Tips lose again to Vancouver

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Everett Silvertips just can’t seem to solve the Vancouver Giants.

Everett lost to Vancouver again, falling 4-2 Friday night in a Western Hockey League game.

Everett (17-10-5-2) has lost all three games it’s played against Vancouver (19-12-1-2) this season. The Tips are also winless in their last four.

Tim Kraus broke a 2-2 tie late in the second period for Vancouver, which won its third straight. Gilbert Brule, Mitch Bartley and Chad Scharff also scored goals for the Giants and Adam Jennings made 18 saves in goal.

Ryan Blatchford and Tyler Dietrich scored for Everett and Michael Wall made 22 saves.

Vancouver took the lead 3 minutes, 38 seconds in when Brule put in a rebound on the power play for his 20th goal of the season.

The Giants made it 2-0 at 10:27, Bartley scoring his eighth of the season after eluding the Everett defense and wristing a shot past Wall from the left circle.

Everett pulled a goal back at 12:18 when on the power play, Blatchford’s shot from the center point through traffic snuck past Jennings. Blatchford’s second of the season made it 2-1.

The Tips then tied it up at 7:51 of the second period, Dietrich banging in a rebound after Curtis Billsten’s shot for his 11th of the season.

Vancouver regained the lead with another power-play goal at 16:43. Kraus made a nice move to give himself space in front, the stuffed the puck past Wall to make it 3-2 with his 12th of the season.

The Giants put the game away at 16:59 of the third period, Scharff scoring his fourth of the season on a rebound.

Slap shots: Both teams were missing their European players, with Everett defenseman Ivan Baranka (Slovakia) and left wing Karel Hromas (Czech Republic) and Vancouver defenseman Andrej Meszaros (Slovakia) and goaltender Marek Schwarz (Czech Republic) all away preparing for the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championships. … Vancouver’s teddy bear toss came a little prematurely when fans pelted the ice three minutes into the game when the puck trickled along the goal line, but did not cross it.

Giants 4, Silvertips 2

Everett110-2

Vancouver211-4

First Period-1, Vancouver, Brule 20 (Kraus, Seder), 3:38 (pp). 2, Vancouver, Bartley 8 (Kraus, Seder), 10:27. 3, Everett, Blatchford 2 (Wheat), 12:18 (pp).

Second Period-4, Everett, Dietrich 11 (Billsten, Hamill), 7:51. 5, Vancouver, Kraus 12 (Brule, Thiessen), 16:43 (pp).

Third Period-6, Vancouver, Scharff 4 (Watt, Lamb), 16:59.

Shots on goal-Everett 6-8-6-20. Vancouver 14-4-8-26. Power-play opportunities-Everett 1 of 4. Vancouver 2 of 4.

Goalies-Everett, Wall 12-9-4 (26 shots, 22 saves). Vancouver, Jennings 4-1 (20 shots, 18 saves).