EVERETT — Zach Hamill is temporarily bidding farewell to the Everett Silvertips. He’s headed off to Team Canada’s selection camp for the World Junior Hockey Championships and could be gone for as long as a month.
However, he decided to leave the Tips one final parting gift.
Hamill had a goal and two assists, including a beautiful feed for the game-winning goal late in the third period, and the Tips defeated the Tri-City Americans 4-3 Friday night at Comcast Arena.
It was Everett’s second home victory over Tri-City in three days.
“I haven’t been playing very good the last five or six games, so I thought the last couple games were important to get a win,” Hamill said. “It was good to get two wins against a division rival that’s ahead of us right now.
“I thought I worked hard tonight,” Hamill added. “I think it’s the hardest I’ve worked all year, which isn’t very good because it’s game 30, 35. If I can come out and use that work ethic the rest of the year we should hopefully win some more hockey games.”
Kyle Beach scored two goals, including the game winner with 4 minutes, 18 seconds remaining, as Everett (16-14-0-2) battled back from a 3-1 deficit late in the second period. Clayton Bauer scored the tying goal for the Tips.
Leland Irving, who’s also headed off to the Team Canada selection camp, had a fantastic game in goal for the Tips. Although he finished with a modest total of 25 saves, he made several big stops for every goal he allowed.
But it was Hamill who both began and ended things for Everett offensively. He scored a nice coast-to-coast goal to open the game’s scoring in the first period, then made a visionary pass during a three-on-three rush to set up Beach for the winner. All while playing with a broken nose sustained when the teams met Wednesday, a 3-2 overtime victory for Everett.
“That may have been one of his best games as a Silvertip — on both ends of the ice,” Everett coach John Becanic said of Hamill.
“We had a good long meeting before the game and I told him that if he had any chances of making the World Junior team he was going to have to fix the defensive side of his game. Tonight he played hard.”
Shaun Vey had a goal and an assist to lead Tri-City (21-7-1-0). Colton Yellow Horn and Johnny Lazo also scored and Chet Pickard made 24 saves in goal for the Americans.
“We had control of the game at 3-1 and I thought we were playing really well, then they scored that second goal at the end of the second period,” said Tri-City general manager Bob Tory, filling in for absent head coach Don Nachbaur. “I think it gave them momentum and got the crowd back into the game. If we had gotten out of the second period up 3-1 it’s probably a different hockey game. But give them credit, they found a way to get that goal and it re-energized them in the third.”
Everett struck first at 12:03 of the first period. Hamill picked up the puck in his own zone, raced up the ice, sped past a defender and fired a shot that snuck under Pickard to make it 1-0.
However Tri-City, which already had the majority of possession, turned up the pressure even more and the Americans had the lead by the end of the period. Vey scored at 15:34 when a centering pass pinballed into his path in front, and Yellow Horn scored at 17:52 by stickhandling his way past Irving, giving Tri-City a 2-1 lead.
The Americans outshot the Tips 14-4 in the first period.
Tri-City seemingly put itself in control by going ahead 3-1 at 14:28 of the second period. One a two-on-two rush, Irving saved Vey’s shot then Lazo’s rebound, but Lazo got a third crack while speeding by and put it in.
But Everett threw itself a lifeline with 20.3 seconds remaining in the period. Dan Gendur intercepted a breakout pass and although shots by him and Hamill were saved, Beach was able to poke in the second rebound to cut the deficit to 3-2 going into the third period.
The Tips then tied it up 1:23 into the third. Shane Harper made a move across the net and although his shot was saved, the rebound was poked in, the goal credited to Bauer, making it 3-3 and setting up Beach’s game winner.
Slap shots: Everett played its second straight game without forwards Matt Ius and Tyler Eskesen because of concussions. … Tri-City right wing Taylor Procyshen, who came into the game tied for second on the team in goals, missed the game with a concussion of his own. … The game was delayed twice during the third period when a rail between the glass panels behind the Tri-City net broke free. The problem was finally solved by duct tape. … Nachbaur remains away from the Americans as he tends to his ill father.
For more on the Silvertips, check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
Silvertips 4, Americans 3
@5. NHLtop:Tri-City210—3
@5. NHLbottom:Everett112—4
@5. NHL box :First Period—1, Everett, Hamill 11, 12:03. 2, Tri-City, Vey 13 (Reese, Plouffe), 15:34. 3, Tri-City, Yellow Horn 19 (Reddick), 17:52. Penalties—Harty, Everett (interference), 8:31; Lazo, Tri-City (slashing), 19:01; Bauer, Everett (high sticking), 19:14. Second Period—4, Tri-City, Lazo 10 (Vey), 14:28. 5, Everett, Beach 20 (Hamill, Gendur), 19:39. Penalty—Yellow Horn, Tri-City (tripping), 7:03.
Third Period—6, Everett, Bauer 9 (Harper, Dailey), 1:23. 7, Everett, Beach 21 (Hamill, Gendur), 15:42. Penalties—Hoff, Tri-City (hooking), 11:50; Gendur, Everett (slashing-slashing), 20:00.
Shots on goal—Tri-City 14-10-4—28. Everett 4-10-14—28. Power-play opportunities—Tri-City 0 of 2. Everett 0 of 3. Goalies—Tri-City, Pickard 17-5-1-0 (28 shots, 24 saves). Everett, Irving 13-11-0-2 (28 shots, 25 saves). A—5,887.
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