The Everett Silvertips extended their win streak to nine games after sweeping their back-to-back weekend set on Friday and Saturday. Everett (41-6-2-1, 85 points) remains on top of the WHL standings, two points ahead of Eastern Conference leader Prince Albert (39-7-5-0, 83 points) and 12 points ahead of Penticton (33-11-4-3, 73 points) in the west.
Everett 6, Kamloops 3
The Silvertips found themselves down early after the Blazers scored twice in a 20-second span before the game reached the five-minute mark. League scoring leader JP Hurlbert opened things at 4:02 with a rebound off the rush before Nathan Behm after Josh Evaschesen forced the puck off Everett defenseman Kayd Ruedig and set Behm up along the post at 4:22.
Henri Ament cut the deficit for the Silvertips at 10:59 with a shot off the faceoff, but Kamloops made it 3-1 at 6:19 of the second period with a power-play goal from Tommy Lafreniere.
From there, Everett scored five unanswered goals in the final 23 minutes to complete the multi-goal comeback.
Carter Bear tied it up with a pair of power-play goals at 17:12 of the second and 1:37 of the third, respectively, with the first coming from a tight angle deep in the offensive zone, and the tying tally coming from the inside edge of the right circle. Matias Vanhanen set Bear up for both shots.
Lukas Kaplan delivered the game-winner at 11:37, firing a one-timer on net after Nolan Chastko took the puck away in the neutral zone and set him up for a shot. The Silvertips iced the game with a couple of empty-net goals, with Bear scoring the second at 18:56 to give him his second hat trick of the season (Nov. 26 vs. Regina).
Everett 4, Victoria 2
After outshooting the Royals 15-2 in a scoreless first period, Everett needed just 10 seconds to take the lead in the second period when Mattias Uyeda picked a loose puck off the wall and jumped into the Victoria zone to drop it back for Jaxsin Vaughan, who set a new career high with his 16th goal of the season.
Ament scored his second goal in as many games to make it 2-0 at 7:30 of the second period, trickling a shot past Royals goaltender Ethan Eskit after the puck was redirected towards the slot.
Victoria benefitted from a couple of power play opportunities in the third period, scoring at 10:07 and 11:52 to tie it up 2-2 entering the final eight minutes. But when Everett got a power play of its own at 13:22, it made sure to capitalize.
As Tarin Smith held the puck at the point, Landon DuPont cycled back into the neutral zone and picked up momentum before charging back in and taking a pass behind the right circle for a shot through traffic, which got through to give the Silvertips a 3-2 lead at 15:18. Vanhanen solidified the 4-2 victory with an empty-netter at 18:51.
Three Stars of the Week
First Star: Carter Bear. The 19-year-old forward reached 23 goals on the season with his hat trick on Friday, which puts him atop the team leaderboard despite playing in just 36 games so far this season. He registered an assist on Saturday to finish the weekend with four points in two games.
Second Star: Landon DuPont. The 16-year-old defenseman delivered the game-winner on Saturday, and dished out two assists on Friday to help tie the game up after Everett went down 3-1.
Third Star: Matias Vanhanen. The 18-year-old forward tallied an assist on all three of Bear’s goals on Friday, and he added an empty-net goal on Saturday to increase his lead atop the team scoring list with 62 points (13 goals, 49 assists) in 44 games. He’s tied for 11th in scoring across the entire WHL.
The week ahead
The Silvertips hit the road for five games through Canada in seven days, starting with Red Deer on Tuesday. It will be the first time Everett faces Cole Temple and Cameron Dillard, the two players traded for defenseman Luke Vlooswyk on Jan. 2.
The trip continues against Edmonton on Wednesday, Lethbridge on Friday and Medicine Hat on Saturday before concluding against Calgary on Feb. 16. It will be the first time the Silvertips face each team this season, as Western Conference teams only play Eastern Conference opponents once a year.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
