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Tipped Off
03-24-2005, 10:40 AM
From the Seattle Times - March 23

Hockey team rests up for playoff opener against Portland

By Jim Riley

Special to The Seattle Times

Silvertips


Anyone who finds themselves near the Everett Events Center this week should try to keep as quiet as possible.

The Everett Silvertips are resting.

The Silvertips, who will open the Western Hockey League playoffs in Portland on Friday, are in hibernation. They are preparing for what they hope will be their second straight long run in the playoffs.

Everett finished the regular season 33-28-9-2 and will head into the playoffs winless in its last three games and shut out in its last two. The Silvertips had only 16 able-bodied skaters available when they lost their regular-season finale 1-0 in Seattle.

Everett assistant coach John Becanic subbed for head coach Kevin Constantine, who served a one-game suspension after the Silvertips' third multiplayer fight of the season. Becanic conceded that the Silvertips were more concerned about getting healthy than winning late in the season.

"We were probably a little overly cautious about the health of our players," Becanic said. "Kevin has alluded all month that home-ice advantage would be nice but isn't critical, so we weren't going to risk the health of players over the final few games."

Last season, Everett used the home-ice advantage to sweep Spokane in the first round, then overcame Vancouver's and Kelowna's home-ice advantages in the second and third rounds.

Portland, which finished second this season at 35-27-5-5, will enter the playoffs with a four-game winning streak. The Winter Hawks are 7-3 over their past 10 games.

In the regular season, Everett had the upper hand with a 5-3-2 advantage and was 3-0-2 in Portland, where Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 will be played.

Everett captain Mitch Love said what happened in the regular season matters little in the playoffs.

"I'm sure we'll both be playing with that little extra jump," Love said. "The playoffs are a brand-new season. Everybody starts all over, and we'll just have to see what we can do."

As is the custom in the Western Hockey League, both teams decline to give out specifics about injuries, but Tyler Dietrich, Brennan Zasitko and Jeremy Creurer will probably miss the series.

Defenseman Michael Sauer, who was the top rookie scorer for the Winter Hawks, is out for the season. Dan DaSilva, Portland's leading scorer with 73 points, didn't play in the Winter Hawks' win over the Tri-City Americans on Sunday after being injured in an altercation with Seattle's Zack FitzGerald the day before.

The Silvertips took Monday off after playing eight games in 11 days to finish the regular season.

"We're going to get as much rest as we can this week and then see who's ready to play," Becanic said. "We know Mike Wall will start in goal, but that's about all we can say right now. We just have to make sure we're playing our game and are as prepared as possible."


Wheat chosen Silvertips MVP

Torrie Wheat, who led the Silvertips with 25 goals this season, has been named the team's Most Valuable Player by coaches and management.

Wheat moved from wing to center just before the season. Under Constantine's system, centers have key defensive responsibilities, and Wheat quickly established himself as a forward who could also play defense.

Zach Hamill was named the team's top rookie and Taylor Ellington its most improved player. Mitch Love and Mark Kress shared the team's community awards for volunteering. Kress held an auction to cut his hair that helped raise $10,000 for Providence Medical Center's cancer-patients assistance fund.

Notes

• Over two seasons, Everett is 12-6-4 against Portland.

• Overall, the Winter Hawks outscored the Silvertips by 37 goals this season, 204 to 167, but the Silvertips allowed 49 fewer, 149 to 198.

• The Winter Hawks averaged 23.9 penalty minutes a game. The Silvertips spent an average of 15.1 minutes a game in the penalty box.