Silvertips lose 5th in a row on road

CRANBROOK, British Columbia – The road woes continue for the Everett Silvertips.

Everett suffered yet another one-sided road loss, falling 4-2 to the Kootenay Ice on Saturday night in a Western Hockey League game.

Everett (21-18-6-2) has had all kinds of trouble on the road recently. The Silvertips have lost five straight road games and are winless in their past nine away from home. Everett’s last road win was all the way back on Dec. 3, a 2-1 decision at Portland.

Saturday’s loss came one day after a lopsided 5-2 loss at Spokane.

Ryan Russell had two goals and an assist to lead red-hot Kootenay (30-13-4-0), which won its eighth straight. Nigel Dawes and Adam Taylor also scored for the Ice and Jeff Glass made 19 saves in goal.

Torrie Wheat and Zach Hamill scored for Everett and Silvertips goaltender Michael Wall made 27 saves.

Kootenay outshot Everett 31-21.

Everett scored first at 8:07 of the first period. Just as a Kootenay penalty was expiring, Shaun Heshka sent a shot goalward that bounced in front of the net and hit the post. Wheat found the rebound and scored, giving the Silvertips a 1-0 lead with his 18th goal of the season.

However, Kootenay tied the score with a shorthanded goal at 13:12. Russell took a pass from Casey Lee and put a shot through Wall, making the score 1-1 with his 17th of the season. It was also the second straight game Everett gave up a short-handed goal.

The Ice then took control with three goals in eight minutes in the second period. First, Russell scored his second of the game on a rebound at 5:28 for his 18th of the season. Then 55 seconds later, Dawes scored on an individual effort where he eluded the entire defense and faked out Wall for his 25th goal of the season. At 13:24, Taylor scored his 12th of the season after taking a pass from Russell in front of the net, giving Kootenay a commanding 4-1 lead.

Hamill gave Everett a glimmer of hope, scoring 1:49 into the third period. Curtis Billsten found Hamill in front of goal, and Hamill waited before beating Glass high with the shot for his sixth goal of the season. But that was all Everett could muster.

Slap shots: Everett captain Mitch Love was scratched because of back spasms. … Left wing Michael Wuchterl returned to the Everett lineup after sitting out Friday because of suspension. … The game was delayed midway through the first period when a hit by Wuchterl broke one of the glass panels along the boards.

Ice 4, Silvertips 2

Everett101-2

Kootenay130-4

First Period-1, Everett, Wheat 18 (Heshka, Leavitt), 8:07. 2, Kootenay, Russell 17 (Lee, Price), 13:12 (sh).

Second Period-3, Kootenay, Russell 18 (Polack, Taylor), 5:28. 4, Kootenay, Dawes 25 (Lee, Mahovsky), 6:23. 5, Kootenay, Taylor 12 (Russell, Glass), 13:24.

Third Period-6, Everett, Hamill 6 (Billsten), 1:49.

Shots on goal-Everett 4-7-10-21. Kootenay 10-14-7-31. Power-play opportunities-Everett 0 of 4. Kootenay 0 of 3.

Goalies-Everett, Wall 16-15-5 (31 shots, 27 saves). Kootenay, Glass 20-7-2 (21 shots, 19 saves).