Seattle snaps win streak

[Tipped Off]

Posted : : 01/21/2006
Seattle Snaps Everett’s 4 Game Winning Streak
Silvertips Fall to Thunderbirds in Shoot Out
Everett Silvertips Press Release

Everett, WA - Tonight the Everett Silvertips broke their four game winning streak after a loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds after a shoot out. The game ended with Seattle on top 3-2. This was the fourth of eleven meetings between these US Division rivals and Everett sits at 2-1-0-1 against the Thunderbirds. Still in first place, the Everett Silvertips gained a point and now rest at 57 and a 27-15-2-1 record. Seattle, still tied for third place, has 44 points and a 20-20-1-3 history.

Damir Alic scored first at 3:38 of the opening period with a shot off of a rebound. This was his second career WHL goal. Cody Thoring and Jonathan Harty posted the helpers. Later in the period, Chris Durand evened it up at one a piece on a Seattle power play. Robert Klinkhammer and Thomas Hickey earned the assists. The first closed at 1-1 as did the second period. At fifteen minutes of the third Kyle Pess found a hole and pushed the Thunderbirds on top 2-1, with Aaron Gagnon receiving the assist. But hope was not lost and Zach Hamill tied it up a bit over three minutes later with Karel Hromas and Peter Mueller tallying the assists. The regulation play ended still tied at 2-2 as did the short overtime period. In the shoot out, Aaron Gagnon earned the game winning goal to propel Seattle to a 3-2 win over the Silvertips.

In the pipes for Everett was Leland Irving. Irving stopped 23 of 25 Thunderbird shots but receives his first shoot out loss of the season. His record sits at 24-13-1-1. Kevin Opsahl, the Seattle netminder, made 33 saves on 35 shots and boosts his record to 16-16-0-3. Everett went scoreless with seven chances at the extra man advantage while Seattle converted on one of six opportunities. The Silvertips out shot the Thunderbirds 35-26.

The Everett Silvertips are home again tomorrow night, Saturday January 21st, where they will drop the puck against the Vancouver Giants. The game begins at 7:05pm.

Silvertips Box Scores

Damir Alic (2) 1 G
Zach Hamill (14) 1 G
Cody Thoring 1 A
Jonathan Harty 1 A
Karel Hromas 1 A
Peter Mueller 1 A
Leland Irving (24-13-1-1): 23/25 saves
Power Play: Everett 0/7, Seattle 1/6
Shots on Goal: Everett 35, Seattle 26
Attendance: 8,099

3 Stars of the Game

1. Kevin Opsahl (SEA)
2. Jesse Smyke (EVT)
3. Kyle Pess (SEA)

[Tipped Off]

Opsahl had a good game. He stopped pretty much everything the Tips threw at him.

Mueller & Fiala looked tired from their travels. They both played slow. Irving held up alright, but was out of position quite a bit. Calla was scratched. The paper this morning said Constantine hadn't made up his mind whether they would play or not tonight. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think they'd have been better off sitting and, my feeling is, if it wasn't parents weekend, they would have.

I will be curious to see if any/all of them sit tomorrow Vs. Vancouver.

[Beaner]

You guys play Seattle 11 times??? Holy _________. And you've only played them 4 times this year?

7 out of your last 27 games are against Seattle, talk about building a rivalry.

[Tipped Off]

counting tonight, 8 times from mid-january to the end of the season. The bright side is, there's not a lot of travel in Seattle games...lol.

[Beaner]

counting tonight, 8 times from mid-january to the end of the season. The bright side is, there's not a lot of travel in Seattle games...lol.

LOL, yeah no complaints from you Tip fans about a brutal travel schedule, for the rest of the year. :p

[rinkrat]

Apparantley the Tips and the T Birds play at home the same nights,ALOT.I forget the actual number,but they were discussing it on the radio...
You'd think they would co ordinate the schedule to allow fans to attend either game.

[Kristi]

Opsahl had a good game. He stopped pretty much everything the Tips threw at him.

Mueller & Fiala looked tired from their travels. They both played slow. Irving held up alright, but was out of position quite a bit. Calla was scratched. The paper this morning said Constantine hadn't made up his mind whether they would play or not tonight. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think they'd have been better off sitting and, my feeling is, if it wasn't parents weekend, they would have.

I will be curious to see if any/all of them sit tomorrow Vs. Vancouver.


I talked to Brady last night and he said he wasn't feeling well. He looked really tired. That is the first game he has missed (when he was here and not off at a tournament or prospect game) while playing for Everett. He said he was going to most likely play tonight.

He's probably banged up a little bit too. He played close to 90 games last season with the Tips, Team Pacific and Team Canada and has played every game this year with the Tips. That eventually catches up to you. Too bad his ironman streak came to an end.

[Tipped Off]

I think it was good that he sat. Again, hindsight is 20/20, but I thought Mueller and Fials could have used a rest as well...and this is coming from someone who questioned Mueller's week off after the U17 tourni. I just thought a couple games last weekend, a flight across the country, the media, skills challenge, practice and the game, then a flight back all the way across the country is just a lot to ask from someone & it showed. So, instead of having the boys rested for tonight's game against a team you may fight for position with in the 2nd round of the playoffs, you've still got a tired team.

