Tipped Off
11-28-2005, 11:03 AM
Silvertips snap 7-game losing streak, beat Raiders in shootout
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT - Finally!
After nearly a month's worth of futility, a month's worth of wondering where the next victory was going to come from, the Everett Silvertips can finally call themselves winners again.
Everett put to rest the longest losing streak in franchise history Sunday night, defeating the Prince Albert Raiders in a shootout to prevail 3-2.
Karel Hromas' deciding goal in the shootout began a mob scene along the boards at center ice, sent the 4,545 fans at the Everett Events Center into exhalation, and finally put to rest Everett's seven-game losing streak that began back on Nov. 5.
"It's great. We got that win, finally," said Everett defenseman Eric Doyle, who scored a pressure-packed goal in the shootout. "We want to get back on the winning track here, and we're going to be working hard in practice this week so we can get back on that winning track."
It took Everett (15-12-1-0) every possible moment to finally break free from its losing skid. Not only did the game go into overtime, not only did it go into a shootout, the shootout was also tied after the three regulation shooters, necessitating sudden death. But Hromas' goal finally ended it, giving the Tips a 3-2 edge in the shootout.
"It's been a struggle," said Everett goaltender Leland Irving, who had 19 saves and stopped two shots in the shootout. "It seems when you're in a slump things just never go your way. We were fortunate to get some bounces tonight, guys really came through in the shootout, and I was able to make a couple of saves I needed to to finally get out of this."
Prince Albert (7-14-0-6), suffering through a difficult patch of its own, lost its fourth straight.
"I thought we had the push coming," Prince Albert captain Kyle Chipchura said. "But the way we've been going we just can't seem to find the way to win. I've got to give them credit, they held on - they're pretty much known for that. But I thought the winning goal was going to come."
Everett's victory was unlikely for so many reasons.
Everett's injury situation, which plagued the Tips throughout the losing streak, reached comical proportions Sunday, with leading scorer Peter Mueller and defensemen Cody Thoring and Taylor Ellington joining forwards Torrie Wheat and Zach Hamill and defenseman Jonathan Harty among the walking wounded.
After grabbing a 2-0 lead on second period goals from John Lammers and Jesse Smyke, Prince Albert roared back with goals from Dane Byers and Brett Novak. In the final 10 minutes of regulation and the five minutes of overtime, the Raiders were a hair's breadth away from scoring the game winner, but the Tips somehow survived.
And when the shootout finally arrived, Everett was minus its top two penalty-shot takers in Mueller and Hamill, who have converted all five of their shootout attempts this season.
Shaun Heshka calmly converted his shot, the 16-year-old Doyle scored a huge pressure shot knowing a miss would have continued Everett's losing streak, and Hromas finished it off by putting a shot past Prince Albert goaltender Jesse Deckert into the top-right corner, allowing Everett to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
"I was so nervous," Hromas said. "I didn't know the coach was going to pick me because I'm not a sniper. But he picked me and I didn't know what I was going to do. But I shot and scored and I'm happy for that."
It was the first shootout attempt of the season for all three of Everett's scorers, and the Tips are now a perfect 4-0 in shootouts.
"It wasn't easy, which is typically how you come out of a pit," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said.
"When you're team's fragile from a losing streak and you go into the third with a lead, I think almost every guy just sits back and prays that, 'Oh, I hope we can hang on,' as opposed to just going and playing," Constantine added. "You let up, and we just got dominated in the third, which I thought would happen. We were real lucky we survived that part of it."
The Tips hope Sunday's win is just the beginning of Everett's revival. With the exception of Hamill, the Tips expect all their injured players to be ready to play when Everett resumes play Friday at home against Portland.
Everett took its first lead in nearly a month 4 minutes, 35 seconds into the second period when, on the rush, Lammers fired a shot into the top corner from the right circle, giving the Tips a 1-0 lead. The goal ended Lammers' 10-game goal-less drought and gave Everett its first lead since its 5-2 victory at Spokane on Nov. 2, a span of 11 games. During that span Everett won twice in shootouts in games the Tips never led.
The Tips consolidated their lead five minutes later when Smyke wrapped around the net and stuffed the puck in at the far post at 9:09. The goal was initially waived off, but referee Rob Matsuoka reversed his decision after consulting with his linesmen.
