The Everett Silvertips lost to the Tri-City Americans 4-3 on Friday night, snapping their 11-game home winning streak. Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams wasn’t thrilled with his team’s performance.
Here are the three takeaways:
Christiansen emerges out of slump
Jake Christiansen is an important player for Everettt. The 19-year-old assistant captain is a talented offensive defenseman that plays consistent power-play minutes. He’s been snakebitten recently, entering Friday without a goal in his last 11 games dating back to Dec. 5.
🚨 CHRISTIANSEN 🚨
🍏 Pitbull, Tomato pic.twitter.com/XSuBNiOwTi
— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) January 12, 2019
Christiansen was one of the silver linings for the Silvertips on Friday, notching a beautiful backdoor goal in the third period and recording an assist.
“Jake is a guy we’re depending on to contribute offensively,” Williams said. “He had a good read, and that was a good feed by (Connor Dewar) there to be able to cash that and snap it home. As a defenseman, we need (him) to collectively play better defense always, but to see Jake get on the scoresheet helps builds his confidence even more, and it was a great goal.”
Dewar deserves a decent amount of credit, fighting through a tripping penalty and whipping a pass across the ice to Christiansen, who snapped it home.
“It was an amazing pass,” Christiansen said. “(Dewar) showed some false info and got it to me, and the goalie (Beck Warm) didn’t really read it either. (It was a (great pass by him.”
Patterson continues stellar play
Max Patterson didn’t pop up on the scoresheet Friday, but the 19-year-old center was all over the ice, winning battles and creating chances for Everett.
Patterson has been on an upward trajectory during the last couple of games and is finding his footing on the team.
“What he is is an honest player,” Williams said. “He’s a lot like Bryce Kindopp. They go out there and just do a job. He goes out there and brings physicality, he wins faceoffs, he goes to the netfront and snaps pucks off well. He finds guys really well in our offensive zone, too. He’s just be a real pleasure to have, a big piece to our program.”
Holmes plays first game in Everett
Robbie Holmes, who the Silvertips acquired on Thursday, played his first game for Everett on Friday, recording a plus-1 rating and firing three shots.
“It’s definitely different, but I’m excited to come here,” Holmes said. “(The Silvertips are) a winning team, and in Regina we weren’t winning games. I’m happy to come to a contender. The last couple years we fell short, so I’m glad to get another chance.”
The Pats, Holmes’ original club, lost in the WHL final in 2017 to Seattle and fell to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Acadie-Bathhurst in the Memorial Cup final as the host team last season.
After two consecutive years of contending, the Pats were in teardown mode, liquidating current assets to rebuild for the future. Holmes was one of the most appealing pieces still left on Regina.
The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native said he didn’t request a trade out of Regina and was “50-50” on whether he’d be dealt or not. But once he learned the destination, he said he wasn’t too shocked.
“When I first heard it I was very excited,” Holmes said. “When it hit 4 p.m. I left the rink and about 10 minutes later I got a call from (Regina general manager) John (Paddack). He told me what happened and from there (I) went home, packed myself and ended up coming to Everett the next day.”
His first impressions of Everett, other than the loss, were positive.
“There’s a lot of skill here, obviously, and a lot of depth,” Holmes said. “There’s a lot of good things about this team that I can tell from two years ago with the powerhouse that we had. The fans tonight were really good. I’ve never been a part of that, and that was huge.”
Holmes nearly put an exclamation mark on his Everett debut, ringing one off the post in the second period on a snapshot from the slot.
“I thought it squeaked by,” Holmes said, “but no.”
HORTON’S THREE STARS:
1. Jake Christiansen: The 19-year-old defenseman recorded a goal and an assist.
2. Connor Dewar: Dewar chipped in a pair of assists and won 16-of-24 faceoffs.
3. Dustin Wolf: Despite relinquishing two key third-period goals, the Silvertips netminder made some key saves early on to keep it close.
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