Tipped Off
11-16-2005, 02:53 PM
Injuries made long trip a difficult one for the Tips
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT - Two weeks ago the Everett Silvertips departed on their longest road trip of the season flying high and looking to blow through the Western Hockey League's Central Division.
Instead, Everett had a somewhat disappointing seven games, finishing the trip with a .500 record.
But given the circumstances, the Silvertips perhaps just should be happy that they returned in one piece.
"It was hard, it was long and it's good to be home," Everett center Peter Mueller summed up.
After going 3-3-1-0 on the trip, the Tips remain atop the U.S. Division, but their lead is now just nine points over second-place Portland, which has four games in hand.
For most of the trip, Everett was without five of its top players. Forwards Torrie Wheat and Ondrej Fiala didn't travel with the team because of knee injuries. Defenseman Eric Doyle made the trip, but didn't play because of a hip injury. Defenseman Shaun Heshka and center Zach Hamill each missed the final four games - Heshka because of a back injury and Hamill because of mononucleosis.
The player losses forced the Tips to scrounge just to field a lineup. Forward Kyle Beach was called up for four of the five games he's eligible to play as a 15-year-old, and 16-year-old defenseman Mike Alexander was brought in as insurance against another injury. Alexander returned with the team to Everett and will remain until either Heshka or Doyle is ready.
Under those circumstances, .500 doesn't look that bad.
"We would never set out to be .500 at anything we do because that's not championship material, so we would have liked to have done better on the road trip from a record standpoint," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said.
"But there also has to be some realism in what we're doing, too. We played 16 games in 27 days, which is the toughest stretch in franchise history, and we have five guys out who would be major players on any team in this league. So when you combine the number of games in a short period of time with the health of the team, then you start to say that maybe it is a reasonable record to have."
With forward Michael Wuchterl traded to Lethbridge during the trip and forward Boris Leckovic still learning the Tips system after arriving via trade with Swift Current, it meant a lot of ice time for the remaining healthy bodies.
"You could see the tiredness from having a couple guys sick, a couple guys hurt," Mueller said. "In the first couple games we were good, but by the fourth or fifth game you could see we were dragging a little bit. But we went up there and got a couple of wins and we're happy about that."
Everett struggled offensively during the trip. The Tips scored just 14 goals in the seven games, five of those coming in Everett's opening 5-2 victory in Spokane. By contrast, Everett scored 51 goals in its first 15 games.
John Lammers, Everett's leading scorer, had just two goals and two assists during the trip, and Mueller, the second-leading scorer, managed just two assists. And the power play, which was dominant going into the trip, was a mere 3-for-36.
"Our power play is awful right now," said Constantine, who listed the loss of power-play quarterback Heshka as the primary factor in the decline. "As good as we were at the beginning of the year we're equally bad right now. That was probably the single, biggest sore spot of the trip."
Those offensive struggles were most visible in losses to Medicine Hat - when the Tips managed just nine shots on goal - Lethbridge and Kootenay, when Constantine was not satisfied with the team's collective effort.
But there were highlights, too. Late tying goals against Red Deer and Swift Current eventually led to shootout wins, and backup goaltender Matt Esposito shut out Calgary for more than 60 minutes in his first WHL start before eventually falling 1-0 in overtime.
"The roadies, they're hard and greasy," Everett center Mark Kress said. "It would have been nice to win a couple of those other games. But I thought we did pretty good, we played hard."
Possible newcomer: The Silvertips are on the cusp of adding another talented young player to their roster.
Jonathan Milhouse, a speedy 16-year-old forward from California, skated with the team during practice Tuesday and appears ready to commit to the team.
"We're talking to his father and him, and it's not official yet that he's staying," Constantine said. "But we hope over the next day here we can have that announcement to make."
Milhouse attended training camp with the Silvertips two season ago, when he impressed the coaches with his speed and offensive skills. However, he did not attend training camp this season as he debated where to commit his hockey future.
Milhouse played last season on the same California Wave team that finished second at the 16-U Midget national championships as current Silvertip right wing Shane Harper.
