| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010 2:38 am |
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 We've reached the final weekend ... ... and here's how things stand in the race for first place in both the U.S. Division and the Western Conference: 1. Tri-City, 46-21-1-2, 95 points, two games remaining 2. Everett, 44-20-3-2, 93 points, three games remaining 3. Spokane, 43-21-3-2, 91 points, three games remaining Tri-City and Spokane play a home-and-home on Friday and Saturday. Everett plays host to Seattle on Friday and Chilliwack on Saturday, then the Tips travel to Spokane on Sunday. Any of these three teams can finish anywhere between first and third in the division. Spokane can even finish fourth should the Chiefs lose their final three games in regulation and Portland win its final two. So it's a mad dash to the finish. There's all kinds of possible scenarios where teams finish tied. Here's an effort to unravel that: - If two teams finish tied, the first tiebreaker is total wins. If the teams are also tied for wins, the second tiebreaker is head-to-head. That means Everett doesn't want to finish tied with Tri-City, because the Americans are on pace to have one more win if the teams finish equal on points. Even if they finish tied in both points and wins (which can only happen if the Americans get loser points), Tri-City owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. However, Everett is probably safe if the Tips finish tied with Spokane. The teams are on track to finish tied in wins if they finish tied in points (again, this could change because of loser points), and Everett has the head-to-head, regardless of Sunday's outcome. - There's the unlikely possibility all three teams will finish tied (it would require Spokane winning both games against Tri-City in either overtime or a shootout). If that happens, the first tiebreaker is again total wins, but if this plays out then all three teams will have 46 victories. The second tiebreaker in a three-way tie is not head-to-head, it's goal differential. Right now Tri-City is plus-79, Spokane plus-60 and Everett plus-51, so barring some ridiculous blowouts the Americans would win that one handily. I hope that clears things up a little. Anyway, on to injury news. Tips defensemen Radko Gudas and Alex Theriau both got banged up in Tuesday's 3-0 loss at Portland. Both injuries are minor and both will be game-day decisions Friday against Seattle. Meanwhile, defenseman Curtis Kulchar is back to full speed and will be available this weekend. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
First playoff dates set Today the Tips announced their first playoff dates. Everett has already clinched home-ice advantage in the first round, so to begin the series the Tips will play host to their opponents on Friday Mar. 19 and Saturday Mar. 20. Single-game tickets to those two game go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Live blog: Everett at Portland Huge game for Everett tonight. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Odds and ends Here's today's briefs: - Defenseman Nicholas Walters is scheduled to join the team Tuesday. The 15-year-old Walters, who was the eighth-overall pick in last year's bantam draft, recently saw his season end with the St. Albert Raiders of the AMHL. He's expected to spend the next couple weeks practicing with the team. - On the injury front, forwards Josh Winquist (bumps and bruises) and Campbell Elynuik (shoulder) practiced full-out today and are available for this week's games. Defenseman Curtis Kulchar (knee) hasn't returned to practice yet, but he is skating on his own. - I'm writing about the Clayton Cumiskey-Scott MacDonald-Dan Iwanski line for tomorrow's paper. As a sneak preview, here's their stats in the seven games since Iwanski joined the line full-time on Feb. 20 in Seattle: Cumiskey -- 5 goals, 6 assists, plus-12 MacDonald -- 4 goals, 7 assists, plus-11 Iwanski -- 5 goals, 2 assists, plus-10 It's noteworthy that none of those goals came on the power play. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Tips catch a break, plus reader poll Well, the Tips got a little unlikely help tonight. A short-handed Seattle Thunderbirds team upset Tri-City 4-3 tonight. That means Everett has U.S. Division and Western Conference destiny in its own hands. The Tips and Americans remain tied atop the division/conference, but Everett has a game in hand. For the first time in the race, Everett's in a position where if the Tips win out they hang a banner. In Sunday's other Western Conference games, Vancouver beat Chilliwack 6-0, and Kamloops topped Prince George 4-3. So here's how the conference playoff race stands. I'll include all eight playoff teams this time so people can see the potential first-round match-ups. Keep in mind that Vancouver is listed second despite a worse record because the Giants have clinched the B.C. Division and will therefore receive the No. 2 seed for the first round, regardless of record. 