Wheat Kings beat Silvertips 3-2 in shootout

EVERETT — Dario Winkler had a memorable Everett Silvertips debut, but didn’t get the ultimate prize he sought Wednesday night at Xfinity Arena.

The newest Silvertip scored a goal in his Everett debut — against his former team no less — but the Brandon Wheat Kings came from behind to defeat the Silvertips 3-2 in a shootout before 3,408 fans, nearly two dozen NHL scouts and Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin.

“The win was what I wanted,” said Winkler, who was waived by Brandon two weeks ago and subsequently claimed by the Tips. “It was nice to score a goal, but it is better when we win the game.”

Reid Duke was the only player to find the net in the shootout as the Wheat Kings’ center scored on Brandon’s third and final attempt. Brandon goaltender Logan Thompson then saved Matt Fonteyne’s attempt to tie, giving the Wheat Kings the victory.

Rihards Bukarts missed Brandon’s first shootout attempt, and Everett goaltender Carter Hart saved John Quenneville’s second attempt to set up Duke’s game-winner.

Thompson saved Carson Stadnyk’s attempt, and Patrick Bajkov’s shot was wide for the Silvertips.

“You go to a shootout and I don’t get affected by that much because it’s not really hockey,” Everett head coach Kevin Constantine said. “It’s kind of an entertaining way to make sure there isn’t a tie, which is good for fans.”

The Wheat Kings dominated the puck possession and outshot Everett 40-22 through regulation and overtime as the defending Eastern Conference champions erased a two-goal deficit.

“The fact the shots looked like that didn’t surprise me,” Constantine said. “We got a point against a good hockey team. That’s not the end of the world. That’s not a bad thing.”

Indeed, the Wheat Kings came in averaging 42 shots per game. Yet Everett relied on sterling goaltending by the 17-year-old Hart, whose 38 saves kept the Silvertips from ever trailing prior to the shootout.

“I thought we really battled hard tonight,” Hart said. “Everyone was blocking shots and I thought everyone looked good tonight.”

The Silvertips looked particularly good early. Everett led 2-0 after Winkler’s goal at 3:39 in the second period.

However the Wheat Kings used a powerful slapshot goal by Bukarts from just inside the blue line to reach the scoreboard at 8:50 in the second.

Braylon Shmyr scored the equalizer from the left side of the crease with assists from Macoy Erkamps and Ivan Provonov at 6:28 in the third to make it 2-2 and necessitate the extra session.

“It would have been heartbreaking not to get a point out of that game because they’re a good team,” Constantine said. “We put ourselves in a nice position by scoring first.”

The Tips took the early lead at 15:21 in the first. Stadnyk collected a pass from Bajkov on the right side of the crease. Stadnyk’s first attempt didn’t go, but he kept battling in front of the net before finally nudging it across the line for a 1-0 lead.

Winkler went top shelf from the left side of the crease off an assist from Cole MacDonald for a 2-0 lead early in the second period.

Brandon (9-3-0-2) continues its Western Conference road trip Friday against the Kootenay Ice.

Everett (5-3-0-1) takes on Portland at home Friday.

Brandon 3, Everett 2 (SO)

Brandon 0 1 1 0 — 3

Everett 1 1 0 0 — 2

Brandon won 1-0 in shootout

1st Period—1, Everett, Stadnyk 3 (Bajkov, Fonteyne), 15:21 (PP). Penalties—Provorov Bdn (delay of game), 14:22; Fonteyne Evt (hooking), 19:30.

2nd Period—2, Everett, Winkler 1 (MacDonald), 3:39. 3, Brandon, Bukarts 5 (Waltz), 8:50. Penalties—Duke Bdn (high sticking), 18:09.

3rd Period—4, Brandon, Shmyr 3 (Erkamps, Provorov), 6:28. Penalties—No Penalties

OT Period—No Scoring. Penalties—No Penalties

Shootout—Brandon 1 (Bukarts NG, Quenneville NG, Duke G), Everett 0 (Stadnyk NG, Bajkov NG, Fonteyne NG).