EVERETT — Similar to the problem that faces the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League Championship series, KRKO radio personality Jeff Aaron was a tad slow in his execution.
On Tuesday night, Aaron carried a thingamajig that measures decibel levels onto the rink at a sold-out Everett Events Center, bellowing to the capacity crowd in the second intermission that he would compare its noise level with that of Medicine Hat in Game 5.
His supposed goal: To unofficially determine the loudest arena in the WHL.
Had he been thinking, Aaron would have come up with his brilliant ploy in Medicine Hat in Games 1 or 2, because should the Silvertips fail to solve the Tigers’ greasy, slippery, blurring speed, only the Tigers will make the return trip to Medicine Hat, along with the WHL Championship trophy.
Game 5 seems a fantasy after the Tigers’ 3-0 victory Tuesday night that gave them a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, a series that could be history tonight at the Everett Events Center, the (maybe) loudest arena in the league.
"Speed is a great thing, especially in the playoffs because guys get more tired," Tigers goaltender Kevin Nastiuk said. "We can wear the defensemen down. We have real skilled forwards and they can skate."
Medicine Hat’s speed had much to do with the fact that the Tigers were the WHL’s highest scoring team in the regular season. The Tigers’ freewheeling style produced a league-leading eight players who had 50 or more points. It also had a hand in the WHL’s most effective power play.
Less known was the way the Tigers’ blazing speed helps its defensive effort. The Silvertips are a step slow in this series, sometimes two.
"Their speed, to me, is really good when they have a lead because they can clog up the ice so much, defensively," Silvertips coach Kevin Constantine said. "It’s hard to work through it. Obviously they’re good offensively with their speed, but I really like their team speed when they start playing defense."
The Silvertips were able to wear down the bigger, slower Kelowna Rockets in the Western Conference finals by relentlessly banging them into the boards. Yes, Everett came back from a 3-1 series deficit with three straight overtime goals, but it also was true that the Silvertips were able to stay within striking distance by slowing the Rockets down.
They can beat up the Tigers, but first, they have to catch them.
"By far, this was our best game of the series," Everett defenseman Mitch Love said.
Hmmm. Best game. A 3-0 defeat.
But then, that’s the way this series has gone. The Tigers are coming on as the playoffs go longer. The Silvertips can do little about it.
Everett is 0-for-20 on the power play this series, 0-for-5 Tuesday night. The Silvertips have scored one goal in 180 minutes.
Medicine Hat’s penalty-killing unit has allowed one goal in 36 chances in the last seven games.
So what to do? Score the first goal. Or preferably, the first two.
"One thing for sure is that, during the course of a hockey game, you have to be tied or have a lead to get them to play a little different when they have a lead," Constantine said. "For most of this series, we’ve been down. There was a stretch in the first game when we were tied, but in Games 2 and 3, we spent a lot of time in our end."
On Tuesday, Everett had a two-man advantage early in the game and mustered just two shots on goal, much of the time because the Tigers would take the puck and buzz around the rink like so many bees, taking time off the clock.
"We’ve just got to play good defense," Silvertips right winger Barry Horman said. "We have to keep working hard. They’re a really fast team and skilled team. The only way we’re going to beat a team like that is to play hard for 60 minutes. We did that tonight, but sometimes it just doesn’t go your way."
That’s when arenas turn very, very quiet. Even the really loud ones.
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