EVERETT – As Torrie Wheat departed the ice after taking his final bow Saturday night, he held a handful of hats he’d been presented aloft toward the 6,993 fans at the Everett Events Center, all of whom were on their feet screaming their approval.
It was a fitting acknowledgement of what was as impressive a display of finishing by a player in an Everett Silvertip uniform.
Wheat had just the fourth hat trick in franchise history, leading the Silvertips to a 5-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans.
“It feels good,” Wheat said about the first hat trick of his career. “I’ve had a lot of two-goal games in my career, but I’ve never been able to finish it. I had a few chances, now I’ve got one and it’s a good feeling, but even better was we beat a good team tonight.”
Wheat scored once in each period, each time finishing in clinical fashion, joining Marc Desloges, Alex Leavitt and Karel Hromas as Silvertips with hat tricks.
“He put some pucks in from strange angles, and then from right in front of the net,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said about Wheat. “He did a great job.”
Peter Mueller also had a big night for Everett (6-4), registering four assists in a quality display of passing. He’s scored eight points in his last three games.
Hromas added a goal and two assists and Shaun Heshka had a goal and an assist for the Tips. Largely dependent on its power play for offense so far this season, Everett scored three goals even strength and one short-handed.
Leland Irving made 28 saves in goal for Everett.
” (Friday) night was a big loss for us,” said Mueller, referring to Everett’s 3-2 loss at Seattle when the Tips lost a 2-0 lead. “We wanted to come back with energy and see what we could do. We luckily got a win.”
Matt Schneider scored and Carey Price made 21 saves in goal for Tri-City (3-5).
“We had our chances,” Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur said. “We didn’t convert them, they did. I think at the end of the day it’s not a 5-1 game. But they’re a good team, a disciplined team, and their power play is outstanding.”
Wheat’s finishes left Price, taken fifth overall by Montreal in the 2005 NHL Draft, grasping at air.
His first goal opened the scoring at 17 minutes, 25 seconds of the first period. Sitting in the left slot, Wheat one-timed a shot in off the crossbar after a nice feed from John Lammers.
His second goal made the score 3-0 at 11:16 of the second period. On the rush Mueller fed Wheat into the offensive zone on the right, and Wheat rifled a shot into the far corner.
His third goal put the game away at 7:52 of the third period. Heshka carried the puck into the left corner and although his first pass was blocked, his second found Wheat in front, where his goal gave Everett a 4-1 lead.
“I got good wood on all the shots and found an open hole,” Wheat said. “It actually went where I was aiming for a change.”
Hromas’ goal made it 2-0 at 19:21 of the first period, Mueller’s defense-splitting pass setting him free on a breakaway. Schneider gave Tri-City a little life at 4:57 of the third, putting in a rebound to make it 3-1. Heshka finished off the scoring with 33 seconds remaining, firing the length of the ice into an empty net.
Slap shots: The Tips played without forward Ondrej Fiala. Fiala suffered a knee injury during Friday’s 3-2 loss at Seattle and will undergo an MRI on Monday. He’s out until the extent of the injury is determined. … In Everett’s defensive rotation, Eric Doyle and Graham Potuer cycled back into the lineup Saturday while Jonathan Harty and Taylor Ellington cycled out.
Silvertips 5, Americans 1
Tri-City001-1
Everett212-5
First Period-1, Everett, Wheat 5 (Lammers, Mueller), 17:25 (pp). 2, Everett, Hromas 4 (Mueller, Sim), 19:21. Penalties-Swaby, Tri-City (holding), 1:21; Stephenson, Tri-City (holding), 8:09; Wuchterl, Everett (elbowing), 10:37; Boogaard, Tri-City (slashing), 15:54.
Second Period-3, Everett, Wheat 6 (Mueller, Hromas), 11:16. Penalties-Butterfield, Tri-City (interference), 1:33; Stephenson, Tri-City (holding), 2:39; Boogaard, Tri-City (roughing), 13:06; Wuchterl, Everett (cross-checking), 13:06; Thoring, Everett (delay of game), 17:02; Magistrale, Tri-City (holding), 19:05.
Third Period-4, Tri-City, Schneider 4 (Procyshen), 4:57. 5, Everett, Wheat 7 (Heshka, Hromas), 7:52. 6, Everett, Heshka 2 (Mueller), 19:27 (sh-en). Penalties-Inglis, Tri-City (fighting), 8:59; Kress, Everett (fighting), 8:59; Everett bench (too many men, served by Wuchterl), 18:21; Glennie, Tri-City (roughing), 20:00; Fransoo, Everett (roughing), 20:00.
Shots on goal-Tri-City 13-6-10-29. Everett 12-9-5-26. Power-play opportunities-Tri-City 0 of 3. Everett 1 of 6.
Goalies-Tri-City, Price 1-4 (25 shots, 21 saves). Everett, Irving 6-4 (29 shots, 28 saves).
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