1. Tri-City 45-21-1-2, 93 points, three games remaining 2. Vancouver 40-24-2-3, 85 points, three games remaining 3. Everett 44-19-3-2, 93 points, four games remaining 4. Spokane 42-21-3-2, 89 points, four games remaining 5. Portland 41-25-2-1, 85 points, three games remaining 6. Kelowna 33-30-2-4, 72 points, three games remaining 7. Kamloops 32-32-2-4, 70 points, two games remaining 8. Chilliwack 30-32-1-5, 66 points, four games remaining Here's each team's remaining schedule: Tri-City -- Seattle, at Spokane, Spokane Vancouver -- Kelowna, Kamloops, at Seattle Everett -- at Portland, Seattle, Chilliwack, at Spokane Spokane -- Kelowna, Tri-City, at Tri-City, Everett Portland -- Everett, at Chilliwack, at Seattle Kelowna -- at Spokane, at Vancouver, Prince George Kamloops -- Prince George, at Vancouver Chilliwack -- at Prince George, at Prince George, Portland, at Everett It's still a three-team race at the top as Spokane is on fire, having won 11 of its past 13. That home-and-home set between Tri-City and Spokane looms large and will go a long ways toward determining seeding among the top three. That final-day game between Everett and Spokane could be for all the marbles, or it could be meaningless. Here's the tiebreaker procedure. If teams finish tied in points, total wins is the first tiebreaker. Tri-City, which has fewer loser points than Everett and Spokane, is on course to win that tiebreaker, while Everett and Spokane are on pace to finish with an equal number of wins if they finish tied on points. If teams are subsequently tied in wins, then head-to-head is the second tiebreaker. Everett would lose that one to Tri-City, but win it against Spokane, regardless of next Sunday's result. So allow me to post my weekly poll a little early: ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Live blog: Everett at Prince George, part 2 Game two of the back-to-back contests in Prince George is tonight. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
How they stand, plus a correction The U.S. Division race: Tri-City -- 93 points, five games remaining Everett -- 91 points, five games remaining Spokane -- 87 points, five games remaining Portland -- 83 points, four games remaining. Vancouver, by the way, is at 83 points with five games remaining. It's looking more and more like the B.C. Division champion will be the No. 2 seed in the first round of the playoffs, despite not having the second-best record in the Western Conference. And one correction from the live blog. Everett did not clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs tonight. If Portland won the rest of its games and Everett lost the rest of its games the teams would finish tied at 91 points, and the Winterhawks would have the tiebreaker for having one more win. That being said, the Tips need just one point won or one point dropped by Portland to be at home for the first weekend of the playoffs, so it seems a mere formality. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Live blog: Everett at Prince George Tonight is the first of back-to-back games on back-to-back nights in Prince George for the Tips. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Shane Harper signs with Flyers Tips winger Shane Harper has signed with the Philadelphia Flyers. The deal is reportedly a three-year entry-level deal that kicks in next season. Harper, who turned 21 in February, became Everett's all-time career goal scorer earlier this season, and the Valencia, Calif., native set the franchise single-season record when he potted his 39th in Tuesday's 5-2 victory at Kamloops. This contract is well deserved because to me Harper is the poster child for WHL player development. Though he went unselected in the bantam draft, and though he wasn't really even on the radar through three NHL drafts, he's taken steps forward in each of his five seasons in Everett to become the player he is today. He went from being someone with skill who wasn't particularly fast and was easily knocked off the puck, to being a dominant offensive force who's an excellent skater with a deadly shooting eye. And now he's proof positive that persistence pays off. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Silvertips associate head coach Jay Varady is, of course, heavily involved with USA Hockey, including winning a gold medal as part of the coaching staff at the World Junior Hockey Championships. The U.S.'s victory over Canada in the gold medal game was quite the ammunition against the Canadian contingent among the Tips, particularly head coach Craig Hartsburg, who twice guided Canada to gold at World Juniors. Well, Hartsburg and the rest of Everett's Canadians received their revenge when Canada bested the U.S. in the gold-medal game at the Olympics. Varady lost a bet with Hartsburg and his punishment? Having to wear Hockey Canada warm-ups during practice, as this photo documents. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Live blog: Everett at Kamloops Everett's three-game road trip through Kamloops and Prince George begins tonight. