Tipped Off
10-16-2009, 11:20 AM
Tips record: 4-2-0-0
This one should be interesting. The Tips lost their opener to the Birds. After falling behind by 3 goals early, the Tips came storming back and almost tied it up in regulation. That first game seems like a month ago...and it was as the Tips only played 5 games in the first 24 days of the season. Since then there have been a few roster changes and the Tips have gotten their feet under them. I expect a win tonight & wouldn't be surprised by a 5-2 margin. A loss here would seem to continue a pattern of erratic play the Tips have had over the past two seasons. I'd like to think the new coach can get them out of that pattern.
Aynway, here's the game day story.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091016/SPORTS/710169837/1003/SPORTS08#Torrid.start.for.Silvertips%26%238217.off ense..
Torrid start for Silvertips’ offense
Everett scoring like no other team in club history
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT — If the Everett Silvertips have had an identity since beginning play in 2003, it’s been as a tight-checking defensive team. The Tips may not have been the flashiest of teams, but they made it difficult for the opposition to score.
Which makes the beginning to this season a little unusual in Everett. Where are all these goals coming from?
The Tips are off to a solid start this season, and so far it’s been the offense rather than the defense carrying the load for Everett.
“Right now we’re just clicking, I guess,” Tips leading scorer Shane Harper said about the offense. “It’s not like we’re expecting to score that many goals, it’s not our plan. We’re focusing on defense first and when we’re in the offensive zone we’re trying to make the best of it. So far we’ve been sticking to the plan and it’s been working.”
Everett scored 28 goals in its first six games, an average of 4.67 per game. That scoring rate ranks third in the WHL, trailing just Moose Jaw (4.72) and Medicine Hat (4.70).
It’s a scoring rate unlike anything in Everett’s history. In the previous six seasons, the highest scoring rate the Tips attained was 3.18 per game — and that came in a season where Everett won 54 games. The highest rate in the other five seasons was 2.74 goals per game. That includes the past two seasons, when the defensive reins applied by original head coach Kevin Constantine were loosened under John Becanic.
Six games is a small sample size, and the numbers may be slightly skewed by the 10 goals the Tips put past Portland last Sunday. But Everett also has scored at least three times in each of its games. That’s a far cry from the team that was shut out twice in the first six games last season and 12 times total.
“I think our offense is really strong right now,” said left wing Tyler Maxwell, who leads the team with six goals. “We’re just keeping it simple, following coach (Craig) Hartsburg’s plan, and as long as we keep doing that I think we’re going to be successful.”
So why has Everett’s offensive output been so much greater at the start of this season? What is that plan the players talk about, and how does it differ from past strategies?
It amounts more to small tweaks rather than a complete overhaul, putting a greater emphasis on playing hard and keeping things simple.
“We’re stressing a lot more the fact we have to shoot to score,” Maxwell said. “Last year, I think we tried to do too much fancy stuff. We’re just keeping it simple and playing the game like it should be played.”
Added Harper: “We’ve really been working on just chipping the puck out of our zone. Once we get the puck out of our zone, we have a lot of support going that way. Once we get that support, it turns into odd-man rushes sometimes, and that creates scoring opportunities.”
It doesn’t hurt that the Tips have plenty of scoring options. Everett returned its top five scorers from last season, and the acquisition of center Chris Langkow has added to the Tips’ collection of offensive options. Through six games, the Tips have 10 different players averaging at least a point per game. Harper leads the way, having tallied a whopping 12 points in the first six contests.
However, in a statement dripping with irony, perhaps the biggest reason for the increase in Everett’s offense comes from the defense. Everett’s blueliners, led by newcomers Radko Gudas and Ryan Murray, have been more adept at moving the puck out of the defensive zone and getting it into the hands of the forwards where they can use it. Gudas, Murray and fellow defenseman Alex Theriau each are among the point-per-game clan with six points in six games. By comparison, no Everett defenseman averaged even half-a-point per game last season.
