EVERETT – There are may reasons why a team that seems to be playing well offensively will struggle to score goals.
Kevin Nortz / The Herald
Sometimes fate reaches down and causes the puck to bounce in unfortunate ways.
Sometimes the opposing goaltender stands on his head and puts a lock on the net.
When both of those things happen, it’s a recipe for disaster, which the Everett Silvertips discovered Wednesday night.
Spokane Chiefs goaltender Jim Watt turned in an incredible performance in goal, stopping all 31 shots he faced, and the Silvertips were shut out 1-0 before a crowd of 3,867 at the Everett Events Center.
Everett (1-3) controlled much of the play, particularly in the final two periods, and the Silvertips outshot Spokane 31-24. But Watt made a series of spectacular saves, and the ones he couldn’t get either drew iron or trickled wide. As a result, David Schulz’s first-period goal proved enough for the Chiefs (2-1).
” (Watt) played great,” Everett captain Torrie Wheat said. “He played unbelievable. And their defense played well, too, clearing pucks and clearing rebounds in front of the net. They made it pretty difficult to get in there and bang in rebounds.
“That could be one of the most frustrating games I’ve ever played in,” Wheat added. “We’re doing everything right and you can be happy with that. But how long can you go without putting the puck in the net? We’ve got to figure something out.”
One thing the Silvertips couldn’t figure out Wednesday was Watt, who took some heat last season when the Chiefs failed to make the playoffs.
“When you want something as bad as I did tonight, it’s hard just to let it go,” Watt said. “I wanted that win. The shutout wasn’t necessarily as important to me as the win was, but the only way we were going to win was with a shutout. I know our team wanted it just as bad as I wanted it, and we don’t let things go that we want.”
Wednesday’s game was the second straight in which Everett had the run of play, but wasn’t able to convert that into goals. Sunday the Silvertips lost 3-1 to Kelowna despite outshooting the Rockets 29-11, and in many ways Wednesday’s game was an instant replay.
“It was very similar to our last two games,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “We generated a lot of scoring opportunities. The last couple games we haven’t had the finish to those scoring opportunities. But we’re generating a lot of chances, which is good. We seem to be offensively more dynamic than we have the last two years and it’s showing up in the way of scoring chances. We’ve got to finish them, of course, to win.”
Leland Irving made 23 saves in goal for Everett. The Tips finished 0-for-7 on the power play, including what was essentially four consecutive minutes late in the third period.
Everett found itself scrambling on the penalty kill midway through the first period and the Chiefs took advantage at 11:03. Chad Klassen had missed an open net earlier in the sequence, but Spokane kept the puck in the zone and Schulz one-timed a shot from the left point into the upper corner, giving the Chiefs a 1-0 lead.
Everett had all kinds of scoring chances in the second period, but Watt, playing out of his mind, kept everything out. The pick of the saves was a diving glove save on a John Lammers rebound try.
Then in the third period Jason Fransoo hit the post with a shot while sneaking in from the point, Ondrej Fiala had a redirect try go just wide after a two-on-one with Zach Hamill, and Watt made a reaction glove save to deny Mark Kress.
Slap shots: Wheat returned to the lineup Wednesday after a two-game layoff. The 20-year-old right wing missed the previous two games because of a foot injury. Left Wing Kyle Annesley was the scratch among Everett’s four overagers. … During the final 71 seconds of the first period, the Silvertips fielded a power-play unit consisting of five forwards.
Chiefs 1, Silvertips 0
Spokane100-1
Everett000-0
First Period-1, Spokane, Schulz 1 (Klassen, Logan), 11:03 (pp).
Second Period-No goals.
Third Period-No goals.
Shots on goal-Spokane 8-10-6-24. Everett 5-15-11-31. Power-play opportunities-Spokane 1 of 4. Everett 0 of 7.
Goalies-Spokane, Watt 2-1 (31 shots, 31 saves). Everett, Irving 1-3 (24 shots, 23 saves).
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