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Where things stand, plus reader poll Here's an update on the U.S. Division race: STANDINGS Tri-City: 44-18-1-2, 91 points Everett: 41-19-3-2, 87 points Spokane: 40-21-3-1, 84 points Portland: 40-23-2-1, 83 points GAMES REMAINING Tri-City (7) - at Portland, at Chilliwack, at Portland, at Seattle, Seattle, at Spokane, Spokane. Everett (7) - at Kamloops, at Prince George, at Prince George, at Portland, Seattle, Chilliwack, at Spokane. Spokane (7) - at Kelowna, at Portland, at Seattle, Kelowna, Tri-City, at Tri-City, Everett. Portland (6) - Tri-City, Spokane, Tri-City, Everett, at Chilliwack, at Seattle. Tri-City, Spokane and Portland all have four games remaining against U.S. Division contenders, Everett has two. Portland has the most home games remaining with four of its six -- including all four against fellow contenders -- at home. Spokane has three home games and four road games, while both Everett and Tri-City have two at home and five on the road. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 5, Prince George 0 TALKING POINTS This was not the most exciting encounter Comcast Arena has witnessed this season. But on the one hand you had an Everett team coming off an emotionally draining shootout loss to Tri-City, and on the other you had a Prince George team that just doesn't have the horses, especially with star winger Brett Connolly out injured. So it's understandable. However, the Tips still managed to take care of business against the league's worst team with a minimum of drama. Kellan Tochkin scored 37 seconds into the game, and the Tips held off Prince George the rest of the first period before they found their legs in the second. Tri-City lost 5-2 at Spokane, so Everett closed back within two points of the Americans for the U.S. Division lead. Think about this: Had the Tips managed to avoid giving up that late six-on-five goal to Tri-City Friday night, they would now be in first. Also, Shane Harper scored his 38th goal of the season. That ties him with John Lammers (05-06) for the franchise's single-season record for goals. He has seven games with which to break it. Everett will have one more player on the roster for its next game as prospect Tyler Giebel will be joining the team when in arrives in Kamloops for Tuesday's contest. The 16-year-old center, who was Everett's second-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, will remain with the team for the rest of the season and playoffs. Giebel played for the Regina Pat Canadians of the SMAAAHL this season, posting 17 goals and 38 assists in 41 games. He also appeared in one game for the Tips during a call-up. TURNING POINT The game was competitive in the first period, as the Cougars worked hard and were probably unfortunate to be down 1-0. However, the Tips came out in the second period more like themselves, and Everett pulled away. HIT OF THE DAY Late in the first period Everett's Radko Gudas delivered one of his specials, laying out Spencer Asuchak with an open-ice hit as Asuchak tried to enter the offensive zone. THREE STARS First star: Tochkin. Two goals and an assist, he's nearly gotten himself back to point-a-game pace. Second star: Byron Froese, Everett. One goal and one assist, also had other chances in front. Third star: Kent Simpson, Everett. 24 saves for his first shutout of the season. The Herald's honorable mention: Clayton Cumiskey, Everett. One assist, was involved in several other scoring chances, and drew a couple of penalties. BOX SCORE Everett 5, Prince George 0 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Prince George: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Iwanski-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Sohor Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Kulchar, Minville, Elynuik. Notes: Just one change tonight as Kent Simpson gets the start in goal. Otherwise the lineup remains exactly the same, with defenseman Curtis Kulchar sitting out with a knee injury. PRINCE GEORGE Forward lines: Makin-Hirsche-Vlach Dumais-Fraser-(Medland-Marchen) Asuchak-Stanfield-Breitkreuz Rodgers-Halliday-Orser Defensive pairings: Gibb-Bidlevskii Smith-Thiessen Senkerik-McDonald Starting goalie: Stremmel Scratches: Torbohm, Forsberg, Connolly, Buonassisi, Dobrowolski, Rigby, Wright. Notes: All kinds of players out for Prince George, including the team's two biggest names. Star right wing Brett Connolly has been out since December because of a hip-flexor problem, and promising young defenseman Jesse Forsberg suffered a shoulder injury during last night's 5-1 loss at Spokane. Regulars Kurt Torbohm, Nick Buonassisi, and James Dobrowolski are also out, meaning call-ups Wilson Dumais and Joshua Smith play tonight. