EVERETT – The Prince George Cougars have Miami Viced the Everett Silvertips.
Much like the pastel-clad drug enforcement agents seized powerboats loaded with illegal narcotics during the 1980s, the Cougars have seized the initiative away from the Silvertips in their second-round WHL playoff series.
Now the question is whether the Tips, back home for tonight’s Game 5, can find a way to seize that initiative back.
After winning the first two games of the best-of-seven series at home, Everett lost Games 3 and 4 in Prince George, knotting the series at 2-2 and giving the Cougars momentum.
However, the Tips appear unconcerned with the momentum shift. The players looked comfortable at practice Friday afternoon at the Everett Events Center, and the Tips can also draw upon the fact that the exact same scenario took place in the first round, when Everett responded with two straight victories to claim the series against Spokane in six games.
“We could lose seven in a row or we could win 10 in a row, our philosophy all the time is ‘What’s important next?’” Everett captain Jason Fransoo said. “(The team’s psyche) is good right now, if you ask me.”
Games 3 and 4 had both their similarities and their differences. They were different in that Prince George blew past Everett to win 5-1 in Game 3, but needed overtime to win 4-3 in Game 4. However, they were similar in that Everett had a lead in both games, only to lose it.
Giving up leads is unusual for a team that was nearly unbeatable after going ahead during the regular season. Everett was 41-3-0-1 during the regular season when scoring first, as it did in Game 3, and the Tips lost just once all season when leading in the third period, as they did in Game 4.
But despite the change in fortune, all the Tips were in agreement that nothing needed to be changed for Game 5 other than the results.
“We just have to play our game,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “They’re a good team. We knew going into the playoffs we’d face teams we had to battle with all year. We expected this to be the way the playoffs went.
“You’ve just got to do the same stuff,” Constantine continued. “You’ve got to get good goaltending, you’ve got to do the job you can do on special teams, and you have to keep competing five-on-five.”
Everett center Zach Hamill echoed those sentiments: “We just need to stick to our game plan. We can’t hit the panic button right now, I don’t think we have to come out and try to do too much. We just have to take it shift by shift and not look too far ahead.”
It’s a formula that worked in Games 1 and 2. The Tips hope it works again in Game 5.
Hamill hemmed in: One thing that could help Everett wrest back control of the series would be the re-emergence of Hamill offensively.
Hamill, the league’s scoring champion this season, has been of little offensive factor thus far in the series. After registering 93 points in 69 games during the regular season, Hamill has just three assists in the four games against Prince George.
“Yeah, it’s been hard to get points, but at the same time playoffs aren’t totally about points,” Hamill said. “It’s more about blocking shots, getting the puck out of the zone, all the little things. If points are more important than winning the Memorial Cup then I think there’s something wrong.”
Constantine expressed no concern with Hamill’s lack of production.
“I think Zach was really good last game,” Constantine said. “He’s gotten his points throughout playoffs and he’s had a pretty consistent career as and athlete. I don’t think he’s not going, I just think you have to look at a player over the course of time, not put a spotlight on any one particular moment. As long as a guy’s working hard and competing, points come and go, so we’re not worried about Zach.”
Mueller musings: When the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes cleaned out their front office Wednesday, it barely registered a blip on the radar to the local population – with the exception of one individual: Peter Mueller.
Mueller, Everett’s star center, had more than a passing interest in the firings of general manager Mike Barnett, director of hockey operations Cliff Fletcher and assistant general manager Laurence Gilman. After all, these were the men responsible for selecting Mueller eighth overall in the 2006 NHL draft.
“I don’t know what to think about it,” Mueller said. “I want to think positive things. You knew they wanted to make some changes, but I didn’t know they were going to make that many. They’re definitely trying to go a direction that makes the organization the best.”
The Coyotes have yet to name replacements, so there’s no knowing how the changes could affect the speed with which Mueller is brought to the NHL.
“Hopefully (the new members of the front office) will see my name and put a nice little check mark by it,” Mueller said.
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