The Silvertips were able to hang on for a 5-4 victory in their preseason opener Friday night at Xfinity Arena, but the final score ended up being a lot closer than it initially looked.
For starters you can check out our game coverage here. We also have the official box score and this photo gallery provided by the Silvertips.
The Tips built a 4-1 lead when Russian import Yan Khomenko scored less than a minute into the third period. But from there it was hang-on time as Victoria twice cut the deficit to a single goal – the last time with less than a minute to play.
Victoria out-shot the Tips 43-29 and head coach Kevin Constantine noted that the defense still has some work to do.
“I thought it was good for about 30 minutes and then after that I thought our minds kind of fell off of what we’re trying to do,” Constantine said. “Forty-two shots (are) the most we’ve given up in 15 preseason games that I’ve coached since I’ve been around. That’s a lot of shots. That’s telling us there’s a lot of work left to do. It’s nice to win and nice to get some goals, so there are some nice things that happened there.”
Those goals were scored primarily by veterans (Dawson Leedahl, Carson Stadnyk, Gunnar Wegleitner, newcomer Khomenko and Patrick Bajkov), but that didn’t mean some of the youngsters didn’t play a significant role.
Rookie 16-year-old Connor Dewar started the game and assisted on Leedahl’s goal. Dewar also screened Victoria goaltender Coleman Vollrath, which allowed Leedahl to punch in the shot that tied the game at 1-1 late in the first period.
Fellow 16-year-old Brian King assisted Wegleitner’s goal, and King also added a key shot block in the waning seconds that helped preserve the victory.
“A lot of young guys are going to get the opportunity here,” Constantine said. “If they work and stay after it, and compete every night they’ll gain some experience.”
Following Khomenko’s goal, Victoria’s Chaz Reddekopp scored on one of the rarer plays you’ll ever see. The Tips had a two-man advantage, but Reddekopp stole the puck near center ice while two Everett players fell down, and scored a breakaway goal that cut the Tips’ lead to 4-3 at 12:26 in the third.
Constantine noted the Tips had five forwards on the ice on the time and said it was a match-up “you wouldn’t see in the regular season on a power play.”
Goalkeeper Carter Hart, defensemen Noah Juulsen, Montana Onyebuchi, Jantzen Leslie, Alexander Scherbakov, Jake Christiansen, Cole MacDonald, Kevin Davis, forwards Riley Sutter, Bryce Kindopp, Graham Millar, Devon Skoleski, and Nik Malenica were all scratched from Friday’s match.
The lines and defensemen pairings as provided by the Silvertips media staff were as follows:
SILVERTIPS LINES
Leedahl – Dewar – Stadnyk
Gerth – Laurencelle – Khomenko
Wegleitner – Chorney – King
Bajkov – Fonteyne – Mallonee
SILVERTIPS PAIRINGS
Dwyer – Pfeifer
Fraser – Wharrie
Skrumeda – Dykstra
The Tips resume action Saturday night at 7 against Spokane.
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