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Tri-City 4, Everett 3 (SO) TALKING POINTS Wow. What a game. I could have sworn it was still February, so how was it possible that there was a playoff game at Comcast Arena tonight? Intense, well played, two excellent teams, few whistles, this one would have fit in just fine in late April instead of late February -- with the exception of that whole shootout thing. Best game I've witnessed this season. Everett trailed 2-0 after two periods, thanks to a pair of seeing-eye goals by Tri-City and tremendous goaltending from Alexander Pechurskiy. But the line of Clayton Cumiskey, Scott MacDonald and Dan Iwanski led an Everett charge that saw the Tips score three times to take a 3-2 lead with 1:32 remaining. But give the Americans credit, they stayed with it and tied it back up with 30.5 seconds remaining with Pechurskiy pulled for an extra attacker. The Tips earned their point tonight. Unfortunately for Everett, the U.S. Division title is now a longshot. Tri-City stretched its lead over the Tips to four points, and Everett has just eight games remanining. The Americans also have one game in hand. Not an impossible task, but not likely, either. Wouldn't a playoff series between these two teams just be so much fun? TURNING POINT The first shift of the third period set the tone for the finale. Down 2-0, the Tips sent Cumiskey, MacDonald and Iwanski out to start the period. Those three kept the Americans pinned back for more than a minute before MacDonald fed Shane Harper streaking off the bench, and Harper played it back across the slot for Cumiskey to fire in. That got Everett on the board and sparked a dominating third period. HIT OF THE DAY Midway through the third Tri-City's Brett Plouffe just leveled Cumiskey just as Cumiskey received a pass and prepared to move forward. THREE STARS First and second stars: Cumiskey with two goals and an assist, MacDonald with one goal and two assists. Just how valuable have these two become to Everett's cause? Third star: Pechurskiy. 40 saves. Drew Owsley may lead the league in wins, but I have to think Pechurskiy is making a play to be Tri-City's starting goalie in the playoffs. The Herald's honorable mention: Brendan Shinnimin, Tri-City. Two goals, including the tying marker in the final minute of regulation, and also scored in the shootout. BOX SCORE Tri-City 4, Everett 3 (SO) ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Tri-City: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Iwanski-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Sohor Starting goalie: Heemskerk Scratches: Kulchar, Minville, Elynuik. Notes: No changes from the team that won 2-1 at Spokane on Wednesday. The Tips decide to ride the hot hand of Thomas Heemskerk in goal. Defenseman Curtis Kulchar remains out with a knee injury. TRI-CITY Forward lines: Reddick-Shinnimin-Lazo Macek-Drozd-Messier Brown-Wilgosh-Hughesman Prokop-Feser-Holland Defensive pairings: Schmidt-Toll Yuen-Plouffe Mestery-Sutherland Starting goalie: Pechurskiy Scratches: Dow, McIntosh, Moser, Kennedy. Notes: The only Tri-City player unavailable is left wing Todd Kennedy, who was suspended indefinitely by the league for a charging major taken Tuesday against Portland. The Americans give a third straight start to Alexander Pechurskiy in goal. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Tips fans asked to aid fallen officers On Friday, Mar. 12, the Silvertips will be holding a fundraiser for fallen law enforcement officers. A new fund is being created for the surviving families of Snohomish County officers killed in the line of duty. The Tips are doing their part to help jump start the fund. Half the cost of each ticket to the Mar. 12 game against the Seattle Thunderbirds bought through this promotion will go toward the fund. The last day to order tickets that go towards the fund is Wednesday. For more information contact Devon Wold in the Silvertips office at 425-609-2804. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Friday night is huge Friday night Comcast Arena plays host to its biggest game of the season thus far. Tri-City comes to town for the final meeting of the season between the Americans and the Tips. Tri-City arrives with a three-point lead over Everett for first place in the U.S. Division, and this game probably decides whether there's a race for the banner. While a loss doesn't completely kill of Everett's title hopes, it would make it extremely difficult. The Tips would trail the Americans by five points, and Tri-City would have a game in hand. Even with a favorable remaining schedule, it would be tough for the Tips to make up the gap in just eight games. But if Everett wins, well it's game on. The Tips would trail by one, and that Tri-City game in hand seems less significant when considering that the Tips have three games remaining against Prince George. The Americans let Everett back into the picture by dropping five of seven, but Tri-City got back on track by spanking Portland 6-0 Tuesday, scoring three goals in the game's first minute. Tri-City will be without forward Todd Kennedy. The fourth-liner is awaiting his suspension after a charging major taken against Portland's Eric Doyle on Tuesday. The hit reportedly was a bad one to the head, and it'll be interesting to see how hard the WHL comes down after some of the lengthy suspensions handed out for headhunting earlier this season in the OHL and QMJHL. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Live blog: Everett at Spokane Big four-pointer tonight. Tri-City won last night, so the Tips need to win to keep pace. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
