SEATTLE – Whether it’s the first game of the exhibition season or the deciding game of the playoffs, one thing is constant in hockey.
A hot goaltender makes a huge difference.
That’s what the Everett Silvertips ran into Friday in their exhibition opener, when Vancouver Giants goalie Tommy Tartaglione stopped all 28 shots the Tips threw at him, including several from point-blank range.
Tartaglione, backed by goals from Tim Kraus and Mitch Gzibere, led the Giants to a 2-0 victory to end the first day of the Silvertips Preseason Tournament at the Everett Events Center.
The Portland Winterhawks beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-3 and the Spokane Chiefs beat the Kamloops Blazers 8-2 in the other games Friday.
The tournament resumes today with Kamloops against Portland at 11:30 a.m., Vancouver vs. Spokane at 3 p.m. and Everett vs. Seattle at 7.
Friday’s triple-header drew 3,460, with 1,712 at the Silvertips’ game.
The Silvertips’ lineup consisted of a few regulars from last year – including Michael Wuchterl, Zach Hamill and Brady Calla – but was filled primarily with the youngest players they brought to training camp, including four 15-year-olds.
Coach Kevin Constantine said the youngsters held up well Friday.
“It’s a very different situation for kids to play in,” Constantine said. “It’s their first time in a real game and the guys are a little nervous. And then we pump them with all kinds of information that they’re trying to process in a short amount of time. With all that, play can get a little scrambly at first.”
It was, with numerous penalties that led not only to five-on-four power plays, but one five-on-three and, when the Silvertips pulled their goalie in the final two minutes, a six-on-three. The Giants went 1-for-8 on the power play, the Silvertips 0-for-12.
The Silvertips’ defense was “scrambly” early when a breakdown in front of the net allowed Kraus to sweep in and back-hand a shot past goalie Chris Ward.
Ward also had no chance on Vancouver’s second goal, a power-play score when Luke Egener’s shot from the left point took a hard rebound off the boards behind the net and onto the stick of Gzibere, who poked into the open side for a 2-0 lead late in the second period.
Despite those goals, Ward, a 16-year-old from Winnipeg, played well. He stopped 10 of 12 shots, including several in the first period on Giants opportunities from close range.
Shayne Barrie, a 15-year-old from Regina, Saskatchewan, stopped all eight shots he faced, including a barrage of three straight during a scramble in front of the net late in the second period after he took over for Ward.
“Our goalies were OK,” Constantine said. “This is their first experience in the league and they’re young, and they did a good job.”
Tartaglione, 17, played the entire game and saved his best for last.
Everett’s Jonathan Harty took a pass from Damir Alic from behind the net and rifled a low shot toward the corner of the net, but Tartaglione kicked it away with his left pad.
Moments later, Everett’s Shane Harper passed across the crease to Ryan Sawka, who flipped the puck high toward the open side of the net, but Tartaglione slid across and kicked it away.
The Tips didn’t have any better luck in the postgame shootout, which is being used after each game of the tournament as a trial for the new tiebreaker procedures that the league will use this season.
Kraus and J.D. Watt slipped shots past Barrie, while Tartaglione stopped shots by Everett’s Matt Strong and Kyle Beach.
Constantine said Leland Irving and Matt Esposito would split time in goal tonight against Seattle.
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