Pre-Playoff Articles

[Tipped Off]

Seattle Times

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/hockey/2002880224_silvertips22n.html

Silvertips defender braces for showdown in playoffs
By Jim Riley

Special to The Seattle Times


Related

Under the Helmet

Put Shaun Heshka and Logan Stephenson in the same rink without skates and sticks, and they might become fast friends.

Put them on opposite sides of the ice when a hockey game breaks out, and they really don't care for each other very much.

The two will get to know each other all too well when Heshka and the Everett Silvertips meet Stephenson and the Tri-City Americans in a best-of-seven first-round Western Hockey League playoff series beginning Friday at the Everett Events Center.

Heshka and Stephenson are two of the most respected defensemen in the WHL. Both learned first to be responsible in their own end before displaying a deft scoring touch this season.

Heshka, who always seems to be in the right position and has a knack for breaking up plays, scored 10 goals and had 49 assists to finish second in the WHL in scoring among defensemen.

Stephenson, who is about as subtle as a freight train on a steep downhill grade, showed he can also score; he had 10 goals and 53 points this season.

Although the Silvertips and Americans have developed a healthy rivalry over three seasons, Heshka said it's merely an inevitable part of playing a physical game.

"It rough on the ice, but it stays on the ice," Heshka said. "Everybody battles. That's part of being a hockey player. We know we're not a well-liked team. It's going to be an all-out war with Tri-City."

Stephenson, who had 162 penalty minutes in 71 games this season, takes the rivalry a little more personally.

"I don't know what it is about that franchise," Stephenson said when asked about Everett. "We just don't like them and they don't like us."

The Silvertips won the U.S. Division championship with a 40-27-2-3 record, but they come into the playoffs having lost four of their last five since clinching the title.

The Americans, 30-35-4-3 and fourth in the division, limped into the playoffs with only three wins in their last 10 games.

The Silvertips held the upper hand during the regular season, compiling a 7-2-1-0 record against the Americans.

The Silvertips were especially dominant against the Americans at the Everett Events Center, finishing with a 5-0 record while outscoring Tri-City 27-7.

Stephenson knows the numbers. He just doesn't consider them important.

"Whoever makes the playoffs has a chance," Stephenson said. "Things always happen in the playoffs that are amazing, things you would never think. The only thing that really matters is what happens after you make the playoffs."

Everett coach Kevin Constantine and team captain Torrie Wheat also know the regular season means little.

"The playoffs are the second season, and in hockey the second season is always more important than the first," Constantine said. "Over the course of the three seasons we've had an extremely competitive series with the Americans. We think they're very talented."

Wheat knows the division banner the Silvertips have already hung from the rafters won't matter in the playoffs.

"It was nice to win the division, but now it's the first round and no one cares about the regular season," Wheat said. "The Americans are a tough team and really grind down low. It's not going to be much fun."

The Americans are led in scoring by Ian McDonald, who finished third in the WHL scoring race with 37 goals and an amazing 55 assists. McDonald either scored or had a helper on 48.9 percent of Tri-City's 188 goals this season.

The key matchup in the series is Everett's offense against Tri-City goaltender Carey Price.

After being selected in the first round of the 2005 NHL entry draft by the Montreal Canadiens with the fifth overall pick, Price had something of a lackluster season.

Price allowed an average of 2.87 goals a game (18th in the WHL) with a mediocre 90.6 save percentage, numbers far below those of Everett goaltender Leland Irving, who allowed only 1.91 goals a game with a 92.5 save percentage.

Still, the Silvertips know what Price can do.

"He's good and he's going to be hard to score on," Constantine said. "We don't really have strategies to change our offense against different goaltenders, so we just have to play hard, get some shots and try to get second opportunities."

Wheat knows the biggest battle will be fought directly in front of Price.

"It's going to be a real grind down low against those guys all series," Wheat said. "Price is an awesome goalie, so we have to try to take him out of the game by screening him and not letting him see shots, and then getting to the net and banging in the rebounds he doesn't have a chance to save."

Heshka believes the first two games of the series in Everett are crucial. "That's why you battle all year to get that home-ice advantage," he said. "We know Tri-City is going to come out hard in our rink. It's critical that we get a good start."

[Tipped Off]

WHL's Hatfields and McCoys?
The Silvertips and Americans are not overly fond of one another

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer


EVERETT - When the Everett Silvertips traveled to Tri-City for the first time this season on Oct. 8, there was a friendly pregame ceremony.

Tri-City came close to moving to Chilliwack, British Columbia, last spring, and Everett was one of the teams that supported the team remaining in Kennewick, helping block the move. That night the Americans thanked the Silvertips for their support.

