EVERETT – Everett Silvertips coach Kevin Constantine said he may bench goaltender Jeff Harvey for Game 3 of the Western Hockey League finals tonight in favor of backup Mike Wall.
“We haven’t made our mind up at this point,” Constantine said late Monday afternoon. “We’ll make it up (Monday night or this morning).”
The possible switch for today’s game against the Medicine Hat Tigers at the Everett Events Center would be a major move for the Silvertips. Harvey, who has all but one of Everett’s 12 playoff victories, was spectacular during the regular season and in the playoff series against Spokane, Vancouver and Kelowna. Yet, he struggled in the first two games of the finals in Medicine Hat, Alberta, won by the Tigers, 4-1 and 3-0.
Wall appeared at the beginning of the second period of Saturday’s Game 2 and turned away all 21 Medicine Hat shots. He also racked up a 3-2 victory against Vancouver in the second round of the playoffs, stopping 35 of 37 shots.
“We were very impressed with how Wall played in Game 6 in the Vancouver series and very impressed the other night,” Constantine said. “We have no issue with playing him. He’s very, very good. We know he can step in and do a very good job.”
Until the finals, Harvey was the constant for the surprising Silvertips. While the Everett offense and power play have been inconsistent, Harvey was consistently brilliant. Still, he is 11-7 in the postseason, with a goals-against average of 1.56 and four shutouts.
“Unbelievable,” Everett’s John Dahl said of the 21-year-old Harvey during the series against Kelowna. “That’s basically one word to sum it up. He’s been doing it for us all year and during the playoffs he’s been carrying us through. As long as he’s playing the way he is, anything can happen.”
Constantine said he and Harvey have conversed about his problems against Medicine Hat, but was reluctant to reveal details.
“We have some simple principles about how we solve all of those situations,” Constantine said. “The word ‘win’ is an acronym for ‘what’s important next.’ So whenever we have issues, it’s always easy to solve those issues with what’s important next. What’s important next is whatever goalie goes in stops the pucks that are shot at him.”
What also is important for the Silvertips is to challenge Tigers goalie Kevin Nastiuk. The Silvertips have had just 34 shots on goal against Nastiuk, 15 in Game 2.
“They have had the puck so much more than we have and controlled play so much more than we have,” said Everett left-winger Chad Bassen, a former Tiger. “We haven’t had a chance to show what we have.”
The highest-scoring team in the WHL this season, Medicine Hat has been especially strong in the first two periods. The Tigers have taken advantage of superior skating skills on both ends of the ice.
“They’re so fast,” Bassen said. “They play a wide-open style game. We’ve got to start moving the puck. We’ve got to turn the flow on them instead of them skating around.”
Notes: Both tonight’s game and Wednesday’s Game 4 at the Everett Events Center are sold out … Game 6, if necessary, will be at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Everett Events Center … Everett picked up Bassen Oct. 16, after the Tigers released him on the 20-year-old cutdown day. He says he still has many friends on the team. “It’s a little strange,” he said. “You play them hard, but you don’t play them cheap because they’re your friends. It’s the playoffs, so there are no friends on the ice.”
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