EVERETT – When it’s time for the fans to let fly, it seems that the Everett Silvertips freeze up.
For the second straight year on their toss night the Silvertips were shut out, losing 3-0 to the Tri-City Americans on Wednesday night in a Western Hockey League game.
An Everett Events Center crowd of 5,323 came hoping for the opportunity to toss their tuques on the ice after Everett scored its first goal. Instead, the fans never got their chance, settling for throwing the winter wool caps onto the ice during the second intermission.
Last season the Tips (17-9-5-2) were shut out 4-0 by Seattle on their teddy bear toss night.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Everett coach Kevin Constantine, who emphasized that the team was not anxious because of the tuque toss. “It’d be fun for our fans to have a reason to celebrate on nights like that. But it’s been two nights where we haven’t scored.”
Carey Price was solid in net for Tri-City (12-14-4-2), making 21 saves, and Brett Festerling, Chris Inglis and Ian McDonald scored goals for an Americans team that was solid up and down the lineup.
However, Constantine was more concerned with the way his team played. The Silvertips were a step slow, were unable to beat Price when the opportunities presented themselves, and goaltender Michael Wall gave up three goals on nine shots before being yanked late in the second period.
“Our team wasn’t prepared to play a good game,” Constantine said. “The evidence is you’re not sharp on your power play, you’re not crisp around the net. It’s a shame, really. We just weren’t prepared. The players didn’t put enough energy into getting ready to play hockey.”
Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur praised Price, but also gave a lot of the credit to the defense in front of him.
“I thought our team was (sharp),” Nachbaur said. “The team played well in front of (Price). We didn’t give them a whole lot of opportunities, and then the opportunities we did I thought he was real square and solid and looked big.
“In the second period we started to take over and saw a little confusion on their side for the first time in a long time.”
In a relatively uneventful first period that saw the teams combine for just seven shots on goal, Tri-City finally broke through with 21.1 seconds remaining. On the break, Dylan Stanley skated the puck into the zone on the right, then made an inch-perfect pass to the far post, where Festerling, a defenseman, had jumped into the play. Festerling redirected the puck into the net, making it 1-0 with his third goal of the season.
Tri-City then took control with two goals in two minutes near the end of the second period. First, Inglis scored his first of the season, sweeping the puck into the net at 17:09. Then at 19:03, McDonald picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, made a couple nice moves to get in front and sniped a shot past Wall, making it 3-0 with his eighth of the season.
Slap shots: Everett played without left wing Karel Hromas (Czech Republic) and Tri-City played without defenseman Shawn Belle (Canada) and right wing Juraj Gracik (Slovakia), all of whom have joined their respective junior national teams in preparation for the 2005 Junior World Hockey Championships. … With Hromas gone and forwards Mark Kress and Jeremy Creurer out injured, Everett defenseman Jonathan Harty was used at left wing. … Only two officials worked the game because linesman Rob Johnston was late arriving.
Americans 3, Silvertips 0
Tri-City120-3
Everett000-0
First Period-1, Tri-City, Festerling 3 (Stanley, Stoner), 19:38.
Second Period-2, Tri-City, Inglis 1 (Stoner, Costanzo), 17:09. 3, Tri-City, McDonald 8, 19:03.
Third Period-No goals.
Shots on goal-Tri-City 3-8-7-18. Everett 4-12-5-21. Power-play opportunities-Tri-City 0 of 4. Everett 0 of 7.
Goalies-Tri-City, Price 12-13-4 (21 shots, 21 saves). Everett, Wall 12-8-4 (9 shots, 6 saves), Irving (9 shots, 9 saves).
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