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Tipped Off
02-04-2005, 12:14 PM
From the Everett Herald: (http://heraldnet.com/stories/05/02/04/100spo_tips001.cfm)

Silvertips coach employs unconventional strategy as to when to pull his goaltender

EVERETT - Mark Ferner has been around hockey all his life.

The Kamloops Blazers' head coach spent three years as a player in the Western Hockey League, 16 seasons as a pro and is now in his third season as a coach. But through all that time he'd never witnessed anything quite like what he saw at the Everett Events Center on Jan. 8.
That's when Everett Silvertips coach Kevin Constantine, with his team trailing 3-0, decided to lift his goaltender for an extra attacker a mere 27 seconds into the third period.

"To be quite honest, I'd never seen that before," Ferner said. "I was a little bit surprised, but obviously they were trying to create more offense."

Constantine has done more than just create a little more offense. With a simple beckoning gesture from his arm, Constantine has turned decades of hockey strategy on its head, brought arenas full of fans to the edge of their seats and created a buzz around the league.

"It's almost like a video game," Everett captain Mitch Love said. "I think the paid attendance is getting their money's worth in those third periods."

Pulling the goaltender for an extra skater is nothing new in hockey. It's a common practice in the final two minutes when a team is trailing by a goal.

But the Silvertips have taken the strategy to a level rarely - if ever - seen before. In addition to the Kamloops game, Everett has twice pulled its goaltender with 10 minutes remaining while trailing by two, and several times lifted the goaltender with about five minutes remaining and the Tips down by one. It's gotten to the point where Everett fans are constantly sneaking glances at the Everett bench when the Tips are behind in the third period.

For Constantine it's not a case of a coach's whimsy. It's born out of probability and necessity.

"How many times does a team come back from being behind in the third period?" asked Constantine, who needed to look no further than last season when Everett finished 28-0-2 when leading after two periods. "If you look at the odds around the league, I don't know what they are but I'll bet it's less than 10 percent. "My only argument is that if the tactics used the last 20 years produce success zero percent of the time, why continue with the tactics of the last 20 years?"

Everett's strategy has been met with surprise and skepticism from opponents, who think Constantine may be sending his team the wrong message.

The other thing arguing in Constantine's favor: It's worked. On Dec. 11 at Spokane, Everett fought back from a 3-1 deficit, scoring twice with the extra attacker to salvage a 3-3 tie. And in back-to-back games last Friday at home against Portland and last Saturday at Seattle, Everett got back within one by scoring goals after pulling the goaltender with about 10 minutes remaining, though the Tips ended up losing both.

The tactic also makes the game more intense, both for the players and the spectators. "All of a sudden you know that one mistake, one little error, and pucks could be in your net," Everett center Torrie Wheat said. "It just kind of gets you into that mental mindset where you're like, 'Whoa, we really have to go here.' So in a way it's good."

But all things considered, Constantine would rather not be a trail blazer in this regard. It means Everett is trailing late in the game.

"I'm not trying to innovate, I'm trying to win," Constantine said.

"(In January) we took being behind to new heights. Hopefully it's not something we have to do too often the rest of the way."