That may have been the last cordial moment shared between the two teams.

Though no one is willing to state it outright, it's clear that the first-round playoff opponents are not fond of one another.

"I think there's some (animosity)," said Everett left wing Brennan Sonne, who featured prominently in some of the highest-profile incidents. "But it's like that with all teams, really. When you play a team 10 times in a season there's built-up anger."

Tri-City leading scorer Ian McDonald agrees: "I think it's just good old-fashioned hockey. When you play 10 times you kind of get tired of looking at the guy across from you. But there's not that much bad blood."

Perhaps. But from antics on the ice to actions off it, the relationship between Everett and Tri-City this season has been strained.

The animosity seems to stem from differing philosophies on how to play the game.

Since Everett came into the league, coach Kevin Constantine has stressed discipline. The Tips compiled the fewest penalty minutes in the league in each of their three seasons, in large part because they rarely fight and religiously avoid rough stuff after the whistle.

Meanwhile, under coach Don Nachbaur, Tri-City has taken a more-rugged tack. The Americans focus on toughness, hitting hard and controlling the game with their physical play.

Those differences in philosophy have been magnified this season based on each team's personnel. Everett has a wealth of speed and skill, but most of it is young and the team has little in the way of size. In contrast, the Americans have one of the biggest teams in the league, but are lacking in speed and skill.

The net result has been a heavy dose of Tri-City physical play directed at the Tips, and a steady stream of Americans headed to the penalty box. To Everett the Americans come across as thugs, and to Tri-City the Tips come across as whiners. And whether those labels are deserved or not, they've stuck in the minds of the opposing fans.

To no surprise, neither team believes the label is warranted.

"As far as crossing the line (physically), I don't think we do that," said Tri-City defenseman Logan Stephenson, who's been involved in his share of incidents against Everett. "Sometimes things happen on the ice, but on the ice it's a heated environment. You can't say we're crossing the line, it's just that in the heat of the game things happen."

Said Everett center Mark Kress: "In other team's buildings you take boos as cheers. So when you hear them booing at you, you must be doing something right. We're not a complaining team or a whining team. We're just out there battling hard."

Trouble began brewing before the season even started. During the preseason Tri-City's Jason Beeman laid a hit on Everett's Taylor Ellington, leaving Ellington with a concussion. Everett sent videotape of the hit to the league for review and Beeman was suspended.

That was just the beginning. Everett sent a total of three tapes to the league for review this season. All three happened to be against the Americans and all three resulted in Tri-City suspensions. In addition to Beeman, Aaron Boogaard was suspended for a kneeing incident that kept Ryan Sawka out for a month, and goaltender Carey Price was suspended for hitting a face-down Damir Alic in the back of the head with his blocker.

That didn't exactly endear Everett to Tri-City.

"We've never sent in a tape on any of their players," Nachbaur said. "I can't think of another team in the league that's done that. But that's part of their makeup. It's part of the rules that you can ask for supplemental discipline if you pay for it. I'm not a big believer in that part, but that's the way it goes. There have been moments this year where my players have been subjected to the same things they sent to the league and we've chosen to look the other way. It's a difference in philosophies."

Constantine defended the actions: "Those are situations where there were serious injuries to players on our team with hits the refs missed. The league asks us to send those in. That has nothing to do with Tri-City, it has to do with our players being injured and helping the league make the right decision on what should happen in those cases."

The penalty situation is also a bone of contention. In the teams' 10 meetings this season, Everett was awarded 76 penalties to Tri-City's 44, a discrepancy the Americans are none too happy about.

"If you look at the power plays and penalty kills, it's heavily lopsided in somebody's favor," Nachbaur said. "In our games we played under the rules of the WHL, we sat in the penalty box and paid the price. Why did that happen? Who knows. You can speculate."

The empirical evidence indicates that Everett should have little trouble winning the series. The Tips finished 10 wins ahead in the standings, won the season series 7-2-1-0 and outscored Tri-city 34-15 in those games.

But even if the Tips win the series, the question remains that given the type of physical punishment the Americans like to level against Everett, will the Tips still be in one piece when it's over?

[Tipped Off]

Silvertips enter playoffs missing just two defensemen


By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer


EVERETT - The Everett Silvertips played the final week of the regular season with an eye towards getting healthy for the playoffs.

The strategy seems to have paid off.

When the first round begins Friday against Tri-City, Everett will have more players available than it has had in months.

Everett has battled injuries all season, missing as many as six regulars at one time. But the only players who are in doubt for Friday are defensemen Cody Thoring and Zach Sim.

"No Sim, and it doesn't look like Thoring's going to be ready," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "Other than that, everybody else should be available."

