EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips may not have played their best game collectively Friday night. However, the trio of Ivan Nikolishin, Brayden Low and Carson Stadnyk willed the Tips to victory.
Nikolishin, Low and Stadnyk pulled Everett from the brink, leading the Tips to a come-from-behind 4-3 shootout victory over the Portland Winterhawks at Xfinity Arena.
Everett was generally outplayed by Portland on Friday, and the Tips found themselves trailing 3-1 midway through the the the third period. But the line of Nikolishin, Low and Stadnyk was dangerous every time it was on the ice, and it created the two goals that tied the score and gave Everett a chance to win in the shootout. That line was on the ice for all three of Everett’s goals.
Nikolishin finished with a goal and two assists, and he added a conversion in the shootout for good measure — Graham Millar also converted as the Tips won the shootout 2-0. Low had a goal and an assist, and Noah Juulsen scored the other goal for Everett (13-2-2-1), which won despite being outshot 32-25.
Rookie Carter Hart made some important saves among his 29, including stoning Portland star Oliver Bjorkstrand on a breakaway early in the third period with the score tied 3-3, to pick up the win in goal for Everett. The Tips are now 4-0-1-0 in their five games against the four-time defending Western Conference-champion Winterhawks.
Keoni Texeira, Chase De Leo and Paul Bittner scored for Portland (8-11-0-3). Brendan Burke finished with 22 saves in net for the Winterhawks.
Portland needed just 1 minute, 11 seconds to get on the scoreboard. Texeira took a wrister from the center point that snuck past Hart into the right corner to give the Winterhawks an early 1-0 lead. Portland continued to have the majority of possession through the first period, but it remained 1-0 going into the second.
The game then see-sawed back and forth during a wild second period, eventually ending 3-3.
First, Everett tied it 1:39 into the period. Both Low and Stadnyk had just missed chances at an open net with Burke down. But on their next rush up the ice, Nikolishin and Stadnyk combined to set up Low for the tap-in at the far post to make it 1-1.
Portland regained control of the game with two goals in five minutes to go up 3-1. De Leo scored on the power play at 3:50 when he tipped a Layne Viveiros slap shot from the point under Hart to give the Winterhawks the lead. Then Portland had a shift where it hemmed the Tips into their own zone, and eventually Bittner was able to put the third chance of a sequence into the top corner to give the Winterhawks a two-goal advantage.
But Everett came on strong as the period progressed, and the Tips fought their way back to tie it. At 9:43 Juulsen had his first wrister from the top of the right circle blocked, but the rebound came right back to him and his second try took a deflection past Burke and into the near corner to get Everett back within one. Then at 13:39 it was the Tips’ turn to keep Portland pinned deep, and Low was able to work the puck to Nikolishin in the slot, where he blew a slap shot past Burke to knot it at 3-3.
Portland had the better chances to win it in regulation. But Hart made the big save on Bjorkstrand’s breakaway early in the period, and the Tips survived a mad scramble midway through the period as the game went to overtime. Neither team was able to create any clear-cut chances in OT, sending the game to the decisive shootout.
Slap shots
The victory was Everett’s first in a shootout this season. The Tips are 1-1 in the tiebreaker, with the loss coming at Tri-City on Oct. 17. … Everett was without three players as forwards Dawson Leedahl (knee), Remi Laurencelle (ankle) and Nik Malenica (upper body) were all out injured. With the shortage up front, defefensemen Carter Cochrane and Jordan Wharrie continued to be deployed as forwards. … Bittner was a game-time decision for Portland because of a lower-body injury, but he was able to go.
Silvertips 4, Winterhawks 3 (SO)
Portland1200—3
Everett0300—4
Silvertips won shootout 2-0
First Period—1, Portland, Texeira 1 (Viveiros, Schoenborn), 1:11. Penalties—Nikolishin, Everett (tripping), 5:23; Wharrie, Everett (tripping), 8:51; Overhardt, Portland (tripping), 15:04.
Second Period—2, Everett, Low 5 (Stadnyk, Nikolishin), 1:39. 3, Portland, De Leo 5 (Viveiros, Bjorkstrand), 3:50 (pp). 4, Portland, Bittner 8 (Petan, Heinrich), 8:35. 5, Everett, Juulsen 2 (Nikolishin), 9:43. 6, Everett, Nikolishin 6 (Low), 13:39. Penalties—Pfeifer, Everett (slashing), 2:52; Koules, Portland (checking from behind-fighting), 13:58; Cochrane, Everett (fighting), 13:58.
Third Period—no goals. Penalties—Betker, Everett (hooking), 7:37.
Penalties—no goals. Penalties—none.
Shootout—Everett 2 (Nikolishin G, Millar G); Portland 0 (Turgeon NG, Petan NG).
Shots on goal—Portland 12-10-9-1—32. Everett 5-14-4-2—25. Power-play opportunities—Portland 1 of 4. Everett 0 of 2.
Goalies—Portland, Burke 4-5-0-2 (25 shots, 22 saves). Everett, Hart 3-0-1-0 (32 shots, 29 saves).
A—4,421.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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