EVERETT — The Western Hockey League playoffs present a high degree of tension in an already emotionally charged game.
Nevertheless, the Everett Silvertips players offered levity Monday, crashing teammate interviews and offering side commentary as they headed out of the dressing room and toward the bus en route to Victoria where they will take on the Royals in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series tonight at 7:05 p.m. at Save-On-Foods Arena.
The series is tied 1-1.
“I think we have a pretty mature team for being how young we are, but I think everyone knows that it takes four to win a series and you can’t really dwell — you can’t get too up or too down on wins or losses,” Everett forward Matt Fonteyne said moments after shooing away several teammates to complete an interview. “So you just have to take the positives, work on the stuff you didn’t do so well and then move on from there to the next game.”
Everett, the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, opened the series with a 4-2 win over eighth-seeded Victoria. The Royals countered with a 4-3 victory in Game 2 during which they scored twice on behind-the-net shots that bounced off Silvertips goaltender Carter Hart and into the net.
The consistency the Tips displayed throughout the duration of the regular season is a big reason Everett was able to lead the U.S. Division for much of the season before rallying to clinch the title in the final week.
Despite the hallway antics, this remains a determined and focused group, drawing that determination and focus from internal and external sources.
“I think people have to work and be diligent and proactive to be constantly motivated, so I don’t think it’s just natural,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “But I think (it is) the job that needs to get done in terms of leadership, from coaches to captains to our leadership core, I think, along with some pretty highly motivated athletes. It’s a combination of a lot of things if you’re going to stay on top of your game all the time.”
That’s where the experience of Tips veterans like captain Noah Juulsen and alternates Fonteyne, Kevin Davis and Lucas Skrumeda, who comprise most of the team’s leadership group, come into play. The tone they set is crucial for a team as young as Everett that had six WHL rookies in the lineup in Games 1 and 2 of the series.
“There is a process in place to make sure what you’re saying looks like it’s natural,” Constantine said. “I don’t think it’s all that natural. I think there’s a process in place that keeps that as consistent as human beings can be.”
Now the series shifts to Victoria where the Tips went 2-0 during the regular season. But as they’re wont to point out it’s an entirely new season now.
“I think any team really draws on their home crowd especially in the playoffs — home ice is big,” Fonteyne said. “Now we’ll just go up there and focus on our game and do what we can.”
The Tips will look to improve their penalty kill as the series moves forward. Everett led the league at 85.8 percent, but have allowed the Royals four power-play goals on seven opportunities so far. The Tips have scored four times on eight power-play chances themselves.
Everett is also dealing with the absence of centers Riley Sutter and Devon Skoleski due to upper body injuries. Sutter skated with the team Monday before it left for Victoria, but Constantine was non-committal, saying “we’ve got to see how all that goes.” Constantine also indicated Skoleski is “further away than Riley” and didn’t offer a timetable for his return.
Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:05 p.m., and the teams are assured to return to Xfinity Arena for Game 5 Friday at 7:35 p.m.
For the latest Silvertips news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter.
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