Tipped Off
04-08-2005, 02:03 PM
From the Everett Herald on 4/8
Game 1: Everett Silvertips at Kootenay Ice
Tips find rough Ice
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT - Tuesday night the Everett Silvertips were in Portland, celebrating their 3-2 victory over the Winter Hawks in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.
Eighteen hours later they were boarding a bus in Everett en route to Cranbrook, British Columbia, for Game 1 of their second-round series against the Kootenay Ice.
There's no rest for the weary in the Western Hockey League postseason.
"It's a challenge," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "We don't really get a lot of time to re-energize. But the bottom line for our guys was it was either golf or play hockey, and I don't know a guy in that room that doesn't want to play hockey."
With Everett's second-round series against the Ice beginning tonight at Kootenay, the Tips have had little time to dwell upon their first-round victory over Portland, in which Everett overcame the Winter Hawks' punishing style to prevail 4-3 in the best-of-seven series.
"Something we've talked about all playoffs is, 'Don't get too high, don't get too low, try to forget about what happened and stay focused with the present,' " Everett right wing Alex Leavitt said. "That's because everything that happened in the past in playoffs doesn't really mean anything. The fact that we had a big win in Game 7, I don't think the Kootenay Ice could care less about that. So that's the way we have to think about it."
While Everett was surviving against Portland, Kootenay advanced by dispatching Kamloops in six games. The Ice were 47 seconds away from falling behind 3-1 in the series. But a late game-tying goal by Ryan Russell and an overtime winner by Dale Mahovsky in Game 4 allowed Kootenay to tie the series, and the Ice won the final two games, outscoring Kamloops 12-3.
"I thought we played a lot better as the series went on," Kootenay coach Cory Clouston said. "We were tentative early, whether it was because of jitters or nerves. But the last two games were our best by far. We were just competing a lot harder and playing more physical."
Kootenay presents a stern test for the Tips. The Ice had the best record in the WHL during the regular season, gave up the fewest goals in the league (137) and scored the most goals in the Western Conference (218).
Everett did not fare well against Kootenay during the regular season. Everett lost two of their three meetings, with those being two of the Tips' uglier losses of the season. Even Everett's win deserves an asterisk as the Tips won 1-0 at home in a game where Kootenay was missing three of its best players.
"They're No. 1 in the league overall for a reason," Constantine said. "They're the best team in the league. They've got good goaltending, they're really solid on defense, they've got a dynamic offensive player who's not the only good offensive player on the team. So I think what's most challenging about them is they don't have a chink in their armor. They don't have anything you can exploit."
Tantamount for Everett is dealing with Kootenay's two stars, left wing Nigel Dawes and goaltender Jeff Glass.
Dawes, a two-time member of Canada's World Junior Championships team and perhaps the best natural goal scorer in the WHL, scored a franchise-record 50 goals this season. Two of those came in victories against Everett - one on an unbelievable shot from the slot, the other on a great solo effort where he skated around three Everett players.
"It's really hard because he moves all over on their lines," Constantine said. "It's not like playing (Brandon) Dubinsky and (Dan) DaSilva from the last series where you knew they were going to be on the ice together 95 percent of the time. With Dawes he plays on all their lines randomly, so you don't really have the ability to match guys against him. It's a lot harder strategy-wise to stop someone like that."
However, Dawes' status is uncertain. Dawes did not play in Kootenay's final two first-round games, and a tight-lipped Clouston was mum both on why Dawes missed the games and whether he'll play in Game 1.
Glass also was a member of the Canada team that won the gold medal at this year's World Junior Championships. During the regular season he finished second in the league in both goals against average (1.76) and save percentage (.932).
Both Dawes and Glass were named first-team Western Conference All-Stars.
While there are question marks surrounding Dawes, Everett has injury concerns of its own. Defenseman Mitch Love sat out three of the Tips' the final four games against Portland with a bruised knee. He skated during warmups in Game 7, but was held out by the coaches. He's listed as day-to-day.
Left wing Tyler Dietrich, recovering from a fractured ankle, was a surprise inclusion in Game 4, but hasn't played since. His availability is unknown.
Game 1: Everett Silvertips at Kootenay Ice
Tips find rough Ice
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT - Tuesday night the Everett Silvertips were in Portland, celebrating their 3-2 victory over the Winter Hawks in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.
Eighteen hours later they were boarding a bus in Everett en route to Cranbrook, British Columbia, for Game 1 of their second-round series against the Kootenay Ice.
There's no rest for the weary in the Western Hockey League postseason.
"It's a challenge," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "We don't really get a lot of time to re-energize. But the bottom line for our guys was it was either golf or play hockey, and I don't know a guy in that room that doesn't want to play hockey."
With Everett's second-round series against the Ice beginning tonight at Kootenay, the Tips have had little time to dwell upon their first-round victory over Portland, in which Everett overcame the Winter Hawks' punishing style to prevail 4-3 in the best-of-seven series.
"Something we've talked about all playoffs is, 'Don't get too high, don't get too low, try to forget about what happened and stay focused with the present,' " Everett right wing Alex Leavitt said. "That's because everything that happened in the past in playoffs doesn't really mean anything. The fact that we had a big win in Game 7, I don't think the Kootenay Ice could care less about that. So that's the way we have to think about it."
While Everett was surviving against Portland, Kootenay advanced by dispatching Kamloops in six games. The Ice were 47 seconds away from falling behind 3-1 in the series. But a late game-tying goal by Ryan Russell and an overtime winner by Dale Mahovsky in Game 4 allowed Kootenay to tie the series, and the Ice won the final two games, outscoring Kamloops 12-3.
"I thought we played a lot better as the series went on," Kootenay coach Cory Clouston said. "We were tentative early, whether it was because of jitters or nerves. But the last two games were our best by far. We were just competing a lot harder and playing more physical."
Kootenay presents a stern test for the Tips. The Ice had the best record in the WHL during the regular season, gave up the fewest goals in the league (137) and scored the most goals in the Western Conference (218).
Everett did not fare well against Kootenay during the regular season. Everett lost two of their three meetings, with those being two of the Tips' uglier losses of the season. Even Everett's win deserves an asterisk as the Tips won 1-0 at home in a game where Kootenay was missing three of its best players.
"They're No. 1 in the league overall for a reason," Constantine said. "They're the best team in the league. They've got good goaltending, they're really solid on defense, they've got a dynamic offensive player who's not the only good offensive player on the team. So I think what's most challenging about them is they don't have a chink in their armor. They don't have anything you can exploit."
Tantamount for Everett is dealing with Kootenay's two stars, left wing Nigel Dawes and goaltender Jeff Glass.
Dawes, a two-time member of Canada's World Junior Championships team and perhaps the best natural goal scorer in the WHL, scored a franchise-record 50 goals this season. Two of those came in victories against Everett - one on an unbelievable shot from the slot, the other on a great solo effort where he skated around three Everett players.
"It's really hard because he moves all over on their lines," Constantine said. "It's not like playing (Brandon) Dubinsky and (Dan) DaSilva from the last series where you knew they were going to be on the ice together 95 percent of the time. With Dawes he plays on all their lines randomly, so you don't really have the ability to match guys against him. It's a lot harder strategy-wise to stop someone like that."
However, Dawes' status is uncertain. Dawes did not play in Kootenay's final two first-round games, and a tight-lipped Clouston was mum both on why Dawes missed the games and whether he'll play in Game 1.
Glass also was a member of the Canada team that won the gold medal at this year's World Junior Championships. During the regular season he finished second in the league in both goals against average (1.76) and save percentage (.932).
Both Dawes and Glass were named first-team Western Conference All-Stars.
While there are question marks surrounding Dawes, Everett has injury concerns of its own. Defenseman Mitch Love sat out three of the Tips' the final four games against Portland with a bruised knee. He skated during warmups in Game 7, but was held out by the coaches. He's listed as day-to-day.
Left wing Tyler Dietrich, recovering from a fractured ankle, was a surprise inclusion in Game 4, but hasn't played since. His availability is unknown.