“That’s great to have,” Maxwell said. “Guys like Murray and Gudas and (Rasmus) Rissanen and Theriau, it’s great having them get us the puck. And they always get good shots on net, which is a bonus, so it’s a good asset to have.”
The big question, however, is whether the Tips can keep that offensive pace going.
“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t,” Harper said. “I mean, five goals a game is a little much, but I’m talking about the way we’re playing. That shouldn’t change, and if we’re able to play with consistency the goals will definitely come.”
Silvertips Update
Today's game
Opponent: Seattle Thunderbirds
When: 7:35 p.m.
Where: Comcast Arena, Everett
Radio: KRKO (1380 AM)
Scouting report
Tonight is the second of 10 meetings between Everett (4-2-0-0) and Seattle (2-6-0-1) this season. The T-birds won the first meeting, prevailing 4-3 in Kent on opening day. Tonight also marks the return to Everett of former Tips coach John Becanic, who is now an assistant with the T-birds.
Seattle is struggling. The T-birds have won just once since that opening-night victory against Everett, and Seattle needed a 57-save performance out of goaltender Calvin Pickard to earn that win.
The main problem for Seattle has been offense as the T-birds scored just 18 goals in their first nine games, making them the lowest-scoring team in the league. Eighteen-year-old center Jonathan Parker (five goals, three assists) and 16-year-old center Colin Jacobs (three goals, four assists) are doing what they can, but 20-year-old left wing Prab Rai (three goals, two assists) has yet to attain the heights of the previous two seasons, and Seattle has few other options.
The T-birds have, however, brought in some reinforcements since opening day, acquiring 18-year-old defenseman Scott Ramsay from Chilliwack and 17-year-old center Brendan Rouse from Brandon, while 17-year-old Russian left wing Mikhail Sentyurin has received his international clearance and may make his debut tonight.
Seattle also has one of the league’s top young goalies in the 17-year-old Pickard (2-3-0-1, 3.35 goals against average, .918 save percentage).
This one should be interesting. The Tips lost their opener to the Birds. After falling behind by 3 goals early, the Tips came storming back and almost tied it up in regulation. That first game seems like a month ago...and it was as the Tips only played 5 games in the first 24 days of the season. Since then there have been a few roster changes and the Tips have gotten their feet under them. I expect a win tonight & wouldn't be surprised by a 5-2 margin. A loss here would seem to continue a pattern of erratic play the Tips have had over the past two seasons. I'd like to think the new coach can get them out of that pattern.
Aynway, here's the game day story.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091016/SPORTS/710169837/1003/SPORTS08#Torrid.start.for.Silvertips%26%238217.off ense..
Torrid start for Silvertips’ offense
Everett scoring like no other team in club history
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT — If the Everett Silvertips have had an identity since beginning play in 2003, it’s been as a tight-checking defensive team. The Tips may not have been the flashiest of teams, but they made it difficult for the opposition to score.
Which makes the beginning to this season a little unusual in Everett. Where are all these goals coming from?
The Tips are off to a solid start this season, and so far it’s been the offense rather than the defense carrying the load for Everett.
“Right now we’re just clicking, I guess,” Tips leading scorer Shane Harper said about the offense. “It’s not like we’re expecting to score that many goals, it’s not our plan. We’re focusing on defense first and when we’re in the offensive zone we’re trying to make the best of it. So far we’ve been sticking to the plan and it’s been working.”
Everett scored 28 goals in its first six games, an average of 4.67 per game. That scoring rate ranks third in the WHL, trailing just Moose Jaw (4.72) and Medicine Hat (4.70).
It’s a scoring rate unlike anything in Everett’s history. In the previous six seasons, the highest scoring rate the Tips attained was 3.18 per game — and that came in a season where Everett won 54 games. The highest rate in the other five seasons was 2.74 goals per game. That includes the past two seasons, when the defensive reins applied by original head coach Kevin Constantine were loosened under John Becanic.
