Tips slip in Game 3

EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips’ biggest strength this season has been penalty killing.

But that strength let the Silvertips down Monday night.

Gilbert Brule scored a pair of power-play goals, and the Vancouver Giants defeated the Silvertips 3-1 in Game 3 of their Western Hockey League Western Conference semifinal series.

Before a boisterous crowd of 6,094 at the Everett Events Center, Vancouver took a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is Thursday at Everett.

"They capitalized on a couple of power plays which is totally not us out there," Everett defenseman Mitch Love said.

Everett was the second-best penalty-killing team during the regular season, nullifying 89.5 percent of opponents’ advantages. The Silvertips had been just as good in the playoffs, killing off 89.3 percent of opponents’ power plays going into Monday’s game.

Perhaps that’s why it required a little bit of magic from Brule for the Giants to score on two of their three power-play chances in Game 3.

Brule’s goals were nearly identical. The first came early in the second period as Brule collected the puck at the edge of the right circle and scoped out his options before flipping it toward the net. The shot snuck past Everett goalie Jeff Harvey into the upper-right corner to give the Giants a 1-0 lead at 1 minute, 38 seconds.

Then after Zach Hamill tied it up for Everett late in the second period with a power-play goal of his own, Brule struck again with a man advantage early in the third with the goal that proved to be the game winner. From exactly the same location on the ice but at the other end of the rink, Brule slapped a one-timer that deflected in off the crossbar to give the Giants a 2-1 lead at 3:33.

"I don’t think we had trouple (killing penalties)," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "You’re going to give up shots from the sideboards. We kept them where we wanted them, they were just two really good shots. It wasn’t the penalty kill’s fault at all. (Brule) was nominated for Rookie of the Year because he’s a good player and he absoultely picked out the corner two times."

The goals were Brule’s first of the playoffs.

"His ability is unquestionable," Vancouver coach Dean Evason said about Brule, a 1987-born who is rated by some services as the top player his age in North America. "He does everything well, but his desire is what allows him to score those type of goals."

The loss was all the more difficult for the Silvertips considering Game 3 was probably Everett’s best effort of the series so far. The Silvertips played with tremendous energy throughout and controlled play for much of the game, outshooting Vancouver 35-21.

But Vancouver goalie Aaron Sorochan was strong in net, making 34 saves, and when the Silvertips finally did beat Sorochan in the third period, Torrie Wheat’s rebound attempt drifted through the crease and wide.

Adam Courchaine added an insurance goal for Vancouver with 2:36 remaining, his fourth of the playoffs.

"We played a pretty solid game," Constantine said. "If you tried to separate anything over the course of the three games other than the final score, it’s be really hard to find anything. All three were basically the same, they just got the late goal in two of them and we got the late goal in one."

Everett’s goal tied the score at 15:54 of the second period. Hamill, Everett’s 15-year-old phenom, had just whiffed on a golden opportunity in close. But the puck came back out to the point where John Dahl unleased a drive. Sorochan saved Dahl’s shot, but it rebounded right to Hamill in the left slot, where Hamill slotted it behind Sorochan to make it 1-1 at 15:54. It was Hamill’s second goal of the playoffs, as well as the second of his WHL career.

Slap shots: Everett left wing Tyler Dietrich did not play Monday. Dietrich took a hit to the head late in Saturday’s Game 2 at Vancouver and had to be helped from the ice. However, the injury is not considered serious and Dietrich is expected to return later this series. … The Everett fans provided strong support for Harvey. Harvey received catcalls and chants of "Har-vey" in the first two games in Vancouver when, after reacting to Vancouver general manager Scott Bonner’s description of Everett fans as ruthless, he described Pacific Coliseum as a library. But the Everett fans gave Harvey an ovation before the game, a large banner read, "Welcome to the Jungle! This ain’t no freakin’ library!" and affectionate chants of "Har-vey" could occasionally be heard. … The start time of Friday’s Game 5 in Vancouver has been changed from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m. so it doesn’t conflict with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks’ playoff game against the Calgary Flames.

At Everett