Tips Week in Review: Everett first in WHL to clinch playoff berth

What has long been a foregone conclusion became official on Friday: The Everett Silvertips will compete in the WHL Playoffs yet again. The Silvertips have never missed the postseason in their 22-year history, and the streak continues in 2025. With their win against Kamloops, Everett became the first WHL team to clinch a playoff berth this season.

The Silvertips (37-9-4-3, 81 points) played just two games this week, losing to Vancouver on Saturday after their postseason-clinching win against Kamloops on Friday. They sit 11 points ahead of Medicine Hat and Victoria in the WHL standings.

Everett 4, Kamloops 1

After a scoreless first period, the Silvertips got on the board first at 5:04 of the second period when winger Jesse Heslop’s strong forecheck allowed him to win the puck in the left corner. He threw the puck into the center, where it bounced off a Blazers defender’s stick and right to Everett center Cole Temple. Temple spun and beat goalie Logan Edmonstone to take the lead.

The Silvertips doubled their lead less than five minutes later when center Zackary Shantz won a faceoff to Heslop, who found defenseman Tarin Smith at the left post to make it 2-0. Josh Kelly cut it to 2-1 for Kamloops at 12:51, but Everett goalie Jesse Sanche (32 saves) and the Silvertips held on down the stretch until Shantz and winger Carter Bear scored empty-net goals in the final minute to lock in the win and the playoff berth.

Clinched our playoff spot with a dub in Kamloops

📽️ ROLL THE HIGHLIGHT FILM!#ForEverett | @walottery pic.twitter.com/gefq1zuh3g

— x – Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) February 8, 2025

Vancouver 6, Everett 2

The Silvertips once again started in front on Saturday, when Shantz scored his 13th goal of the season at 7:50 of the first period, but the Giants managed to tie it 1-1 just 12 seconds before the intermission with a goal from Maxim Muranov.

Vancouver took a 2-1 lead at 5:53 of the second with a goal from Mazden Leslie, who finished the night with two goals and three assists. That score carried into the third period, which is where things began to unravel for Everett.

Silvertips winger Shea Busch was penalized for interference with six seconds remaining in the second, so the Giants power play carried over into the third, where Jaden Lipinski capitalized to take a 3-1 lead at 1:23. Colton Roberts scored an insurance tally at 6:28 to put the game further out of reach, and the Giants scored two more power-play goals at 18:45 and 19:47, respectively, to reach six goals on the night. Everett got a second goal at 19:15 from center Lukas Kaplan, but it was too little, too late. Despite outshooting Vancouver 39-31 – including an 18-12 disparity while fighting to level it in the third period – the Silvertips were soundly defeated.

Three Stars of the Week:

First Star: Jesse Heslop. The 18-year-old winger had the primary assist for both 5-on-5 goals, including the game-winner on Friday. He didn’t get on the scoresheet on Saturday, but he still finished with a plus-one rating despite Everett allowing six goals.

Second Star: Zackary Shantz. The 19-year-old center had three points (two goals, one assist) across two games this week. Although his goal on Friday was an empty-netter, he scored the only meaningful goal for Everett on Saturday.

Third Star: Tyler MacKenzie. The 20-year-old center did not score any points, but he had a strong showing at the faceoff dot, winning 15-of-27 (55.6%) draws in Friday’s win and going 11-for-22 on Saturday. He had an even or better rating in each game, and also happened to appear in his 250th WHL game.

The week ahead

The Silvertips remain on the road next week, starting with a weekend doubleheader at Prince George, which is riding a six-game point streak (5-0-1-0). Everett won the first matchup 4-1 on Jan. 18. After that, the Silvertips travel to Victoria on Monday for a Presidents’ Day matinee (3:05 pm PST). The Royals have won all three matchups between the two so far this season, but each was in overtime or a shootout.