Three takeaways: Ronan Seeley’s first WHL goal big relief

Dawson Butt earns praise; Spokane searching for answers against Everett

Silvertips gamer image Zach Andrusiak skates with the puck during Silvertips practice on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2018 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Silvertips gamer image Zach Andrusiak skates with the puck during Silvertips practice on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2018 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

SPOKANE— The Silvertips once again came alive in the third period and poured on three goals over the final 20 minutes in a 3-1 win over the Chiefs on Tuesday. The game story can be read at the link.

Here are the three takeaways:

Seeley sheds monkey off his back

Ronan Seeley is a rink rat.

At Silvertips he’s often the last player off the ice, whacking slapshot after slapshot into an open net, before departing for the locker room.

And while scoring goals isn’t a direct correlation of growth and development, Seeley reaped a big reward for his hard work, clapping a shot from the point past Chiefs goaltender Bailey Brkin for his first career Western Hockey League goal.

“I give Ronan a lot of credit. He sticks with it,” Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams said. “He’s one of the guys that goes on the ice the most off our team. It’s good to see his hard work pay off.”

It took Seeley 48 games to notch his first WHL tally. Now that Seeley has made it on the scoresheet, every player on Everett’s roster has scored a goal this season.

“It’s especially tough for a d-man,” Williams said. “It’s a little bit harder out there when you’re not on the power play and stuff like that, it makes it tough. And there’s no doubt kids think about it. You hope they don’t beat themselves up too much over it.”

Seeley will admit that he was indeed thinking about it.

“I was getting a little nervous there, the last couple games,” Seeley said. “It’s a really good feeling. I’ve been working on my shot all year and I want to be just as good as everyone else. It’s just a representation of how I’m growing up.”

Williams added he’s thrilled with Seeley’s development in his debut season in the WHL and gushed about his outlook as a player.

“He’s only going to get better and better as he gets stronger and stronger,” Williams said. “He’s got a bright, bright future and career here with us and I truly believe he’s going to have a pro career as well.”

Nothing Butt praise

Dawson Butt potted his goal, driving to the top of the crease, which allowed

The goal was a nice cherry on top to a solid all-around game from Butt, according to Williams.

“I thought Dawson Butt played a great game for us,” Williams said. “A quiet game that went about his business. Not just because he scored the goal, but leading up to it for the first 40 minutes, I thought he was probably our most consistent forward up there. And we need to continue to have that from our depth players.”

Butt is three games back after an upper-body injury forced him to miss a significant length of time. His goal on Tuesday was his first point since rejoining the lineup.

Spokane dominance

Everett closed the season without losing to Spokane in regulation in 2018-2019. The Silvertips were 6-0-2 against the Chiefs this season.

Is the Silvertips’ record against Spokane misleading? Perhaps. The Chiefs have rarely been healthy this season, with Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Ty Smith and a host of others hopping off-and-on the injury report this season.

But Spokane was healthy on Tuesday and looked outmatched in the third.

Everett matches up well with Spokane, and that was demonstrated on Tuesday. The Chiefs’ offense is its strength — Spokane is second in the Western Conference with 235 points, but Everett is sturdy on its backend and makes few mistakes — a defensive miscue on the penalty kill helped lead to Anderson-Dolan’s goal, but Everett didn’t allow anything else.

The Chiefs have a tendency to get stuck in their own zone and Everett, with a persistent forecheck and talented possession players, can thrive in that situation.

The likelihood of the two team’s meeting in the postseason is far from guaranteed, but it’s possible: Spokane and Portland are on a crash course to meet in a first-round matchup and the Chiefs are 3-2-1 against the Winterhawks this season. If Everett advances, a seven-game series with Spokane could be on the horizon.

Quotables

Williams on second period: “Penalties hurt us, against a really good power-play unit. They scored a really nice goal from Anderson-Dolan. … When you kill five minutes in a row against a really good power-play unit, we took positives out of that and took that in the third.”

Continued from Williams: “We were fighting the puck and the pace of it. But in the third I thought our leadership showed and the way we play showed, to be honest. It was probably lopsided in terms of possession time and offensive zone time in the first two periods. They had us in our end quite a bit. But we played good defense and Wolfie played strong. We’ll take two points and the win.”

Horton’s three stars:

1. Ronan Seeley: His first WHL goal was a key one, opening the floodgates for Everett’s offense in the third.

2. Dustin Wolf: Didn’t rack up a ton of saves with 24, but many were solid chances from Spokane.

3. Jaret Anderson-Dolan: Made plays all over the ice and potted Spokane’s lone goal.

Josh Horton covers the Everett Silvertips and AquaSox for The Everett Daily Herald. Follow him on Twitter (@joshhortonEDH) or reach out to him over email (jhorton@heraldnet.com).

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

Silvertips forward Shea Busch participates in the Florida Panthers development camp at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 1, 2025. Florida selected Busch in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on June 28. (Photo courtesy Shea Busch)
Shea Busch experiences whirlwind NHL Draft week

The Florida Panthers selected the Silvertips forward in the fourth round on June 28.

Rome Odunze scans the field in a scrimmage at his youth football camp at Archbishop Murphy High School on July 10, 2025. The former University of Washington star is entering his second NFL season with the Chicago Bears. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Odunze ‘gives back’ in Everett youth football camp

The former University of Washington star hosts a single-day camp at Archbishop Murphy on Thursday.

The New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, top right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off sacrifice fly ball during the 10th inning against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in New York. (Justin Casterline / Getty Images / Tribune News Services)
Yankees walk off Mariners on Judge’s sac fly for series sweep

Seattle blows 5-0 lead after Bryan Woo takes no-hitter into eighth inning.

Raleigh says Munoz tipped pitches during Yankees’ comeback

The Yankees had a bead on Seattle Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz. That’s… Continue reading

Midfielder Christian Soto dribbles up field during Snohomish United's 5-1 win against the Tacoma Stars at Stockers Fields on July 9, 2025 (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Snohomish United keeps playoff hopes alive in home finale

With 5-1 win against Tacoma, the USL2 club’s focus on local talent keys success in inaugural season.

Silvertips forward Carter Bear fields questions after the Detroit Red Wings selected him 13th overall in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles on June 27, 2025. (Photo courtesy Natalie Shaver / CHL)
Two weeks after Draft, Silvertips’ Bear still can’t believe it

The Red Wings’ first-rounder reflects on draft night and his experience at Detroit’s development camp.

AquaSox down Devils for consecutive wins

The AquaSox were on a 2-10 stretch coming into the series.

Cam Schlittler’s strong debut freezes Mariners

The Mariners fell to the Yankees, 9-6, on Wednesday night.

Storm flies too close to the Sun, loses in an upset

Connecticut snapped a 10-game losing streak to beat Seattle 93-83 on Wednesday morning.

Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees flips his bat after hitting a three-run home run in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in New York. (Evan Bernstein / Getty Images / Tribune News Services)
Raleigh, Judge heat up homer race at Yankee Stadium

In the battle of baseball’s biggest sluggers, Aaron Judge… Continue reading

Seattle Seahawks linebackers Derick Hall (58) and Boye Mafe (53) celebrate a defensive play during the 2024 season. (Rio Giancarlo / Getty Images / The Athletic)
Season to reveal long-term plans for Seahawks linebackers

The Seattle Seahawks selected edge rusher Boye Mafe with… Continue reading

Silvertips defenseman wins U20 Ball Hockey World Title with Canada

Rylan Pearce helps Canada win gold at the ISBHF U20 World Championships in Slovakia.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.