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT - Two weeks ago the Everett Silvertips departed on their longest road trip of the season flying high and looking to blow through the Western Hockey League's Central Division.
Instead, Everett had a somewhat disappointing seven games, finishing the trip with a .500 record.
But given the circumstances, the Silvertips perhaps just should be happy that they returned in one piece.
"It was hard, it was long and it's good to be home," Everett center Peter Mueller summed up.
After going 3-3-1-0 on the trip, the Tips remain atop the U.S. Division, but their lead is now just nine points over second-place Portland, which has four games in hand.
For most of the trip, Everett was without five of its top players. Forwards Torrie Wheat and Ondrej Fiala didn't travel with the team because of knee injuries. Defenseman Eric Doyle made the trip, but didn't play because of a hip injury. Defenseman Shaun Heshka and center Zach Hamill each missed the final four games - Heshka because of a back injury and Hamill because of mononucleosis.
The player losses forced the Tips to scrounge just to field a lineup. Forward Kyle Beach was called up for four of the five games he's eligible to play as a 15-year-old, and 16-year-old defenseman Mike Alexander was brought in as insurance against another injury. Alexander returned with the team to Everett and will remain until either Heshka or Doyle is ready.
Under those circumstances, .500 doesn't look that bad.
"We would never set out to be .500 at anything we do because that's not championship material, so we would have liked to have done better on the road trip from a record standpoint," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said.
"But there also has to be some realism in what we're doing, too. We played 16 games in 27 days, which is the toughest stretch in franchise history, and we have five guys out who would be major players on any team in this league. So when you combine the number of games in a short period of time with the health of the team, then you start to say that maybe it is a reasonable record to have."
With forward Michael Wuchterl traded to Lethbridge during the trip and forward Boris Leckovic still learning the Tips system after arriving via trade with Swift Current, it meant a lot of ice time for the remaining healthy bodies.
"You could see the tiredness from having a couple guys sick, a couple guys hurt," Mueller said. "In the first couple games we were good, but by the fourth or fifth game you could see we were dragging a little bit. But we went up there and got a couple of wins and we're happy about that."
Everett struggled offensively during the trip. The Tips scored just 14 goals in the seven games, five of those coming in Everett's opening 5-2 victory in Spokane. By contrast, Everett scored 51 goals in its first 15 games.
John Lammers, Everett's leading scorer, had just two goals and two assists during the trip, and Mueller, the second-leading scorer, managed just two assists. And the power play, which was dominant going into the trip, was a mere 3-for-36.
"Our power play is awful right now," said Constantine, who listed the loss of power-play quarterback Heshka as the primary factor in the decline. "As good as we were at the beginning of the year we're equally bad right now. That was probably the single, biggest sore spot of the trip."
Those offensive struggles were most visible in losses to Medicine Hat - when the Tips managed just nine shots on goal - Lethbridge and Kootenay, when Constantine was not satisfied with the team's collective effort.
But there were highlights, too. Late tying goals against Red Deer and Swift Current eventually led to shootout wins, and backup goaltender Matt Esposito shut out Calgary for more than 60 minutes in his first WHL start before eventually falling 1-0 in overtime.
"The roadies, they're hard and greasy," Everett center Mark Kress said. "It would have been nice to win a couple of those other games. But I thought we did pretty good, we played hard."
Possible newcomer: The Silvertips are on the cusp of adding another talented young player to their roster.
Jonathan Milhouse, a speedy 16-year-old forward from California, skated with the team during practice Tuesday and appears ready to commit to the team.
"We're talking to his father and him, and it's not official yet that he's staying," Constantine said. "But we hope over the next day here we can have that announcement to make."
Milhouse attended training camp with the Silvertips two season ago, when he impressed the coaches with his speed and offensive skills. However, he did not attend training camp this season as he debated where to commit his hockey future.
Milhouse played last season on the same California Wave team that finished second at the 16-U Midget national championships as current Silvertip right wing Shane Harper.