Six games is a small sample size, and the numbers may be slightly skewed by the 10 goals the Tips put past Portland last Sunday. But Everett also has scored at least three times in each of its games. That’s a far cry from the team that was shut out twice in the first six games last season and 12 times total.
“I think our offense is really strong right now,” said left wing Tyler Maxwell, who leads the team with six goals. “We’re just keeping it simple, following coach (Craig) Hartsburg’s plan, and as long as we keep doing that I think we’re going to be successful.”
So why has Everett’s offensive output been so much greater at the start of this season? What is that plan the players talk about, and how does it differ from past strategies?
It amounts more to small tweaks rather than a complete overhaul, putting a greater emphasis on playing hard and keeping things simple.
“We’re stressing a lot more the fact we have to shoot to score,” Maxwell said. “Last year, I think we tried to do too much fancy stuff. We’re just keeping it simple and playing the game like it should be played.”
Added Harper: “We’ve really been working on just chipping the puck out of our zone. Once we get the puck out of our zone, we have a lot of support going that way. Once we get that support, it turns into odd-man rushes sometimes, and that creates scoring opportunities.”
It doesn’t hurt that the Tips have plenty of scoring options. Everett returned its top five scorers from last season, and the acquisition of center Chris Langkow has added to the Tips’ collection of offensive options. Through six games, the Tips have 10 different players averaging at least a point per game. Harper leads the way, having tallied a whopping 12 points in the first six contests.
However, in a statement dripping with irony, perhaps the biggest reason for the increase in Everett’s offense comes from the defense. Everett’s blueliners, led by newcomers Radko Gudas and Ryan Murray, have been more adept at moving the puck out of the defensive zone and getting it into the hands of the forwards where they can use it. Gudas, Murray and fellow defenseman Alex Theriau each are among the point-per-game clan with six points in six games. By comparison, no Everett defenseman averaged even half-a-point per game last season.
“That’s great to have,” Maxwell said. “Guys like Murray and Gudas and (Rasmus) Rissanen and Theriau, it’s great having them get us the puck. And they always get good shots on net, which is a bonus, so it’s a good asset to have.”
The big question, however, is whether the Tips can keep that offensive pace going.
“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t,” Harper said. “I mean, five goals a game is a little much, but I’m talking about the way we’re playing. That shouldn’t change, and if we’re able to play with consistency the goals will definitely come.”
Silvertips Update
Today's game
Opponent: Seattle Thunderbirds
When: 7:35 p.m.
Where: Comcast Arena, Everett
Radio: KRKO (1380 AM)
Scouting report
Tonight is the second of 10 meetings between Everett (4-2-0-0) and Seattle (2-6-0-1) this season. The T-birds won the first meeting, prevailing 4-3 in Kent on opening day. Tonight also marks the return to Everett of former Tips coach John Becanic, who is now an assistant with the T-birds.
Seattle is struggling. The T-birds have won just once since that opening-night victory against Everett, and Seattle needed a 57-save performance out of goaltender Calvin Pickard to earn that win.
The main problem for Seattle has been offense as the T-birds scored just 18 goals in their first nine games, making them the lowest-scoring team in the league. Eighteen-year-old center Jonathan Parker (five goals, three assists) and 16-year-old center Colin Jacobs (three goals, four assists) are doing what they can, but 20-year-old left wing Prab Rai (three goals, two assists) has yet to attain the heights of the previous two seasons, and Seattle has few other options.
The T-birds have, however, brought in some reinforcements since opening day, acquiring 18-year-old defenseman Scott Ramsay from Chilliwack and 17-year-old center Brendan Rouse from Brandon, while 17-year-old Russian left wing Mikhail Sentyurin has received his international clearance and may make his debut tonight.
Seattle also has one of the league’s top young goalies in the 17-year-old Pickard (2-3-0-1, 3.35 goals against average, .918 save percentage).