The sprint begins now These are two huge days for the U.S. Division race. Portland travels to Tri-City tonight, while Everett heads to Spokane on Wednesday. These two games may very well set the stage for the remainder of the season. If the results go one way we see the four teams pull almost level with one another. If they go another way we get an instant sorting out, with separation between first, second and third. Everett will have to do its bit without defenseman Curtis Kulchar. Kulchar tweaked a knee during Friday's game at Tri-City and is not practicing with the team. Everett coach Craig Hartsburg said there was some damage, but that the injury is not considered long-term. On the other side of the ledger, Tips left wing Campbell Elynuik's shoulder appears to have mended. He's taken part in a couple practices and is expected to be available Wednesday, though whether he's able to crack the lineup is another matter. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Reader poll: final finish The U.S. Division has got a horse race. Currently there's a four-way logjam atop the division standing, with just six points separating the four with just three week remaining in the season. Here's the current standings: Tri-City - 85 points Everett - 82 points Spokane - 80 points Portland - 79 points Tri-City has 11 games remaining, Everett and Spokane have 10 and Portland has nine. Here's the remaining schedules for each team, courtesy of Alan Caldwell (link to left): Tri-City Home - (3) Portland, Seattle, Spokane Away - (8) Everett, Spokane, Seattle, Portland, Chilliwack, Portland, Seattle, Spokane Everett Home - (4) Tri-City, Prince George, Seattle, Chilliwack Away - (6) Spokane, Kamloops, Prince George, Prince George, Portland, Spokane Spokane Home - (6) Everett, Prince George, Tri-City, Kelowna, Tri-City, Everett Away - (4) Kelowna, Portland, Seattle, Tri-City Portland Home - (5) Prince George, Tri-City, Spokane, Tri-City, Everett Away - (4) Tri-City, Seattle, Chilliwack, Seattle So, given this information: ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 4, Seattle 2 TALKING POINTS I have a hard time believing I'm writing this, but the Tips are back in the race for the U.S. Division title. Everett overcame a 2-0 deficit to pull it out in Kent tonight, and Tri-City fell 2-1 at home against Spokane. That means the Tips are just three points out of the division lead. A week ago I would have said a division title was out of the question. Now, with 10 games remaining in the season, it's a real possibility. And yet, it's still a real possibility the Tips could finish fourth. Spokane and Portland both won tonight, meaning just six points now separate first and fourth in the division. It's shaping up to be an amazing stretch run. This was not an easy victory for Everett, but good work on the power play was key as the Tips went 3-for-4, including the rare power-play empty-net goal. That goal was scored by Shane Harper, his 37th of the season. He now is just one away from the single-season franchise record of 38 set by John Lammers in 2005-06. I feel bad for Seattle as this was the T-birds' 17th straight defeat. Seattle's last win came on Jan. 9, a 4-1 victory over Prince George. Watching this team it's hard to fathom that it hasn't won in six weeks. Eight of Seattle's 17 losses during the streak are by one goal (and tonight's was essentially a one-goal game) and five came in overtime, including the previous two. This team isn't as bad as its record, at least it isn't when it plays Everett. TURNING POINT Everett trailed 2-0 and appeared in trouble when the Tips struck twice in the span of 2:15 -- Tyler Maxwell and Dan Iwanski both scoring on rebounds -- to tie it up and make it a new game. HIT OF THE DAY Nothing earth shattering tonight. Everett's Zack Dailey had a notable hit when knocking down Mitch Elliot (or was it Chance Lund?) early in the third period, if only because of the difference in size. THREE STARS First star: Byron Froese, Everett. A goal and an assist, his goal was the tiebreaker early in the third period. Second star: Brenden Silvester, Seattle. One assist on a nice play to set up Seattle's first goal. Third star: Lund. Finished off Silvester's assist. The Herald's honorable mention: Kent Simpson, Everett. 30 saves and somehow put up a wall on two mad scrambles late in the third period. BOX SCORE Everett 4, Seattle 2 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett at Seattle: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Iwanski-Cumiskey-MacDonald Winquist-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Sohor Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Kulchar, Minville, Elynuik. Notes: Everett plays without defenseman Curtis Kulchar, who suffered a lower-body injury in Friday's game at Tri-City, so Paul Sohor gets his first game in a while. No word yet on the severity of Kulchar's injury. Left wing Dan Iwanski starts the game alongside Clayton Cumiskey and Scott MacDonald after finishing the game on that line the past two contests. Left wing Campbell Elynuik remains out with a shoulder injury. SEATTLE Forward lines: Lund-Lockhart-Silvester Rai-Rouse-Wells Elliot-Jacobs-Alos Sentyurin-Ciolfi-Gallimore Defensive pairings: Schappert-Dillon Ramsay-Bonsor Fleming-Aasman/Muth Starting goalie: Pickard Scratches: Tutt, Nielsen. Notes: Seattle is without captain Lindsay Nielsen, who picked up a neck injury last night in Kamloops. Either Ryan Aasman or Tanner Muth will be the sixth defenseman. