Silvertips beat Tri-City, take 2-1 lead in conference finals

KENNEWICK — The Everett Silvertips’ traveling road show continues to be perfect.

The Tips regained control of the WHL Western Conference finals with an 8-4 win over the Tri—City Americans in Game 3 before 3,268 fans Monday at the Toyota Center.

Everett moved to 5-0 in playoff games away from Angel of the Winds Arena and now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1. Game 4 is Thursday at Toyota Center.

Patrick Bajkov had a hat trick, Garrett Pilon had a goal and two assists, and third-line center Reece Vitelli added a goal and an assist in the victory.

“It’s always nice for us to contribute,” said Vitelli, who scored just two regular-season goals and now has three in 13 playoff games. “Obviously our first two lines score a lot of goals, but for our third line to score goals helps the team a lot.”

Perhaps most impressive was the way the Tips responded to third-period adversity. Everett saw a 4-2 lead evaporate with two Tri-City goals in the first 1:35 of the final period.

But the Tips came storming back with four unanswered goals.

“It was obviously not how we scripted or planned it, but I give a lot of credit to our guys,” Everett head coach Dennis Williams said. “We were contemplating using our timeout there and cool things down, but we had full confidence in our group that we can straighten that out. I thought our guys did a really good job with that and we got back to playing our game after some adversity for sure.”

Bajkov got it started when he picked Juuso Valimaki’s pocket at the Everett blue line and concluded the breakaway by sliding the go-ahead goal through Patrick Dea’s legs at 6:54. Bajkov then completed his second playoff hat trick with a quick wrister from the right circle at 9:21.

“I think it was a great response for our group and obviously it shows a lot of character,” Bajkov said. “The character we have in that room, especially when they scored two quick ones to make it 4-4, for us to bounce back means it’s a really quality group in there and a job well done.”

Connor Dewar pushed it to 7-4 when he kept hammering at the left post and managed to sneak it by Dea at 10:47, and Pilon made it 8-4 at 11:44.

“It’s guys making plays,” Williams said. “When you get out there man-on-man, you have to make sure you execute off it, and our guys made some good plays there and put pucks behind their (defensemen). We were able to get a couple goals there to get us up with that lead, and then it kind of snowballed from there.”

Everett had a two-goal lead after 40 minutes thanks in part to Carter Hart stopping a Jordan Topping breakaway with with five seconds to go in the frame.

But the Americans drew even when Isaac Jonnson buried a Nolan Yaremko rebound at the left post to make it 4-3, and Michael Rasmussen banked a puck off the end boards that rebounded off Hart’s back and into the net at 1:35 to make it 4-4.

Everett took a 2-1 lead into the second period, but Tri-City tied it via power play at 1:42. A Tips turnover led to Valimaki walking in and scoring on Hart to make it 2-2.

But Everett answered two minutes later. Sean Richards stole the puck from Valimaki in the Tri-City zone and fed Vitelli in the slot for a quick wrister past Dea as the Tips regained the 3-2 lead at 3:55. The Tips added another at 13:02 when Ian Walker’s point shot through traffic beat a screened Dea to make it 4-2.

Everett never trailed as Martin Fasko-Rudas put the Tips on the board at 2:36 in the first period when he avoided a check in the Everett zone, carried it up the boards into the Tri-City zone and fired a wrister over Dea’s right shoulder for the early 1-0 lead.

The Tips doubled their lead at 10:21 when Bajkov beat Jake Bean along the right boards to create a breakaway and tucked his second attempt inside the right post for a 2-0 advantage.

“I thought we did a good job clogging up the neutral zone,” Williams said. “When we were able to turn pucks over we were able to transition quickly. We didn’t waste any time. Either guys were taking it themselves and getting the puck heading that way.”

The Americans got one back at 15:55 during a 4-on-3 power play as Rasmussen tipped in Valimaki’s point shot to make it 2-1. That was how it remained after one.

Hart finished with 29 saves for the victory while Dea saved 18 of 26 in the loss.

Silvertips 8, Americans 4

Everett 2 2 4 – 8

Tri-City 1 1 2 – 4

1st Period-1, Everett, Fasko-Rudas 4 (Vitelli), 2:36. 2, Everett, Bajkov 9 10:21. 3, Tri-City, Rasmussen 13 (Välimäki, Coghlan), 15:55 (PP). Penalties-Sharp Evt (roughing), 14:41; Johnson Tc (roughing), 14:41; Sutter Evt (checking from behind), 15:35.

2nd Period-4, Tri-City, Välimäki 2 (Rasmussen), 1:42 (PP). 5, Everett, Vitelli 3 (Richards), 3:55. 6, Everett, Walker 1 (Pilon), 13:02. Penalties-Richards Evt (holding), 0:52.

3rd Period-7, Tri-City, Johnson 5 (Yaremko, Topping), 0:47. 8, Tri-City, Rasmussen 14 (Geekie), 1:45. 9, Everett, Bajkov 10 6:54. 10, Everett, Bajkov 11 (Richards, Fonteyne), 9:21. 11, Everett, Dewar 6 (Pilon), 10:47. 12, Everett, Pilon 10 (Sutter), 11:44. Penalties-James Tc (kneeing), 13:01; Fasko-Rudas Evt (10-minute misconduct), 19:57; AuCoin Tc (roughing), 19:57; Bouchard Tc (10-minute misconduct), 19:57; James Tc (10-minute misconduct), 19:57; O’Rourke Evt (roughing), 20:00.

Shots on Goal-Everett 7-10-11-28. Tri-City 9-13-11-33.

Power Play Opportunities-Everett 0 / 2; Tri-City 2 / 2.

Goalies-Everett, Hart (33 shots-29 saves). Tri-City, Dea (26 shots-18 saves); Warm (2 shots-2 saves).

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