EVERETT — When Markus McCrea made it through last Saturday’s game against Kelowna unscathed, the entire Everett Silvertips organization let out a deep sigh of relief.
Perhaps that means the curse has been kicked.
It’s been a rough couple weeks for those who lined up alongside Byron Froese and Kellan Tochkin. Everett’s had four forwards go down injured since Feb. 11, and in a bizarre twist of fate, all four suffered their injuries while skating on a line with Froese and Tochkin.
“McCrea getting through the game was a major accomplishment for us,” Everett coach John Becanic said with a rueful smile.
“My billets said before I left for the game, ‘Don’t get hurt out there,’” McCrea said with a chuckle. “Then the first shift I got hit in the gut, so I was a little rattled about that.”
Normally players would be dreaming of the opportunity to play with Froese and Tochkin, two of the league’s top-scoring rookies who both know how to get the puck to teammates in scoring position.
However, over the span of five games, that left wing slot was more the stuff of nightmares.
It began when Maxwell, Froese and Tochkin’s normal partner, discovered he had been playing with a cracked kneecap from blocking a shot. His first game out following the discovery was Everett’s home game against Spokane on Feb. 11.
Paul Van de Velde was the first player tagged to take Maxwell’s place on the left of Froese and Tochkin. But in that game against Spokane Van de Velde caught the edge of his skate on a rut in the ice and fell hard into the boards, suffering a separated shoulder.
Next up was Daniel Bartek. Bartek made it through two games with Froese and Tochkin and appeared the perfect fit. But in the third, last Wednesday’s home game against Portland, he took a puck to the hand while blocking a shot. He was left with a broken hand.
Next in line was Dale Hunt, who was switched from right wing to left wing to accomodate the move. Three shifts into his first game on that line, last Friday at Tri-City, he took a hit up high from Americans defenseman Brett Plouffe and suffered a concussion.
The way things are going the Tips are running out of left wingers.
“It’s tough,” Froese said. “We have to learn to play with new players, new guys are coming in there all the time. Let’s hope they’re not scared to fill in that position because there’s been some injuries. It’s just battle wounds right there.”
None of the four injured players are expected to be available for Everett’s stretch of five games in seven nights that begins tonight. Therefore McCrea, a promising 16-year-old rookie power forward who has played sparingly this season, is in line for an extended run with Froese and Tochkin.
“I thought Markus did a good job against Kelowna,” Becanic said. “He’s getting an opportunity to play with players who are familiar to how he played with his last team, where Markus was the key offensive component. He’s getting thrust into that type of role, which he hasn’t been all year, so it’s a great opportunity to see where Markus is when playing with players who help facilitate his strengths.”
Provided he can avoid the injury jinx.
Slap shots
It was merely a formality, but the Tips clinched a playoff berth over the weekend. Everett booked its place in the playoffs when Portland fell 4-1 to Tri-City on Sunday. Neither Portland nor Chilliwack can reach Everett’s current total of 59 points. … Everett has temporarily added forward D.Jay McGrath to its roster. The 16-year-old from Kindersly, Saskatchewan, was Everett’s third-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft. His stay is expected to be short as his midget team, the Saskatoon Contacts, is still playing.
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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