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Best of the Tips: wrap-up Here's a summary of the category winners from this week's polls, along with the percentage of votes each winner received: Hardest shot: Radko Gudas 72% Most accurate shot: Shane Harper 61% Best skater: Tyler Maxwell 30% Best faceoff man: Zack Dailey 52% Best passer: Kellan Tochkin 50% Best defenseman in his own zone: Ryan Murray 47% Best defensive forward: Zack Dailey 41% Most improved (last season to this season): Kent Simpson 35% Most improved (over course of this season): Rasmus Rissanen 38% Best overager: Shane Harper 87% Best 16-year-old: Ryan Murray 92% Best newcomer: Radko Gudas 62% Best goaltender: Thomas Heemskerk 58% Toughest player: Radko Gudas 73% Most irritating player: Zack Dailey 49% Most underrated player: Chris Langkow 36% Best pro prospect: Ryan Murray 49% ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Best of the Tips: Day 4; plus live blog: Everett at Tri-City A wealth of interactive opportunities today: --- This game is being televised live on FSN tonight. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Quick Ryan Murray update Tips defenseman Ryan Murray, who did not finish Wednesday night's game against Portland, practiced Thursday and should be available for the weekend. Murray took a shot off his wrist during the third period Wednesday and did not return. That means the only player expected to be unavailable is left wing Campbell Elynuik, who's recovering from a shoulder injury. Elynuik is not participating in practices, but is skating afterwards. Also, remember that tomorrow's game at Tri-City is being televised live by FSN for those of us south of the border, and I'll be live blogging the game. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Best of the Tips: Day 3 Some more polls for your voting pleasure: ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 5, Portland 2 TALKING POINTS Once again the lead changes in the race for second place in the U.S. Division. With the victory Everett leapfrogged Portland into second, one point ahead of the Winterhawks. Spokane also won tonight, meaning there are three teams separated by two points with less than a month remaining in the season. Finishing second is significant, too, because the teams that finish third and fourth are almost certainly going to meet in the first round of the playoffs. Everett played a solid first two periods, and the Tips got a little help from Portland goaltender Ian Curtis, who had all kinds of trouble with his rebound control tonight. After Everett's third goal, when Tyler Maxwell scored on a shot from along the boards late in the second period, Curtis was halfway to the bench, looking like he was expecting to be pulled. He wasn't, though Mac Carruth took over to start the third. Portland turned up the juice in the third and pulled back within one, but the Tips settled down after the goal, and Scott MacDonald clinched it with a wicked one-timer with 2:09 remaining. Both Portland goals came on the power play as the Winterhawks finished 2-for-4. Opponents have gone 7-for-15 on the power play against the Tips the past four games. Tips defenseman Ryan Murray did not complete the game. I saw him on the bench being attended to by athletic trainer Chris Walker midway through the third period, and though it didn't seem to be anything serious Murray didn't take another shift. I forgot to ask what happened, but I'll have more information tomorrow. TURNING POINT This game wasn't over until MacDonald's goal. Clayton Cumiskey pulled the puck away from a scrum along the boards and fed it to the high slot, where MacDonald let rip to finally take the wind out of Portland's sails. HIT OF THE DAY Early in the second period Everett's Markus McCrea had a shift where first he unseated Stefan Schneider with a hit into the boards behind the Portland net, then later flattened Taylor Peters with an open-ice hit. THREE STARS First star: Maxwell. A goal and an assist, though neither of those were exactly what I would consider vintage. Second star: Shane Harper, Everett. Two goals, including an empty netter. Third star: Kellan Tochkin, Everett. One goal, coming from great hustle to win the race to the rebound on his own shot from the neutral zone. The Herald's honorable mention: Chris Francis, Portland. Two assists. Portland's 17-year-old trio of Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Johansen and Brad Ross is the reason why Comcast Arena is filled with NHL scouts every time the Winterhawks visit, but Francis usually seems to be the guy who does the most damage. BOX SCORE Everett 5, Portland 2 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Portland: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Winquist-Cumiskey-MacDonald Iwanski-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Kulchar Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Minville, Elynuik, Sohor. Notes: Just one change from Monday's 3-2 overtime loss in Spokane as Kent Simpson gets the start in goal in place of Thomas Heemskerk. Left wing Campbell Elynuik is out with a minor shoulder injury. PORTLAND Forward lines: Boychuk-Bennett-Gabriel Ross-Johansen-Niederreiter Peters/Swenson-Schneider-Jordan Walker-Francis-Rattie Defensive pairings: Ponich-Doyle Morrow-Rutkowski Wotherspoon-Aronson Starting goalie: Curtis Scratches: Sbisa, Kopitar, Peters/Swenson. Notes: Portland plays without defenseman Luca Sbisa, who is in Vancouver representing Switzerland at the Olympics. Both Taylor Peters and Seth Swenson will take the warm-up, with one slotting in on the left on Portland's fourth line. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Best of the Tips: Day 2 The second installment: ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Best of the Tips: Day 1 Here's the first set of poll questions: ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Best of the Tips poll coming, plus live blog: Everett at Spokane The Tri-City Herald released its annual Best of the West poll this weekend. The Tips took first in three categories, with Shane Harper winning the Best Overager and Most Underrated categories, while Everett won the Best Fans category for the fifth straight year. And of course, the arrival of the Best of the West means this will be Best of the Tips week on the blog. Like I did last year, each day Tuesday through Friday I'll post a handful of poll questions, with the results being compiled on Saturday. Each day's polls will only be open for 24 hours until the next set is posted, so make sure you get your vote in early. For the most part my poll questions mirror those from the Best of the West, but I have a couple tweaks/additions. I was ready to add a Best Hitter category this year, but I doubt that one would be much of a contest, so I'll wait to add that until next year. Get ready to vote beginning tomorrow morning. --- And here's today's live blog. Don't forget, today's game starts early at 3 p.m. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Everett 5, Moose Jaw 1 TALKING POINTS An important two points for Everett tonight as the Tips needed these in the race for playoff positioning with Portland and Spokane. Spokane already beat Moose Jaw, and Portland will be favored Monday over a Warriors team that has won just twice in its past 12 games. All three teams won tonight, so the race remains the same, with Portland in second place in the U.S. Division, two points ahead of Everett and five ahead of Spokane. The Winterhawks have played two more games than the Tips and Chiefs. The Warriors almost put a monkey wrench into the proceedings when Quinton Howden wired a shot in off the crossbar just 1:32 into the game. The Tips were slow to respond, but once they did they skated to a comfortable victory. Several Tips achieved milestones tonight. Tyler Maxwell's first goal of the night gave him 50 career goals. He's now in fourth place on Everett's career goal-scoring list. Goaltender Thomas Heemskerk picked up his 50th career WHL victory. And Shane Harper played in his 200th consecutive game. I can't say for sure whether that's a franchise record or not, but I can't think of anyone else who's even come close to that. I also wrote a feature story this week about the unsung contributions of Clayton Cumiskey and Scott MacDonald. Tips coach Craig Hartsburg said in the story that he thought those two had more offense in their repertoire. They did that today, combining for a goal and three assists. TURNING POINT Everett was down 1-0 and doing little when, at 12:31 of the first period, Chris de la Lande stepped into a slap shot to tie it up. The Tips took over from there. HIT OF THE DAY Midway through the first period Everett's Radko Gudas flattened Jesse Paradis as Paradis tried to skate the puck out of the zone on the penalty kill. THREE STARS First star: Maxwell. Two goals, both taken well. Second star: MacDonald. A goal and an assist, a good effort on his goal. Third star: Cumiskey. Two assists, I thought he was perhaps the best all-around player on the ice tonight. The Herald's honorable mention: de la Lande. A goal and a couple vital poke checks early. BOX SCORE Everett 5, Moose Jaw 1 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Moose Jaw: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Winquist-Cumiskey-MacDonald Iwanski-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Kulchar Starting goalie: Heemskerk Scratches: Minville, Elynuik, Sohor. Notes: The Tips trot out the same lineup and line combinations as they did in Friday's 4-3 loss to Spokane. The one change is that Thomas Heemskerk gets the start in goal in place of Kent Simpson. That's the eighth straight game the Tips have gone with a different starting goalie. MOOSE JAW Forward lines: Paradis-Smuk-Edwards Howden-Bast-Frazee Honejsek-Rowinski-Hood MacMaster-Kornelsen-Gayle Defensive pairings: Stanton-Suer McFaull-McIlrath Atkinson-Smith Starting goalie: Glover Scratches: Ehrhardt, Cox, Reinbolt, Herman. Notes: Moose Jaw fields a full-strength lineup. The one exception is in goal, where backup Brandon Glover, coming off a 3-1 victory in Seattle on Friday, gets his second straight start in place of No. 1 Jeff Bosch. