Tipped Off
01-18-2006, 01:36 PM
No love lost in series between Everett, Tri-City
By Jim Riley, Seattle Times
Maybe it's the contrasting styles, or that familiarity really does breed contempt, but it's obvious the Tri-City Americans and Everett Silvertips don't much care for each other.
The teams have played seven times this season, and each game seems to bring a new chapter of controversy and contention.
No team gets booed more than the Americans at the Everett Events Center, and there aren't many cheers to welcome the Silvertips to the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
Everett is a fast, finesse team that takes few penalties. Tri-City is a big, brawny team that hears whistles all the time.
Put them together on the same ice, and things heat up.
It started in the preseason when Tri-City's Jason Beeman clobbered Taylor Ellington, a hit that drew no penalty but did get a two-game suspension.
It continued Jan. 7 when Tri-City's Aaron Boogaard wasn't penalized by the referee for a knee-to-knee hit on Ryan Sawka but earned two games off from the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Then during Everett's 8-1 rout of the Americans last Wednesday, Tri-City goaltender Carey Price drew a one-game suspension for hitting Damir Alic with his blocker as Alic lay prone on the ice.
In each case, the suspensions came after Everett sent a videotape to the league office seeking retribution.
In the WHL, justice doesn't come cheaply. It costs $500 to send in a videotape and request the league to examine it, a sum the league keeps if it deems the complaint to be without merit.
"In four of the last eight games we've played against Tri-City, they've had a player suspended," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said, going back to last season.
"We don't have a history of sending in tapes to the league, but these were just so blatant and obvious and so repetitive against us that we felt we had to."
Constantine, who was given a penalty and warned by the league when he tossed his jacket after Price got only a two-minute penalty for his two jabs at Alic, said the league needed to be made aware of the situation.
"We had a fear, because of four suspensions in eight games, it was going to get even more out of hand," Constantine said. "Something's been going on."
Obviously, the league was listening. Besides meting out the suspensions, it apparently told its referees to be on the lookout for penalties.
In the Silvertips' 3-2 shootout win over Tri-City on Monday night, referee Chris Savage called 20 penalties in the first two periods against the two teams to try to calm things down.
Then, in the third period and in the overtime, he did not call a single penalty against either team.
"I think it was a message to both teams that he was going to call everything he saw," Constantine said. "It was the right thing to do. It was kind of crazy that everything was a penalty one period and nothing was after that."
Everett leads the season series with Tri-City 5-1-1-0. Three games between them remain in the regular season. The next chapter is scheduled Jan. 27 at the events center.
Tops in tiebreakers
With its win over Tri-City on Monday, the Silvertips are 5-0 in shootouts this season and tied with Calgary for the best record in the league in the tiebreaker.
The Silvertips have scored 11 goals on 14 attempts in the shootouts, a success rate of 78.6 percent that tops the WHL. Everett goaltenders Leland Irving and Matt Esposito, meanwhile, have combined to stop 10 of 15 shots.
Thriving on noise
During his shootout win on Monday, Esposito hardly looked like a 5-foot-6 rookie who is only 16.
Constantine said Esposito seems to enjoy pressure.
"He's better nervous than comfortable," Constantine said. "He seems to thrive on the crowd and the noise. He probably hasn't played enough yet to get comfortable, so maybe that's why he's been so good."
Constantine said Esposito will play more in the second half of the season.
"He played really good in a start in Calgary and won the last game of the first half in Seattle, so we felt, based on that, he'd get more ice time," Constantine said. "We just try to take the goaltender situation game by game."
Esposito has played in 10 games this season and allowed only 11 goals while making 126 saves.
"I'm just going to keep working hard at practice and go in whenever I have to," Esposito said. "Irv is a great goalie and a great guy to learn from."
Streaky season
The Silvertips, winners of four in a row, have been streaky this season. They have won at least four in a row four times this season and had a seven-game losing streak.
By Jim Riley, Seattle Times
Maybe it's the contrasting styles, or that familiarity really does breed contempt, but it's obvious the Tri-City Americans and Everett Silvertips don't much care for each other.
The teams have played seven times this season, and each game seems to bring a new chapter of controversy and contention.
No team gets booed more than the Americans at the Everett Events Center, and there aren't many cheers to welcome the Silvertips to the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
Everett is a fast, finesse team that takes few penalties. Tri-City is a big, brawny team that hears whistles all the time.
Put them together on the same ice, and things heat up.
It started in the preseason when Tri-City's Jason Beeman clobbered Taylor Ellington, a hit that drew no penalty but did get a two-game suspension.
It continued Jan. 7 when Tri-City's Aaron Boogaard wasn't penalized by the referee for a knee-to-knee hit on Ryan Sawka but earned two games off from the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Then during Everett's 8-1 rout of the Americans last Wednesday, Tri-City goaltender Carey Price drew a one-game suspension for hitting Damir Alic with his blocker as Alic lay prone on the ice.
In each case, the suspensions came after Everett sent a videotape to the league office seeking retribution.
In the WHL, justice doesn't come cheaply. It costs $500 to send in a videotape and request the league to examine it, a sum the league keeps if it deems the complaint to be without merit.
"In four of the last eight games we've played against Tri-City, they've had a player suspended," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said, going back to last season.
"We don't have a history of sending in tapes to the league, but these were just so blatant and obvious and so repetitive against us that we felt we had to."
Constantine, who was given a penalty and warned by the league when he tossed his jacket after Price got only a two-minute penalty for his two jabs at Alic, said the league needed to be made aware of the situation.
"We had a fear, because of four suspensions in eight games, it was going to get even more out of hand," Constantine said. "Something's been going on."
Obviously, the league was listening. Besides meting out the suspensions, it apparently told its referees to be on the lookout for penalties.
In the Silvertips' 3-2 shootout win over Tri-City on Monday night, referee Chris Savage called 20 penalties in the first two periods against the two teams to try to calm things down.
Then, in the third period and in the overtime, he did not call a single penalty against either team.
"I think it was a message to both teams that he was going to call everything he saw," Constantine said. "It was the right thing to do. It was kind of crazy that everything was a penalty one period and nothing was after that."
Everett leads the season series with Tri-City 5-1-1-0. Three games between them remain in the regular season. The next chapter is scheduled Jan. 27 at the events center.
Tops in tiebreakers
With its win over Tri-City on Monday, the Silvertips are 5-0 in shootouts this season and tied with Calgary for the best record in the league in the tiebreaker.
The Silvertips have scored 11 goals on 14 attempts in the shootouts, a success rate of 78.6 percent that tops the WHL. Everett goaltenders Leland Irving and Matt Esposito, meanwhile, have combined to stop 10 of 15 shots.
Thriving on noise
During his shootout win on Monday, Esposito hardly looked like a 5-foot-6 rookie who is only 16.
Constantine said Esposito seems to enjoy pressure.
"He's better nervous than comfortable," Constantine said. "He seems to thrive on the crowd and the noise. He probably hasn't played enough yet to get comfortable, so maybe that's why he's been so good."
Constantine said Esposito will play more in the second half of the season.
"He played really good in a start in Calgary and won the last game of the first half in Seattle, so we felt, based on that, he'd get more ice time," Constantine said. "We just try to take the goaltender situation game by game."
Esposito has played in 10 games this season and allowed only 11 goals while making 126 saves.
"I'm just going to keep working hard at practice and go in whenever I have to," Esposito said. "Irv is a great goalie and a great guy to learn from."
Streaky season
The Silvertips, winners of four in a row, have been streaky this season. They have won at least four in a row four times this season and had a seven-game losing streak.