EVERETT — The first half of the 2007-08 WHL season has been like a trip to the amusement park for the Everett Silvertips.
However, the Tips haven’t exactly enjoyed it in the same manner as a kid on vacation.
The first half has been one long roller coaster ride for Everett, with a steady stream of peaks and valleys rapidly following one after another. And that continual change in the team’s form has been the most distinguishing feature of the season so far for the Tips.
“There’s one thing I’ve been consistent about, and that’s how inconsistent we’ve been,” Everett coach John Becanic said. “The best way to summarize the first half is inconsistent.”
The Tips broke for Christmas with an 18-16-0-2 record, which places them third in the five-team U.S. Division by points, fourth in winning percentage.
But the Tips didn’t reach their position by plodding along in mediocrity. Instead there have been patches where Everett looked like a team capable of contending for a fourth division title in five seasons, interspersed with stretches of ineptitude reminiscent of a team left home for the playoffs.
“It was up and down,” was how captain Jonathan Harty characterized Everett’s first half. “We’ve had some inconsistencies. We’d win three games here, lose three games there. When we play our game we can definitely be a contender in this league. When we play a full 60 minutes we can play with anyone.”
The problem is those full 60 minutes have been few and far between.
Before the season began Everett was considered one of the league’s top contenders. The Tips had top-end offensive talents in the form of Zach Hamill, Kyle Beach and Dan Gendur. They had four quality veteran defensemen returning in Harty, Dane Crowley, Taylor Ellington and Graham Potuer. And they had one of the league’s premier goaltenders in Leland Irving. That collection of talent was considered one of the best in the league.
However, the season hasn’t followed the script. With Becanic taking over behind the bench for the departed Kevin Constantine, the Tips got off to a terrible start and have yet to fully recover. Those offensive stars have scored the lion’s share of the points, but have not dominated like expected. The defense and goaltending have let in significantly more goals per game than any previous Everett team. And the younger players have taken more time to develop than expected.
Throw it all together and its easy to see why the team’s been inconsistent.
“We have to work hard night in and night out, not take any nights off,” center Zack Dailey said. “We have all the tools, the hard work is where I think we were lacking a little bit.”
But there were some signs the Tips may be headed in the right direction. Everett finished the first half with back-to-back wins. OK, so they were against Portland, the team with the worst record in the league. However, the Tips also won those games without their two leading scorers, Beach (because of a concussion) and Hamill (because of a suspension). Secondary scoring has been tough to come by for the Tips, but with Beach and Hamill out Everett got 10 goals in two games from eight different players.
As a result, the Tips are optimistic about a second-half improvement.
“Defensively there’s not a lot I would change,” Becanic said. “Offensively our ability to forecheck aggressively for 60 minutes is something that’s made us difficult to play against every night. The more time we spend in the offensive zone, the less we have to defend. That’s something I’ll continue to push. And we’ve developed our offensive game. I see that and our staff sees that, but maybe the public doesn’t see that. We just have to continue to be patient with it and not panic.”
The break also gave the Tips a chance to recover physically. Beach should be back from his concussion when the season resumes next Thursday, and the likes of Harty who’s been playing in pain since October should be feeling better. With no players going away to international tournaments, the Tips should come back at full strength.
And perhaps there will be a little reversal of history. Last season Everett had a fantastic first half, lost steam in the second half, then was upset in the second round of the playoffs. Maybe this season it’ll be the second half when the Tips excel.
“It’s been a learning curve,” Dailey said. “Everyone’s getting used to the systems and each other. But we battled through it and I think we’re going to have a great second half of the season.”
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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