Silvertips rally, score OT win in playoff opener

EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips began the playoffs just the way they wanted.

But they had to work overtime to do it.

Dan Iwanski scored 5 minutes, 18 seconds into OT, giving the Tips a 5-4 victory over the Kelowna Rockets in Game 1 of their first-round WHL playoff series.

Iwanski finished off a great play to win it for Everett. Scott MacDonald forced the puck past the defense at the blue line and Clayton Cumiskey swept in to claim it and create a two-on-one. Cumiskey lifted a pass over the defenseman’s stick and to Iwanski, who tucked it past stranded Kelowna goalie Adam Brown to end the game and send the Comcast Arena crowd into a frenzy.

“Any time you score a goal that wins a game is pretty special,” Iwanski said.

“I just went to the net and it’s not hard to put the puck in an empty net,” Iwanski added. “Cumiskey made a great pass there and all I had to do is put it in an empty net, so it wasn’t too hard for me.”

Byron Froese, Zack Dailey, Kellan Tochkin and Curtis Kulchar also scored for Everett, which took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Kulchar’s goal came with 4:26 remaining in regulation to tie it at 4-4 and force overtime.

Thomas Heemskerk earned the win in goal, making 30 saves.

Antoine Corbin, Geordie Wudrick, Brett Bulmer and Collin Bowman scored for Kelowna, which battled back after falling behind 2-0 early in the second period. Brown finished with 46 saves.

“There were parts of our game that were good. But we had a chance to win a game,” Rockets coach Ryan Huska said. “We didn’t capitalize on some of our chances, but we’re going to have to work the walls a lot harder than we did tonight. That was one area where we weren’t very good.

“That’s the reason why Everett had a lot of time in our zone.”

Game 2 is tonight at Comcast Arena.

Game 1 was an intense affair which featured plenty of hitting and several momentum swings. Everett was well in control during the first 25 minutes, taking a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by Froese and Dailey. But the Rockets used their physical play — with the aid of some unusual goals — to get back in the game and eventually take the lead midway through the third period on Bowman’s goal.

But Kulchar’s slap shot from the right point eluded Brown and found the far corner to tie it back up. Then the Tips killed off a late Kelowna power play to get the game to overtime.

“It was a tough battle,” Iwanski said. “They played hard, we played hard. We just got a nice goal at the end.”

In a spirited first period, Everett had the majority of scoring chances, but needed time to find the breakthrough. The Tips had the puck in the net on the power play at 16:25, but the goal was waived off because Tyler Maxwell batted it in with a high stick. However, later on the same power play Everett did score, Harper racing the puck into the offensive zone on the right and centering for Froese to put away, giving the Tips a 1-0 lead at 16:54.

Everett then doubled its lead with another power-play goal 4:40 into the second period, Dailey putting it in after a scramble ensued at the post.

Kelowna reacted with anger after falling behind two goals, responding with hard hitting, and it turned the game in the Rockets’ favor. Kelowna got on the board at 12:39 when Corbin didn’t get all of a slap shot from the point and the puck snuck under Heemskerk. Then the Rockets tied it at 18:22, Wudrick beating Heemskerk glove side with a shot off the rush.

The Tips came out strong at the start of the third period and regained the lead at 5:02, Tochkin putting in a rebound after Froese’s wraparound attempt.

But Kelowna tied it again on the power play at 8:42 when Tyson Barrie’s shot rebounded off the back boards right in front, where Bulmer lifted the puck into the top of the net. The Rockets then took their first lead 30 seconds later when Bowman’s floater from the point deflected off traffic and under Heemskerk.

Silvertips 5, Rockets 4 (OT)

Kelowna0220—4

Everett1121—5

First Period — 1, Everett, Froese 1 (Harper, Gudas), 16:54 (pp). Penalties — Main, Kelowna (roughing), 4:40; MacDonald, Everett (checking from behind), 4:40; Iwanski, Everett (roughing), 4:40; Matheson, Kelowna (roughing), 8:49; Jackson, Kelowna (slashing-roughing), 15:15; Tochkin, Everett (roughing), 15:15.

Second Period — 2, Everett, Dailey 1 (Harper), 4:40 (pp). 3, Kelowna, Corbin 1 (L. Bloodoff), 12:39. 4, Kelowna, Wudrick 1 (McMillan, L. Bloodoff), 18:22. Penalties — Rissanen, Everett (holding), 1:22; Main, Kelowna (hooking), 4:22; Main, Kelowna (fighting), 10:25; McCrea, Everett (charging-fighting), 10:25.

Third Period — 5, Everett, Tochkin 1 (Froese, Maxwell), 5:02. 6, Kelowna, Bulmer 1 (Barrie, Jackson), 8:42. 7, Kelowna, Bowman 1 (Jobke), 9:12. 8, Everett, Kulchar 1 (Dailey, Theriau), 15:34. Penalties — Dailey, Everett (tripping), 8:01; Kulchar, Everett (high sticking), 15:34.

Overtime — 9, Everett, Iwanski 1 (Cumiskey, MacDonald), 5:18. Penalties — none.

Shots on goal — Kelowna 8-13-11-2 — 34. Everett 17-13-18-3 — 51. Power-play opportunities — Kelowna 1 of 5. Everett 2 of 3.

Goalies — Kelowna, Brown 0-1 (51 shots, 46 saves). Everett, Heemskerk 1-0 (34 shots, 30 saves).

A — 4,129.

Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog