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View Full Version : There's No Place Like...The Road.



Tipped Off
03-16-2005, 11:20 AM
from the Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/snohomishcountynews/2002208522_silvertips16n.html):

The Everett Silvertips are known for being unconventional, so maybe they'll be the first team in Western Hockey League history to decline the home-ice advantage.


Everett coach Kevin Constantine, who routinely defies traditional hockey wisdom, has maintained all along that playing at home is preferable but highly overrated. "To make it to the Memorial Cup, you have to win on the road sooner or later," Constantine said. "If you can't do it in the first round, what makes you think you'll be able to do it in the later rounds?"

The Silvertips and Portland Winter Hawks, who will meet in the first round of the playoffs next week, proved his point last weekend.

Portland won by two goals in Everett on Saturday, and the Silvertips beat the Winter Hawks by two in Portland on Sunday.

In the 10-game season series, it was road, sweet road, with the Silvertips posting a 3-0-2 record in Portland and the Winter Hawks going 3-2-0 at the Everett Events Center.

Besides playing in front of the home fans, the home-ice advantage is important in hockey because the home team gets the last line change and can control line matchups.
With four games left in the regular season, the Silvertips stand at 32-26-8-2 with 74 standings points and lead the Winter Hawks, 31-27-5-5, by two points.

After total standings points, the first tiebreaker is total victories in the 72-game season. The next is points earned in head-to-head games, and the Silvertips hold that edge by virtue of winning the season series with the Winter Hawks 5-3-2.

Last season, the WHL team with the home-ice advantage won six of the eight opening-round series. After that, however, the teams with home-ice advantage went only 3-3.

Neither team can afford to coast through the last four games of the regular season.

Everett will play Seattle at home tonight, stay home for Tri-City on Friday and finish the season in Tri-City on Saturday and in Seattle on Sunday.

Portland will be at Spokane tonight, play at home against Seattle on Friday, travel to Seattle on Saturday and finish at home against Tri-City on Sunday.

The Silvertips are selling playoff packages. Individual game tickets won't go on sale until the schedule has been determined.

Everett goaltender Michael Wall, who gave up three goals in the weekend split with Portland, sees things getting tighter.

"We seem to have a little more of a rivalry with Portland than anyone else," Wall said. "They always come out hard, and I have to stand my ground because they are so physical. One of their strengths, and ours, is that they work hard. It's going to be a real battle."