Just my 2 cents.

[Tipped Off]

Tips lose their first shootout


By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer


EVERETT - Normally when the clock hits 65 minutes, the Everett Silvertips can chalk up a deuce in the points column.

But a piece of Everett perfection came to an end Friday night.

Everett lost a shootout for the first time in franchise history, falling 3-2 to the Seattle Thunderbirds before 8,099 fans at the Everett Events Center.

Bud Holloway and Aaron Gagnon scored in the shootout for Seattle, which prevailed in the shootout 2-1. Everett had won all five of its previous shootouts.

"Anybody can win the shootout, that's kind of the point of the shootout," said Everett center Zach Hamill, who scored the tying goal late in the game and also was the only Silvertip to convert in the shootout. "We got a point out of it, it would have been nice to get two, but they worked hard for the win and they deserve it. They played a good hockey game tonight."

Seattle goaltender Kevin Opsahl, making his first start for the T-birds since arriving from Lethbridge via trade, got stronger as the game progressed, then stopped three shots in the shootout. Chris Durand and Kyle Pess scored in regulation for Seattle (20-20-1-3), which won in Everett for the first time since Jan. 28, 2004, breaking a seven-game losing streak at the Everett Events Center.

Damir Alic scored Everett's other goal and Leland Irving made 23 stops in goal for the Tips (27-15-2-1), who saw their four-game winning streak halted.

Seattle was well worth its win. At times the T-birds resembled the Tips with the way they blocked shots, and Everett needed Hamill's goal with less than two minutes remaining just to reach overtime.

"I thought both teams played hard and well," Seattle coach Rob Sumner said. "I thought it was a very tight game, obviously. We're happy we got the extra point. The way that game was going back and forth and the way both teams really wanted, going to overtime and a shootout was an appropriate result."

Everett created its share of scoring chances, outshooting Seattle 35-25. However, Seattle skaters blocked several big shots, and those that weren't blocked were usually stopped by Opsahl. The Tips also were unable to take advantage of several juicy rebounds early in the game.

"I didn't have a lot of complaints about the chances we were getting, we just didn't put it in," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "I thought their goalie played really well. For most of the game we were comfortable with the way the game was played, and then we felt fortunate to get a point by the end."

When the shootout arrived, Everett mixed up its shooter order, with Hamill replacing Peter Mueller as the leadoff shooter. Hamill scored to give Everett the lead, but Opsahl stoned Shaun Heshka and Mueller, then forced John Lammers to shoot wide on the final shot to end the game.

Everett forced overtime with 1:38 remaining in regulation and Irving pulled for and extra skater. Mueller won a faceoff going forward from the right circle and although his shot was saved, Hamill was able to sweep the rebound in to tie it.

Everett opened the scoring 3:38 into the game when Alic batted a rebound out of the air and into the net. Seattle tied it at 17:03 of the first period on Durand's rebound goal on the power play. The T-birds then took the lead at 15:00 of the third period, Pess putting the puck in after Cody Thoring's clearing attempt landed right on his stick in the slot.

Slap shots: Three of Everett's four players who returned from the CHL Top Prospects Game in Ottawa - Irving, Mueller and Ondrej Fiala - had recovered enough to dress Friday. The one exception was right wing Brady Calla, who was rested. It was the first time in his Everett career that Calla missed a game for a reason other than being away at another hockey function. ... Opsahl came into the game 2-1 career against Everett, including defeating the Tips 4-2 on Nov. 5 playing for Lethbridge.

Thunderbirds 3, Silvertips 2 (SO)

Seattle 1 0 1 0-3

Everett 1 0 1 0-2

Seattle won shootout 2-1

First Period-1, Everett, Alic 2 (Thoring, Harty), 3:38. 2, Seattle, Durand 12 (Klinkhammer, Hickey), 17:03 (pp). Penalties-Grossman, Seattle (holding), 4:24; Harper, Everett (tripping), 8:23; Durand, Seattle (tripping), 12:44; Smyke, Everett (high sticking), 15:10; Johnson, Seattle (hooking), 19:46.

Second Period-No goals. Penalties-Olson, Seattle (delay of game), 7:16; Heshka, Everett (slashing), 16:17; Tomanek, Seattle (high sticking), 16:50.

Third Period-3, Seattle, Pess 12 (Gagnon), 15:00. 4, Everett, Hamill 14 (Hromas, Mueller), 18:22. Penalties-Stamler, Seattle (interference), 3:06; Wheat, Everett (roughing), 3:11; Everett bench (too many men, served by Sonne), 6:17; Durand, Seattle (slashing), 11:08.

Overtime-No goals. Penalties-Heshka, Everett (high sticking), 4:57.

Shootout-Seattle 2 (Tomanek NG, Holloway G, Durand NG, Gagnon G); Everett 1 (Hamill G, Heshka NG, Mueller NG, Lammers NG).

Shots on goal-Seattle 12-3-8-2-25. Everett 7-9-15-4-35. Power-play opportunities-Seattle 1 of 6. Everett 0 of 7.

Goalies-Seattle, Opsahl 16-16-0-3 (35 shots, 33 saves). Everett, Irving 23-14-1-1 (25 shots, 23 saves).