EVERETT – Home openers are always met with excitement and anticipation. It’s the first true opportunity for the players and fans to unite and ponder the possibilities of the upcoming season together.
But fans attending tonight’s Everett Silvertips home opener against Prince George will receive an added bonus. They get to watch the Tips unwrap their biggest offseason present.
The Silvertips christen the Everett Events Center for the 2005-06 season tonight with the unveiling of Peter Mueller in his Western Hockey League debut.
“It’s about time I finally got the chance – well, that I made the right decisions to make the lineup,” Mueller said. “I’m pretty excited for (tonight).”
Mueller, a dynamic 17-year-old center whom the Silvertips lured away from the U.S. National Team Development Program during the offseason, had his debut put on hold by a week because of a one-game suspension. The potential lottery pick in next year’s NHL Draft picked up the suspension for “illegal use of body language,” as coach Kevin Constantine termed it.
As a result, Mueller was forced to watch Everett’s season-opening 6-4 loss at Kamloops from the stands. Now he’s that much more eager to get onto the ice.
“Lesson learned. Let me tell you it’s not going to happen again,” Mueller said about the incident, which occurred in Everett’s final exhibition game against Seattle.
“Anyone who sits out for a game and watches his team, they wish they could be out there,” Mueller added. “But maybe I can bring some leadership to the locker room and hopefully we can get two points.”
The Silvertips are expecting big things from Mueller this season, although Constantine is quick to temper expectations for tonight’s game.
“Peter’s a talented kid and a good player, and he’ll be a good player for us and a good player in this league,” Constantine said. “I don’t know what opening night will look like, but we’ve got to get him going and he’s excited to get going. Hopefully he does well. I’m not worried about it too much because I know down the road he’s going to be really good for us.”
Constantine is eager to get everyone on the ice, not just Mueller. Everett is one of three teams to have played just one game so far this season. And since the Everett Silvertips Pre-Season Tournament on Sept. 2-4, the Tips have seen live opposition just three times.
“I think (tonight) represents the fourth game in our last 27 days and that’s not much hockey when you want to get into a rhythm,” Constantine said. “So we just want to start playing games.”
Everett hasn’t had much luck in home openers in its short history, having yet to taste victory. Two seasons ago the Silvertips lost 3-1 to Prince George and last season the Tips fell 3-1 to Portland. With a large crowd expected tonight – there were only approximately 1,300 tickets still available – Everett is hoping to change that.
“We’re definitely looking to turn it around,” Everett defenseman Shaun Heshka said. ” (Home openers) are kind of pivotal games, especially with us losing our first game already. We kind of need this one under our belts just to even up and make sure that with a full crowd here we get a nice W.”
Everett is in better shape for tonight’s game than for the season opener, when the Tips were hampered by a plethora of injury problems. Captain Torrie Wheat remains questionable because of a foot injury, but forwards Michael Wuchterl, Jesse Smyke and Zach Dailey and defenseman Graham Potuer have all recovered and are eligible for selection tonight.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Tips after tonight as Everett welcomes defending WHL champion and preseason league favorite Kelowna on Sunday. The Tips are going to have to improve upon their play from Kamloops to prevail in either of this weekend’s games.
“They’re both going to come in here with the intent to win and we’re going to have to up our game a little bit,” Heshka said. “We’re going to play off the emotion of the crowd and hopefully be successful.”
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