Everett was carrying all the play, but a fortunate bounce late in the period allowed Byers to sweep a shot past Irving, pulling the Raiders back into the game at 15:59.
Novak scored a power-play goal from the slot at 9:37 of the third to tie the score, and from there it was all Raiders - including two minutes of four-on-three in overtime after Graham Potuer's delay-of-game penalty. But Everett survived to set up the shootout.
Slap shots: With three defensemen out injured, the Tips were forced to call in 16-year-old Mike Alexander for Sunday's game. Alexander flew in from his home in Campbell River, British Columbia, Sunday morning, then departed again after the game. ... Prince Albert scratched two of its regulars, defenseman Mike Gauthier and left wing Kyle Howarth. With Gauthier out, forward Aki Seitsonen was pressed into defensive duty.
Silvertips 3, Raiders 2 (SO)
Prince Albert 0 1 1 0 - 2
Everett 0 2 0 0 - 2
Everett won shootout 3-2
First Period-No goals. Penalties-Schafer, Prince Albert (hooking), 2:30; Alic, Everett (tripping), 11:59; Novak, Prince Albert (hooking), 18:38.
Second Period-1, Everett, Lammers 13 (Calla), 4:35. 2, Everett, Smyke 1 (Kress), 9:09. 3, Prince Albert, Byers 9 (Dowhay), 15:59. Penalties-Chipchura, Prince Albert (roughing), 7:08; Thelen, Prince Albert (checking from behind), 10:05.
Third Period-4, Prince Albert, Novak 2 (Chipchura, May), 9:37 (pp). Penalties-Alexander, Everett (hold stick), 2:22; Heshka, Everett (holding), 8:41.
Overtime-No goals. Penalties-Potuer, Everett (delay of game), 1:50.
Shootout-Everett 3 (Lammers NG, Heshka G, Doyle G, Hromas G); Prince Albert 2 (Seitsonen NG, Novak G, Chipchura G, Thelen NG).
Shots on goal-Prince Albert 4-4-8-5-21. Everett 5-14-3-1-23. Power-play opportunities-Prince Albert 1 of 4. Everett 0 of 4.
Goalies-Prince Albert, Deckert 4-6 (23 shots, 21 saves). Everett, Irving 14-11 (21 shots, 19 saves).
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
EVERETT - Finally!
After nearly a month's worth of futility, a month's worth of wondering where the next victory was going to come from, the Everett Silvertips can finally call themselves winners again.
Everett put to rest the longest losing streak in franchise history Sunday night, defeating the Prince Albert Raiders in a shootout to prevail 3-2.
Karel Hromas' deciding goal in the shootout began a mob scene along the boards at center ice, sent the 4,545 fans at the Everett Events Center into exhalation, and finally put to rest Everett's seven-game losing streak that began back on Nov. 5.
"It's great. We got that win, finally," said Everett defenseman Eric Doyle, who scored a pressure-packed goal in the shootout. "We want to get back on the winning track here, and we're going to be working hard in practice this week so we can get back on that winning track."
It took Everett (15-12-1-0) every possible moment to finally break free from its losing skid. Not only did the game go into overtime, not only did it go into a shootout, the shootout was also tied after the three regulation shooters, necessitating sudden death. But Hromas' goal finally ended it, giving the Tips a 3-2 edge in the shootout.
"It's been a struggle," said Everett goaltender Leland Irving, who had 19 saves and stopped two shots in the shootout. "It seems when you're in a slump things just never go your way. We were fortunate to get some bounces tonight, guys really came through in the shootout, and I was able to make a couple of saves I needed to to finally get out of this."
Prince Albert (7-14-0-6), suffering through a difficult patch of its own, lost its fourth straight.
"I thought we had the push coming," Prince Albert captain Kyle Chipchura said. "But the way we've been going we just can't seem to find the way to win. I've got to give them credit, they held on - they're pretty much known for that. But I thought the winning goal was going to come."
Everett's victory was unlikely for so many reasons.
Everett's injury situation, which plagued the Tips throughout the losing streak, reached comical proportions Sunday, with leading scorer Peter Mueller and defensemen Cody Thoring and Taylor Ellington joining forwards Torrie Wheat and Zach Hamill and defenseman Jonathan Harty among the walking wounded.
