KENNEWICK — The Everett Silvertips train just keeps on rolling.
And the Tips continue to affect the WHL’s Western Conference playoff race, both for themselves and the rest of the U.S. Division.
Everett scored three times in the final four minutes of the game, and the Tips defeated the WHL-leading Tri-City Americans 5-2 Tuesday night.
Zack Dailey broke a 2-2 tie with 3 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in regulation, and Everett went on to win its fourth straight. The Tips have also won nine of their last 10, with the only loss coming in a shootout.
Dan Gendur added two goals, Shane Harper and Matt Ius also scored, and Leland Irving made 24 saves in goal for Everett (38-25-0-3), which moved back ahead of idle Kelowna for fifth place in the conference, and also kept pace with fourth-place Seattle, remaining two points back.
Jason Reese and Taylor Procyshen scored and Chet Pickard made 22 saves in goal for Tri-City (47-15-2-2), which was unable to put any more distance between itself and its pursuers in the race for the top seed in the conference. The Americans lead Vancouver by two points and Spokane by four, Spokane having two games in hand on both.
With the score tied 2-2 late in the third period, Dailey stole the puck in the neutral zone, raced off two-on-two, then beat Pickard with a shot to give Everett the lead at 16:22.
Ius gave the Tips an insurance goal at 18:06. putting a shot past Pickard on a two-on-one break. Gendur scored into an empty net with six seconds remaining to finish the scoring.
After a scoreless first period the teams traded goals in the second. The Tips struck first at 5:31 when Kyle Beach’s pass released Harper, and Harper beat Pickard with a move to his backhand. Tri-City then scored on the power play at 14:03 when Reese took advantage of a bad bounce off the back boards to slip the puck past Irving.
The teams then traded goals again midway through the third. Gendur gave the Tips the lead at 8:14 with a short-handed breakaway, but Procyshen put in a loose puck at 9:51 later in Tri-City power play to tie it back up.
Everett had defenseman Mike Alexander back in the lineup. Alexander missed the previous 11 games because of a shoulder injury.
Silvertips 5, Americans 2
Everett014—5
Tri-City011—2
@5. NHL box :First Period—No goals. Penalties—Beach, Everett (elbowing), 12:41; Beach, Everett (high sticking-high sticking-unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:23; McColm, Tri-City (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:23.
Second Period—1, Everett, Harper 16 (Beach, Potuer), 5:31. 2, Tri-City, Reese 22 (Vey, Hughesman), 14:03 (pp). Penalties—Fast, Tri-City (tripping), 6:41; Plouffe, Tri-City (slashing), 10:28; Karamnov, Everett (hooking), 12:03; Dailey, Everett (hooking), 13:26; Reddick, Tri-City (high sticking), 13:26; Mistelbacher, Everett (interference), 15:18; Reese, Tri-City (hooking), 15:20; Hoff, Tri-City (hooking), 15:49; Yellow Horn, Tri-City (slashing), 17:03; Beach, Everett (holding), 18:07.
Third Period—3, Everett, Gendur 28 (Hamill), 8:14 (sh). 4, Tri-City, Procyshen 29 (Fast, Reese), 9:51 (pp). 5, Everett, Dailey 5, 16:28. 6, Everett, Ius 4 (Crowley), 18:06. 7, Everett, Gendur 29, 19:54 (en). Penalties—Macaulay, Tri-City (hooking), 4:52; Harty, Everett (hooking), 5:55; Dailey, Everett (hooking), 8:06; Gendur, Everett (diving), 17:22; Lazo, Tri-City (tripping), 17:22.
Shots on goal—Everett 11-7-9—27. Tri-City 8-6-12—26. Power-play opportunities—Everett 0 of 6. Tri-City 2 of 8.
Goalies—Everett, Irving 27-21-0-3 (26 shots, 24 saves). Tri-City, Pickard 41-11-2-2 (26 shots, 22 saves).
A—3,467.
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