EVERETT – Jeff Schmidt is in pain.
But that pain is less from his injured shoulder and more from having to watch the Everett Silvertips’ playoff run from the stands.
Schmidt, one of Everett’s top defensive forwards, has been on the sidelines since suffering a separated shoulder in Game 1 of the Silvertips’ first-round Western Hockey League series against Spokane.
Schmidt will be watching his teammates again tonight at the Everett Events Center when the Silvertips host the Vancouver Giants in Game 3 of their Western Conference semfinal series. The best-of-seven game series is tied 1-1.
For Schmidt, having to play the role of a spectator has been the most painful part of potentially having his season ended.
“Definitely watching from the stands (is more painful),” Schmidt said. “Just seeing the guys winning in overtime, those are the best part of playing hockey and being a part of a team, winning those games and sweeping the series. You’re so happy for the guys, but you wish you were out there. The initial week really hurts with the shoulder, but when the pain kind of calms down a little bit, the hardest thing is just sitting out and watching them and wishing you were a part of it.”
Schmidt suffered the injury when he was slammed into the boards from behind by Spokane defenseman Scott Lynch, separating his right shoulder. Lynch received a two-game suspension for the hit.
And Schmidt immediately knew the injury was bad.
“I’ve hurt my shoulders before,” Schmidt said. “I broke my collarbone and I’ve separated my other shoulder. But this was a lot worse than before.
“It’s hard to say (if the hit was dirty) because I never watched the replay,” Schmidt added. “Our coaches saw it and said it looked pretty bad. I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt me, it’s just a part of the game. Things like that happen. I think it was both from the way I was turning, going one way, and him coming in to hit me. I guess I’m just fortunate it wasn’t my neck and was my shoulder.”
Schmidt’s loss was a significant one for Everett. Schmidt, Torrie Wheat and Mark Kress comprised Everett’s top defensive line, and Schmidt and Wheat were perhaps the Silvertips’ best penalty-killing unit.
“It was rough on me,” Wheat, who’d rarely seen the ice this season without Schmidt at his side, said about Schmidt’s injury. “As soon as I heard he was done for the year I was pretty devastated. But me and my other liner, Kresser, we’ve just got to keep plugging away.”
However, all is perhaps not lost for Schmidt. The initial prognosis for Schmidt was that he’d need season-ending surgery. However, within a week Schmidt had discarded his sling and prior to the start of the Vancouver series, he was entertaining thoughts of returning later in the playoffs should the Silvertips continue to progress.
“It’s made a lot of progress,” Schmidt said of the shoulder. “I’ve been moving a lot ahead of schedule, but I’ve still got a long ways to go. Initially I thought I’d need surgery, so I’ve gone a long ways from probably not needing surgery anymore to maybe getting back in the third round if everything goes well. So hopefully the guys work hard and we can get to the third round so I can be part of the team again.”
Harvey hype: Everett goalie Jeff Harvey became the focal target of the Vancouver fans in games 1 and 2 at Pacific Coliseum.
In response to Vancouver general manager Scott Bonner’s description of Everett fans as “ruthless,” Harvey said: “I think we have the best fans in the Western Hockey League, bar none. They’re ruthless, they cheer loud, that’s what a hockey rink’s supposed to be like. It’s not supposed to be a library like Pacific Coliseum’s been all year when we’ve been there.”
Harvey’s quote was reprinted in the Vancouver newspapers, it was displayed repeatedly on the scoreboard and every time the puck came near the Everett goal, the Vancouver fans began chanting “Har-vey.” Other fans brought signs, one which read, “Harvey, your books are overdue.”
Harvey’s reaction?
“It’s great,” he said. “So many people chanting my name is kind of flattering. I never thought I’d get that much attention playing here. At least they know what my name is.”
And the extra attention didn’t seem to affect Harvey’s game. Harvey gave up just three goals in the two games, stopping 54 of the 57 shots he faced.
“I feed off it,” Harvey said. “The louder they are, the more I don’t want to let them score. It kind of goes hand-in-hand.”
Slap shots: The Silvertips are once again attempting to white out the Everett Events Center during their second-round playoff series against Vancouver. Fans are encouraged to wear white to tonight’s Game 3 and Thursday’s Game 4. … Kelowna goalie Kelly Guard and Red Deer goalie Cam Ward were announced as the two finalists for the WHL Player of the Year award. Guard was 44-14-4 with a 1.56 goals against average, .925 save percentage and a WHL-record 13 shutouts during the regular season. Ward was 31-16-8 with a 2.05 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. … Twelve WHL players were named to Canada’s team for the IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championships on April 8-18 in Minsk, Belarus. The WHL contingent includes goalie Devan Dubnyk from Kamloops, defensemen Andy Rogers and Jeff Schultz from Calgary, defenseman Michael Funk from Portland, defenseman David Schulz from Swift Current, forwards Kyle Chipchura and Dane Byers from Prince Albert, forward Aaron Gagnon from Seattle, goalie Justin Pogge and forward Eric Hunter from Prince George, and forwards John Lammers and Kris Versteeg from Lethbridge. The team is coached by Dean Chynoweth, who recently departed as Seattle’s head coach.
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