Tipped Off
10-19-2005, 11:44 AM
'Four's not sweet enough'
Everett beats Saskatoon for its fourth straight win, but the Tips aren't satisfied, saying five consecutive victories are the mark of a good team
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT - Five in a row.
That's been the goal since day one. That's what the Everett Silvertips strive for.
And after a solid all-around performance Tuesday night, the Silvertips again have a shot a five consecutive victories.
Torrie Wheat scored two goals and Leland Irving was within three minutes of a shutout, leading the Silvertips to a 4-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades before a crowd of 4,237 at the Everett Events Center.
It was the fourth straight win for Everett (5-3). The Silvertips have never won five straight in franchise history, having fallen short the three previous chances.
"Four's not quite sweet enough," Wheat said. "Our very first year, the second week here our coach told us that you can always tell a good team by if they go on a five-game winning streak. That's when you know you're a good team. We haven't done it yet in this organization, so hopefully we do."
Karel Hromas and Jonathan Harty also scored and Peter Mueller added three assists for Everett, which goes for No. 5 Friday at Seattle.
"We played a lot harder than we did Sunday against Kamloops," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "We weren't very good against Kamloops. We just worked harder tonight. I thought we played pretty good."
Devin Setoguchi scored and Kevin Armstrong made 23 saves in goal for Saskatoon (4-4-0-1), which its two-game winning streak halted.
"We worked pretty hard," Setoguchi said. "You have to give the other team credit because they capitalized on their chances and we weren't fortunate enough to do that tonight."
Everett was solid in all aspects of the game Tuesday, but the Tips' goaltending and power play really stood out.
Irving, who began the season slow, has heated up and Tuesday he was on top of his game. He made several strong saves, particularly during the second period with Everett clinging to a 1-0 lead He finished with 26 saves and came 2 minutes, 31 seconds from posting his second shutout of the season.
"Other than the first game of the season I've just been keeping it simple and slowly improving," Irving said. "The team's jelling and I'm seeing a lot of the shots. That makes my job a lot easier."
Offensively, Everett was lethal with a man advantage. The Tips, who have been strong on the power play all season, scored on three of their four power-play opportunities Tuesday, with Mueller doing much of the engineering.
"We've got a lot of talent on the power play, guys handling the puck like Mueller, (Shaun) Heshka, (John) Lammers," Wheat said. "What makes a power play good is skill and we've got quite a bit of it."
Everett took the lead four seconds into its first power play of the game at 13:29 of the first period. Heshka's shot from the center point pinballed through traffic and deflected in off Wheat to give the Tips a 1-0 lead.
The second period featured a number of quality scoring chances for both teams, but it was Everett that found the net again, Hromas breaking free and beating Armstrong thanks to a nice feed from Mueller at 13:57.
Everett then put the game away with a pair of power-play goals in the third. Ondrej Fiala made a nice feed in front to find a pinching Harty for the first at 4:43, and Mueller found Wheat for a tap-in at the far post at 13:22.
Setoguchi spoiled Irving's shutout big with 2:31 to play, putting in a loose puck during a scramble out front of the net.
Slap shots: Everett defenseman Taylor Ellington was back in the lineup Tuesday. Ellington, voted the team's Most Improved Player last season, was a healthy scratch the last three games. He took Eric Doyle's place in the lineup. Left wing Michael Wuchterl and defenseman Zach Sim were Everett's other healthy scratches. ... Saskatoon played without defenseman Dalyn Flatt, a third-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers, who was scratched with a hand injury. ... Everett is 9-1-1 all time versus the East Division
Saskatoon 0 0 1-1
Everett 1 1 2-4
First Period-1, Everett, Wheat 3 (Heshka, Mueller), 13:29 (pp). Penalties-Thoring, Everett (hooking), 1:10; Potuer, Everett (delay of game), 8:41; MacAulay, Saskatoon (holding), 13:25; Kress, Everett (holding), 19:25.
Second Period-2, Everett, Hromas 2 (Mueller, Wheat), 13:57. Penalties-Calla, Everett (slashing), 17:04; MacAulay, Saskatoon (hooking), 18:01.
Third Period-3, Everett, Harty 1 (Fiala, Hamill), 4:43 (pp). 4, Everett, Wheat 4 (Mueller, Heshka), 13:22 (pp). 5, Saskatoon, Setoguchi 4 (Barnes, Waschuk), 17:29. Penalties-Haw, Saskatoon (cross-checking), 2:48; Geric, Saskatoon (roughing), 12:33; Thoring, Everett (roughing), 12:33; Tidball, Saskatoon (roughing-fighting-10-minute misconduct), 12:33; Calla, Everett (fighting), 12:33; Hamill, Everett (hooking), 15:03.
Shots on goal-Saskatoon 9-12-6-27. Everett 8-7-12-27. Power-play opportunities-Saskatoon 0-for-5. Everett 3-for-4.
Goalies-Saskatoon, Armstrong 2-1 (27 shots, 23 saves). Everett, Irving 5-3 (27 shots, 26 saves).
