EVERETT – The Everett Silvertips take to their home ice for the first time in three weeks tonight.
But the way things have gone, perhaps they’d feel more comfortable staying on the road.
The Silvertips officially return home tonight when they face the Kamloops Blazers, and they return as conquering heroes, having completed a perfect 6-0 swing through the WHL’s East Division.
“We wanted to make a statement going out on the road,” center Peter Mueller said. “Not all teams can do that, but that was the goal, we stuck to it and came away happy.”
The Silvertips, who last played at the Everett Events Center on Oct. 25, will undoubtedly be warmly received when they take the ice against the Kamloops Blazers tonight. Not only did Everett win all its games on the road trip, the Tips now have an 11-game winning streak and own the best record in the entire Canadian Hockey League. All thanks to their road prowess.
“I certainly didn’t know if we could go 6-0,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “I’m a little surprised we did it because it’s difficult, but pleasantly surprised because we got it done. We had a little luck along the way, but they players found a way to get it done, so it was a good trip.”
And naturally, having that kind of success makes the road trip considerably more enjoyable.
“It was awesome,” said right wing Moises Gutierrez, who led the team in goals during the trip with five. “A road trip like that really brought us together. After the last win in Swift Current the majority of the team stayed up until 6 in the morning on the bus, taking pictures and having a good time. There were so many different good moments in everything we did.”
Before the Tips departed for the seven-game, 17-day road trip, the players stated a goal of winning every game. Usually that sort of talk is little more than lip service and not a realistic prospect. Most teams hope just to finish .500 on their long road trip, and a sweep is unthinkable. But after the opening game at Prince George was postponed because of damaged ice after two periods with Everett trailing 2-1, the Tips plowed right ahead and pulled it off.
“It was huge for us to go 6-0,” said defenseman Taylor Ellington, who capped off a strong trip by scoring the first two regular season goals of his three-year WHL career. “We had a goal right off the bat and we accomplished it. It was a lot of hard work, a lot of bonding that went along with that road trip, and we just won.”
Everett was well worth its victories. In the six games the Tips outscored their opponents 24-9, outshooting the opposition by at least six shots in every game.
Everett also dominated the special teams battle. The Tips finished 15-for-48 (31 percent) on the power play during the trip and held the opposition to 5-for-50 (10 percent) on the advantage. Everett even tossed in a short-hander for good measure.
Mueller led the way, racking up four goals and nine assists and being named the game’s first star three times. Gutierrez (five goals, two assists), Zach Hamill (three goals, four assists) and Jason Fransoo (seven assists) each added seven points. Goaltenders Leland Irving and David Reekie combined to limit the opposition to no more than two goals in any game.
Everett didn’t do everything perfect – Constantine mentioned a lack of energy in the 3-2 shootout victory at Regina, taking some unnecessary penalties and moments of poor backchecking. But the Tips proved capable of overcoming those lapses.
“I don’t think the reasons we won were any different than why we’ve been winning all year,” Constantine said. “We’ve generally gotten very steady goaltending and our special teams have been good. Our penalty kill keeps us in, and our power play adds goals. Then it’s just a lot of hard work in between all those things.”
Maybe as important as the results was the state of the team’s health. Last November the Tips returned from their trip to the Central Division with six of their top players out because of injury or illness. This time Everett departed with one injury (left wing Ondrej Fiala’s knee) and came back completely healthy.
“I remember last year it wasn’t much fun,” Mueller said. “A lot of guys got sick, a lot of guys got injured. But this one seems like it went by just like that. It seems like it was just yesterday that we had our last game and were coming home. You’re having fun when you’ve got good guys on the team and you’re winning.”
And now the Tips get their fans back, too.
Slap shots: Constantine returned home with something missing: his hair. In the past Constantine vowed to shave his head if the Tips won five straight, which they did last season. When Everett won its fifth straight this season the players inquired, but Constantine called the five-game winning streak the previous standard and to come back when they reached 10. … Constantine also received a $500 fine for being ejected from last Friday’s 6-0 victory at Swift Current. … The Tips are supporting the Garrett Robinson Recovery Fund at both tonight’s and Friday night’s games. Donations will be collected and the proceeds from both the chuck-a-puck and the 50-50 raffle will go towards the fund, which was set up after the Moose Jaw forward was critically injured in an automobile accident on Oct. 22.
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