After grabbing a 2-0 lead on second period goals from John Lammers and Jesse Smyke, Prince Albert roared back with goals from Dane Byers and Brett Novak. In the final 10 minutes of regulation and the five minutes of overtime, the Raiders were a hair's breadth away from scoring the game winner, but the Tips somehow survived.
And when the shootout finally arrived, Everett was minus its top two penalty-shot takers in Mueller and Hamill, who have converted all five of their shootout attempts this season.
Shaun Heshka calmly converted his shot, the 16-year-old Doyle scored a huge pressure shot knowing a miss would have continued Everett's losing streak, and Hromas finished it off by putting a shot past Prince Albert goaltender Jesse Deckert into the top-right corner, allowing Everett to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
"I was so nervous," Hromas said. "I didn't know the coach was going to pick me because I'm not a sniper. But he picked me and I didn't know what I was going to do. But I shot and scored and I'm happy for that."
It was the first shootout attempt of the season for all three of Everett's scorers, and the Tips are now a perfect 4-0 in shootouts.
"It wasn't easy, which is typically how you come out of a pit," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said.
"When you're team's fragile from a losing streak and you go into the third with a lead, I think almost every guy just sits back and prays that, 'Oh, I hope we can hang on,' as opposed to just going and playing," Constantine added. "You let up, and we just got dominated in the third, which I thought would happen. We were real lucky we survived that part of it."
The Tips hope Sunday's win is just the beginning of Everett's revival. With the exception of Hamill, the Tips expect all their injured players to be ready to play when Everett resumes play Friday at home against Portland.
Everett took its first lead in nearly a month 4 minutes, 35 seconds into the second period when, on the rush, Lammers fired a shot into the top corner from the right circle, giving the Tips a 1-0 lead. The goal ended Lammers' 10-game goal-less drought and gave Everett its first lead since its 5-2 victory at Spokane on Nov. 2, a span of 11 games. During that span Everett won twice in shootouts in games the Tips never led.
The Tips consolidated their lead five minutes later when Smyke wrapped around the net and stuffed the puck in at the far post at 9:09. The goal was initially waived off, but referee Rob Matsuoka reversed his decision after consulting with his linesmen.
Everett was carrying all the play, but a fortunate bounce late in the period allowed Byers to sweep a shot past Irving, pulling the Raiders back into the game at 15:59.
Novak scored a power-play goal from the slot at 9:37 of the third to tie the score, and from there it was all Raiders - including two minutes of four-on-three in overtime after Graham Potuer's delay-of-game penalty. But Everett survived to set up the shootout.
Slap shots: With three defensemen out injured, the Tips were forced to call in 16-year-old Mike Alexander for Sunday's game. Alexander flew in from his home in Campbell River, British Columbia, Sunday morning, then departed again after the game. ... Prince Albert scratched two of its regulars, defenseman Mike Gauthier and left wing Kyle Howarth. With Gauthier out, forward Aki Seitsonen was pressed into defensive duty.
Silvertips 3, Raiders 2 (SO)
Prince Albert 0 1 1 0 - 2
Everett 0 2 0 0 - 2
Everett won shootout 3-2
First Period-No goals. Penalties-Schafer, Prince Albert (hooking), 2:30; Alic, Everett (tripping), 11:59; Novak, Prince Albert (hooking), 18:38.
Second Period-1, Everett, Lammers 13 (Calla), 4:35. 2, Everett, Smyke 1 (Kress), 9:09. 3, Prince Albert, Byers 9 (Dowhay), 15:59. Penalties-Chipchura, Prince Albert (roughing), 7:08; Thelen, Prince Albert (checking from behind), 10:05.
Third Period-4, Prince Albert, Novak 2 (Chipchura, May), 9:37 (pp). Penalties-Alexander, Everett (hold stick), 2:22; Heshka, Everett (holding), 8:41.
Overtime-No goals. Penalties-Potuer, Everett (delay of game), 1:50.
Shootout-Everett 3 (Lammers NG, Heshka G, Doyle G, Hromas G); Prince Albert 2 (Seitsonen NG, Novak G, Chipchura G, Thelen NG).
Shots on goal-Prince Albert 4-4-8-5-21. Everett 5-14-3-1-23. Power-play opportunities-Prince Albert 1 of 4. Everett 0 of 4.
Goalies-Prince Albert, Deckert 4-6 (23 shots, 21 saves). Everett, Irving 14-11 (21 shots, 19 saves).