Opponent: Seattle Thunderbirds
When: 7:05 p.m.
Where: Everett Events Center
Radio: KRKO (1380 AM)
Thursday after practice, members of the Silvertips weighed in on the suspension the NHL handed down to Vancouver forward Todd Bertuzzi.
Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs for an attack on Colorado’s Steve Moore on Monday near the end of a 9-2 loss. Bertuzzi punched Moore in the head from behind and then drove Moore’s face into the ice. Moore remains hospitalized with a concussion and two broken vertebra.
“I think it sets a precedent for future altercations throughout the NHL,” Everett defenseman Mitch Love said. “It’s tough to see Bertuzzi go down, it’s going to hurt his team. But at the same time it was a selfish move on his part to put a young hockey player’s life and hockey career in jeopardy for a stunt that really didn’t need to be done. So I think he deserved what he got.”
Everett coach Kevin Constantine, a former NHL coach himself, said that with the increased awareness of the long-term effects of head injuries, that plays such as Bertuzzi’s should be dealt with strongly.
“I’ve often wondered in hockey whether when a guy is injured due to some type of aggressive, penalty-like behavior by another player, if the player who causes the injury shouldn’t sit out as long as the player who’s injured sits out,” Constantine said. “In this case at least they’ve treated it very seriously, as they should, and if it’s a strong deterrent to other players to change behavior in the game in a way that’s appropriate, then it’s valuable for the whole game, not just this particular incident. So I think it’s the right call.”
Clearing out: The Silvertips undertook some unusual preparations for Wednesday’s game against Tri-City.
That’s what happens when you’re forced out of the building an hour before the start time.
An evacuation of the Everett Events Center because of a grease fire interrupted normal pregame rituals. As a result the players from both teams ended up spending about 15 minutes in the parking lot. Some tossing around a football while Love took the opportunity to chat up referee Rob Matsuoka.
“It was really odd,” Everett forward Chad Bassen said. “It is the first time I’ve been involved with something like that. It kind of takes a little bit away from your mental preparation, but we got back in and got ready for the game, so it wasn’t too bad.”
Everett survived a sluggish first period to win 4-1.
Scouting report: The Thunderbirds stunned the Silvertips in their last meeting, Clayton Barthel scoring with less than three seconds remaining to give Seattle a 3-2 victory over Everett last Friday at KeyArena.
But the situation is different this time around. Last week Seattle (22-30-8-9) still had a chance at catching Spokane for the division’s fourth and final playoff berth. But Spokane’s 6-3 victory over Portland on Sunday officially eliminated Seattle from playoff contention, leaving the T-birds in the role of spoiler.
Nineteen-year-old left wing Tyler Metcalfe leads Seattle in scoring with 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) and was particularly menacing last Friday. Twenty-year-old center Dustin Johner (25 goals, 29 assists) and 16-year-old center Chris Durand (17 goals, 23 assists) are also dangerous offensive players. Fourth-leading scorer Nate Thompson (12 goals, 23 assists), a 19-year-old center, has missed the last couple of weeks with a leg injury.
Eighteen-year-olds Brian Brydges (14-19-2, 2.68 goals against average, .895 save percentage) and Josh Lepp (7-15-3, 2.75 goals against average, .893 save percentage) have split goaltending duties.
Nick Patterson
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