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Spokane 4, Everett 3 TALKING POINTS For 30 minutes the Chiefs did to Everett what the Tips did to Spokane last Saturday at Comcast Arena, forechecking the the Tips into the ground to build a 4-1 lead. Everett finally got on track after Spokane's fourth goal and made a game out of it, but the deficit proved too great to overcome. The loss was Everett's first at home in the new year after 10 straight victories. Everett was thus knocked out of second place in the U.S. Division as Portland won 5-2 at Prince George. In the race for second in the division, Portland now leads Everett by two points, with Spokane another three points back. The Winterhawks have played two more games than the Tips and Chiefs. Everett again rotated goalies, with Kent Simpson getting the start even though Thomas Heemskerk had a shutout Wednesday against Kelowna. Simpson lasted less than 12 minutes after allowing three quick goals. Heemskerk was solid in relief, but he gave up what proved to be the game-winning goal and ended up with a tough-luck loss. Spokane also mixed things up in goal, with Michael Tadjdeh getting the start after No. 1 James Reid was pulled in Spokane's previous two visits to Comcast Arena. Tadjdeh has far better numbers against Everett this season than Reid. I'll be curious to see who the Chiefs send out Monday in Spokane, and if the trends continue it might make for some interesting speculation should these teams match up in the first round of the playoffs. This is also parents weekend for Everett, so the players' families are in town. I don't have any records available, but it's been mentioned before that the Tips have traditionally not played well in front of their parents. The first 30 minutes of tonight's game suggest that's still the case. TURNING POINT Everett defensemen Rasmus Rissanen and Radko Gudas took somewhat careless penalties two minutes apart midway through the first period. Spokane's power play toyed with the Tips on both occasions, scoring within 32 seconds each time to gain a comfortable 3-1 lead. HIT OF THE DAY Early in the third period Spokane's Levko Koper was skating the puck into the Everett zone when he was leveled by Radko Gudas. THREE STARS First star: Tyler Johnson, Spokane. One goal and two assists, he was the catalyst for Spokane's first-period domination. Second star: Ryan Murray, Everett. Two goals off two accurate slap shots. Third star: Jared Spurgeon, Spokane. One goal and one assist, a nice weapon to have at the right point on the power play. The Herald's honorable mention: Jared Cowen, Spokane. No points, but won a ton of battles in his own zone. I also could have sworn he had a tip on the redirect on the goal awarded to Johnson. BOX SCORE Spokane 4, Everett 3 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Everett vs. Spokane: lineup notes EVERETT Forward lines: Maxwell-Froese-Tochkin Harper-Langkow-Dailey Winquist-Cumiskey-MacDonald Iwanski-McGrath-McCrea Defensive pairings: Murray-Gudas Rissanen-de la Lande Theriau-Kulchar Starting goalie: Simpson Scratches: Minville, Elynuik, Sohor. Notes: Apparently Thomas Heemskerk's shutout Wednesday wasn't enough to earn him a second straight start as Kent Simpson gets the nod in goal tonight, the seventh straight game in which the Tips have alternated goalies. Left wing Dan Iwanski makes his first appearance in the new year as he returns from his knee injury. Left wing Campbell Elynuik sits with what was described as minor bumps and bruises. SPOKANE Forward lines: Beach-Wahl-Gal Uher-Johnson-Brassart Miller-Kuhn-Letts Koper-Bardaro-Holmberg Defensive pairings: Cowen-Spurgeon Bartman-Ulmer Baldwin-Kichton Starting goalie: Tadjdeh Scratches: Mort,Cratsenberg, Marantz. Notes: Spokane turns to Michael Tadjdeh in goal after No. 1 James Reid was pulled in each of his previous two visits to Comcast Arena. The Chiefs are essentially at full strength with its skaters, though it appears Spokane has shuffled its lines a bit since the Chiefs played here last Saturday. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Lights, camera, action We're a day away from Comcast Arena hitting the small screen here in the U.S. For the first time the Tips will be hosting a game that will be broadcast on American television when Everett takes on the Spokane Chiefs tomorrow night. The game will be live on FSN for those who can't attend the game. For those who are attending, this is a chance to show the region what the Silvertip fan base is all about. Ian Furness, the play-by-play announcer for the television broadcast, was sitting next to me in the press area during Wednesday night's game, and he's expecting the atmosphere to be the best of any game FSN has produced so far this season. Time to prove his prediction right. Unfortunately, I was unable to get enough response to put a fan story together, so I've improvised something different for tomorrow's paper. The crazy fan story will just have to wait until a later date. The other bit of news was that there was a Dan Iwanski sighting at practice today. He wasn't a full participant and he's still doubtful to play this weekend, but he's now within sight of returning from his knee injury. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment |
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