The Everett Silvertips had three games scheduled this past weekend: a rematch against Tri-City and their first outings with Calgary and Red Deer.
Entering the second meeting with the Americans, the Silvertips (15-3 overall) had lost to Tri-City the previous Sunday, 6-5 in overtime. And a similar result occurred Friday night as the Americans still had Everett’s number and won 8-6. However, the Silvertips reset and put themselves on a win streak with back-to-back victories against the Hitmen and Rebels, making sure they stayed atop the Western Conference, U.S. Division and Western Hockey League (WHL) standings.
Tri-City 8, Everett 6
After losing to the Americans in overtime for the first meeting of the season, the Silvertips still couldn’t secure the second matchup five days later. Everett recorded 40 shots on goal to Tri-City’s 24 but failed to stop the Americans from scoring four of its eight goals via power play.
Center Tyler MacKenzie, assisted by defenseman Tarin Smith and center Julius Miettinen, opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the first period, but the Americans responded with three consecutive power-play goals, two in the first and another halfway through the second period for a 3-1 lead. Tri-City then added two more scores in the final three minutes before the third period.
Left winger Julien Maze, assisted by left winger Dominik Rymon and MacKenzie, scored the Silvertips’ second goal in the first two minutes of the third period before center Caine Wilke, assisted by centers Lukas Kaplan and Carter Bear, added the third about 30 seconds later. Right winger Jesse Heslop, with help from defenseman Rylan Pearce and Miettinen, tallied the fourth goal four minutes after to trail 5-4. But within a three-minute span, the Americans netted three scores to take a four-goal advantage. And Kaplan’s goal, assisted by center Beau Courtney and Wilke, and Courtney’s score, assisted by Pearce and Wilke, in the final six minutes of the contest weren’t enough to muster a comeback. Goalie Alex Garrett saved 16 of 24 shots.
Everett 5, Calgary 3
The Silvertips reset against the Hitmen and were able to snap their two-game losing streak. Miettinen, assisted by Bear and defenseman Kaden Hammell, opened the scoring 36 seconds into the contest; Calgary tied it 1-1 nine minutes later. Heslop, with Bear and Hammell assisting, took the lead near the 12-minute mark, and MacKenzie, assisted by Rymon and left winger Julien Maze, made it 3-1 two minutes after. Hammell scored near the nine-minute mark in the second period, assisted by MacKenzie and Rymon, and the Hitmen responded about five minutes later. But on an empty net late in the third period, MacKenzie comfortably tallied his second goal before Calgary notched the contest’s last score. Goalie Jesse Sanche saved 19 of 22 shots.
Everett 6, Red Deer 1
The Silvertips skated past the Rebels in the first meeting between both teams on Monday and tallied their second-straight win. Bear, assisted by Miettinen and Rymon, opened the scoring in the first eight minutes of the contest before Red Deer tied it with less than two minutes remaining. Bear netted his second goal just past midway of the second period with help from Smith and defenseman Landon Dupont. MacKenzie, assisted by Hammell and Maze, made it 3-1 in the final three minutes. DuPont, with Rymon and Bear assisting, scored at the 15:35 mark, which was followed up with right winger Caden Brown’s goal, assisted by Wilke and Hammell, 30 seconds later, and Smith’s goal, assisted by Rymon and MacKenzie, just over a minute after. Sanche and Garrett split time in goal; Sanche saved three of four shots, and Garrett tallied a shutout saving all 21 shots.
Three stars of the week
First star: Tyler MacKenzie. The 20-year-old charted four goals and three assists in Everett’s 2-1 series this past weekend.
Second star(s): Julius Miettinen, Caine Wilke and Kaden Hammell. Spanning three games, Miettinen and Wilke, the 20-year-old and 16-year-old, each tallied one goal and three assists, and Hammell, the 19-year-old, registered one goal and four assists.
Third star: Dominik Rymon. Though he didn’t have a puck cross the red line for a goal this past weekend, the 20-year-old still contributed on offense with seven assists.
The week ahead
Everett has one game scheduled this week for Nov. 16 in Kent against the Seattle Thunderbirds. This is the first meeting between both teams this season. Seattle is currently at the bottom of the Western Conference and third to last in the league standings.
Bonus news
The WHL announced on Sunday that 15 of its players earned medals with Canada at the 2024 U17 World Challenge. One of them was DuPont, who was awarded a silver medal with Canada Red, which finished runner-up for the second consecutive year to Canada White in a 3-1 decision.
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