TALKING POINTS
Ah yes, the fun of rebuilding.
Let me begin by saying the Tips played hard. Whatever the final numbers may have been, it wasn’t because Everett didn’t put in an effort. And though the Tips fielded a lineup that wasn’t too far away from its first choice, it’s telling that
it included 10 potential rookies and seven second-year-players.
With that said, what a rough first outing for the Tips. It was pretty much a mismatch. Tri-City looked sharp and dominated play, outshooting the Tips 45-14, including 16-1 in the first period. Meanwhile, the Tips were flustered and disorganized, with players constantly out of position. As the team struggled, Everett’s top players started trying to do too much, which often led to more turnovers. If not for some miracle work in goal by Luke Siemens during the game’s first half, the final score would have been ugly.
The main reason why the shots were so one-sided was because Everett’s defense was a mess. Tri-City pressured Everett’s d-men, and the Tips weren’t able to handle it tonight. The Americans deflected passes and won the battles for the puck, and when the Tips were able to get passes away they were often hurried and off target. Dominik Bittner looked nervous in his first taste of the WHL, and young veterans Evan Morden and Nick Walters showed they’re still works in progress. Sixteen-year-old Austin Adam at least held his own, though I don’t know how much of that was because he was paired with Ryan Murray.
The other factor in the shot discrepancy was a lack of any kind of cutting edge in front of goal. The Tips got themselves in position to have more than 14 shots, but more often than not the they fluffed the shot or shot it straight into a defender’s pads.
But this was just the first exhibition game, and a young and rebuilding team is expected to start slow. We’ll see if the Tips can put together an improved performance tomorrow against Spokane. If not, at least Rachel Hunter will probably be in the stands to serve as a distraction — her son Liam Stewart (yes, sired by Rod Stewart) is bidding to make the Chiefs.
BOX SCORE
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