The birth of a rivalry?

Published 9:00 pm Friday, September 26, 2003

EVERETT – The seeds of the burgeoning rivalry between the Everett Silvertips and the Seattle Thunderbirds weren’t planted on the ice. Instead, they were planted on the freeway as the Silvertips were returning from training camp.

“When we were driving home, one of our vehicles had the Everett Silvertips logo on it and we drove past some Seattle players who were also caravaning across, and they flipped us off,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “So I think that was the start of the rivalry. It happened on I-90, not in a hockey rink.”

The rivalry officially begins tonight as the teams with the closest proximity in the WHL square off for the first time in the regular season. Game time is 7:05 p.m. at KeyArena in Seattle. It’s the first of the teams’ 11 meetings during the 72-game regular season.

“I think there will be a big rivalry,” Everett defenseman Bryan Nathe said. “We’re only 25 miles away and play each other 11 times during the course of the year. So we’re going to build up a pretty good rivalry with those guys and we’re going to have to send them a message right away.”

Said Seattle’s Tyler Metcalfe: “I think it will be great. Having rivalries … always makes it more intense and exciting. It’s easier to get up for a big rivalry game, especially when you’re this close.”

Both teams enter the game winless. Everett is 0-3 and coming off a 5-1 loss at Tri-City on Thursday. Seattle is 0-1-2 after a 3-2 loss at Portland, the Thunderbirds’ other big rival, also on Thursday.

“You can’t really take away from their rivalry with Portland, but we’re going to have to establish something here as a team,” Everett defenseman Mitch Love said. “We’re still looking for our first win and so are they, so it’s going to be a rocking KeyArena (tonight).”

The teams played once before – in the preseason, with Everett winning, 6-3. However, Seattle was missing 13 players who were away at NHL training camps.

“It was our first (exhibition) game, we wanted to get our first win under our belts and we wanted to set a mark against Seattle and tell them we actually are a team, that we’re here to compete and not just to lolly gag around,” Everett center Jovan Matic said.

However, with Seattle being the defending U.S. Division champion and ranked third in the first Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association poll, and with Everett playing its first season and ranked dead last, the T-Birds aren’t ready to elevate the Silvertips to equal status just yet.

“I think it will start out pretty slow the first couple of games,” Seattle center Dustin Johner said. “I think any team coming in their first year is going to have some growing pains. But as the years go by and the teams play more and more, the rivalry will grow.”