Everett beats Saskatoon for its fourth straight win, but the Tips aren't satisfied, saying five consecutive victories are the mark of a good team
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT - Five in a row.
That's been the goal since day one. That's what the Everett Silvertips strive for.
And after a solid all-around performance Tuesday night, the Silvertips again have a shot a five consecutive victories.
Torrie Wheat scored two goals and Leland Irving was within three minutes of a shutout, leading the Silvertips to a 4-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades before a crowd of 4,237 at the Everett Events Center.
It was the fourth straight win for Everett (5-3). The Silvertips have never won five straight in franchise history, having fallen short the three previous chances.
"Four's not quite sweet enough," Wheat said. "Our very first year, the second week here our coach told us that you can always tell a good team by if they go on a five-game winning streak. That's when you know you're a good team. We haven't done it yet in this organization, so hopefully we do."
Karel Hromas and Jonathan Harty also scored and Peter Mueller added three assists for Everett, which goes for No. 5 Friday at Seattle.
"We played a lot harder than we did Sunday against Kamloops," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "We weren't very good against Kamloops. We just worked harder tonight. I thought we played pretty good."
Devin Setoguchi scored and Kevin Armstrong made 23 saves in goal for Saskatoon (4-4-0-1), which its two-game winning streak halted.
"We worked pretty hard," Setoguchi said. "You have to give the other team credit because they capitalized on their chances and we weren't fortunate enough to do that tonight."
Everett was solid in all aspects of the game Tuesday, but the Tips' goaltending and power play really stood out.
Irving, who began the season slow, has heated up and Tuesday he was on top of his game. He made several strong saves, particularly during the second period with Everett clinging to a 1-0 lead He finished with 26 saves and came 2 minutes, 31 seconds from posting his second shutout of the season.
"Other than the first game of the season I've just been keeping it simple and slowly improving," Irving said. "The team's jelling and I'm seeing a lot of the shots. That makes my job a lot easier."
Offensively, Everett was lethal with a man advantage. The Tips, who have been strong on the power play all season, scored on three of their four power-play opportunities Tuesday, with Mueller doing much of the engineering.
"We've got a lot of talent on the power play, guys handling the puck like Mueller, (Shaun) Heshka, (John) Lammers," Wheat said. "What makes a power play good is skill and we've got quite a bit of it."
Everett took the lead four seconds into its first power play of the game at 13:29 of the first period. Heshka's shot from the center point pinballed through traffic and deflected in off Wheat to give the Tips a 1-0 lead.
The second period featured a number of quality scoring chances for both teams, but it was Everett that found the net again, Hromas breaking free and beating Armstrong thanks to a nice feed from Mueller at 13:57.
Everett then put the game away with a pair of power-play goals in the third. Ondrej Fiala made a nice feed in front to find a pinching Harty for the first at 4:43, and Mueller found Wheat for a tap-in at the far post at 13:22.
Setoguchi spoiled Irving's shutout big with 2:31 to play, putting in a loose puck during a scramble out front of the net.
Slap shots: Everett defenseman Taylor Ellington was back in the lineup Tuesday. Ellington, voted the team's Most Improved Player last season, was a healthy scratch the last three games. He took Eric Doyle's place in the lineup. Left wing Michael Wuchterl and defenseman Zach Sim were Everett's other healthy scratches. ... Saskatoon played without defenseman Dalyn Flatt, a third-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers, who was scratched with a hand injury. ... Everett is 9-1-1 all time versus the East Division
Saskatoon 0 0 1-1
Everett 1 1 2-4
First Period-1, Everett, Wheat 3 (Heshka, Mueller), 13:29 (pp). Penalties-Thoring, Everett (hooking), 1:10; Potuer, Everett (delay of game), 8:41; MacAulay, Saskatoon (holding), 13:25; Kress, Everett (holding), 19:25.
Second Period-2, Everett, Hromas 2 (Mueller, Wheat), 13:57. Penalties-Calla, Everett (slashing), 17:04; MacAulay, Saskatoon (hooking), 18:01.
Third Period-3, Everett, Harty 1 (Fiala, Hamill), 4:43 (pp). 4, Everett, Wheat 4 (Mueller, Heshka), 13:22 (pp). 5, Saskatoon, Setoguchi 4 (Barnes, Waschuk), 17:29. Penalties-Haw, Saskatoon (cross-checking), 2:48; Geric, Saskatoon (roughing), 12:33; Thoring, Everett (roughing), 12:33; Tidball, Saskatoon (roughing-fighting-10-minute misconduct), 12:33; Calla, Everett (fighting), 12:33; Hamill, Everett (hooking), 15:03.
Shots on goal-Saskatoon 9-12-6-27. Everett 8-7-12-27. Power-play opportunities-Saskatoon 0-for-5. Everett 3-for-4.
Goalies-Saskatoon, Armstrong 2-1 (27 shots, 23 saves). Everett, Irving 5-3 (27 shots, 26 saves).