C.E. Predator: Carter Bear
Iron Man: Eric Jamieson, Tyler MacKenzie, Jesse Heslop
Scholastic Player: Owen Cooper
Community Relations: Jesse Sanche, Kaden Hammell
Coach’s Award: MacKenzie
Most Improved: Brek Liske
Most Dedicated: Jamieson
Unsung Hero: Rylan Pearce
Leading Scorer: Bear
Rookie of the Year: Landon DuPont
Team MVP: Bear
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