Thoring, who's been out a month with an ankle sprain, is back skating again. However, he is not yet participating in practice.

Sim, who is a healthy scratch when everyone's available, is done for the season with a shoulder injury.

Defenseman Taylor Ellington also missed Wednesday's practice because of illness.

Slap shots: The Tips have unveiled a variety of creative hairdos for the playoffs. Inspired by the double-pronged bleach-blond Mohawk Damir Alic's been wearing for several weeks, a number of players are now sporting their own version. The most flamboyant belongs to defenseman Jonathan Harty, who has a lime-green central Mohawk flanked by a pair of blond ones. ... The Tips are seeking to white out the Everett Events Center for their home playoff games. All fans are encouraged to wear white to create a sea of white in the stands. ... A tailgate party, complete with deejay, is being held at the Everett Events Center prior to Saturday's Game 2.

[Tipped Off]

Nick's picks
Herald writer Nick Patterson's predicitions for the rest of the first round of the 2006 WHL playoffs


Seeding numbers in parentheses:

Western Conference

Seattle (2) vs. Portland (3)

Synopsis: Portland finished 10-3-0-2 in its last 15 games and, with playmaker Brandon Dubinsky back from a knee injury, the Winter Hawks have a better offense than Seattle. However, the biggest mismatch in the series is in goal, where the T-birds have a playoff-tested 20-year-old in Bryan Bridges and Portland has a 16-year-old rookie who earned the job by default in Kurtis Mucha. And Seattle hammered Portland in the season series.

Prediction: Seattle in six games.

B.C. Division Vancouver (1) vs. Prince George (4)

Synopsis: Much has been made of the fact that Prince George won the season series 6-2 and that Vancouver hasn't beaten the Cougars since October. Irrelevant. In the playoffs the cream tends to rise to the top and Vancouver is as good as it gets in the Western Conference.

Prediction: Vancouver in five games.

Kelowna (2) vs. Kootenay (3)

Synopsis: This should be the most-competitive series of the first round. Both teams have plenty of ability, ample playoff experience and played well late in the season. It could come down to home-ice advantage and should be a dandy.

Prediction: Kelowna in seven games.

Eastern Conference

East Division Moose Jaw (1) vs. Brandon (4)

Synopsis: Moose Jaw was the highest-scoring team in the league and features a slew of explosive offensive players. However, Brandon was one of the most improved teams in the second half of the season and has a goaltender in Tyler Plante who took the Wheat Kings to the WHL finals last season.

Prediction: Brandon in seven games.

Saskatoon (2) vs. Regina (3)

Synopsis: Saskatoon made a flurry of deals at the trade deadline, emerging with an offensive juggernaut but a vulnerable back end. Regina is capable of scoring too, but the Pats don't have the goaltending capable of turning back the Blades.

Prediction: Saskatoon in six games.

Central Division Medicine Hat (1) vs. Swift Current (4)

Synopsis: Although Swift Current had the worst record of any team that made the playoffs, the Broncos actually picked up their play late in the season. However, there's a reason Medicine Hat finished with the best record in the WHL.

Prediction: Medicine Hat in five games.

Calgary (2) vs. Lethbridge (3)

Synopsis: The good news for Lethbridge: Because of the World Figure Skating Championships the Hurricanes begin the series at home, even though the Hitmen have home-ice advantage. The bad news for Lethbridge: The Hurricanes limped into the playoffs and are facing a goaltender in Justin Pogge who was rated the No. 1 prospect in the entire Canadian Hockey League.

Prediction: Calgary in five games.

[Tipped Off]

Head-to-head breakdown
A look at how the Silvertips and Americans match up


Here's how the Everett Silvertips and Tri-City Americans match up heading into their first-round Western Hockey League playoff series:


Elizabeth Armstrong / The Herald

Everett's Brady Calla and Matt Swaby of Tri-City battle for the puck during a game in December. Calla and the Silvertips defeated the Americans in seven of 10 meetings during the regular season.
Offense

Everett, which relied heavily on its defense in its first two seasons, found its offense this season. The Tips scored 203 goals during the regular season, 36 more than they'd ever scored before. Everett has a wealth of offensive skill and can field two scoring lines - the 911 line of Zach Hamill, John Lammers and Brady Calla, as well as the trio of Peter Mueller, Torrie Wheat and Ondrej Fiala - that opponents have to worry about. Hamill, Lammers, Mueller and Wheat each averaged better than a point a game.

Tri-City does not have the same offensive options.

Ian McDonald had an impressive season, finishing third in the league in scoring. Jason Beeman and Matt Schneider also are capable of scoring, but their offense is generated as much from hard work as from skill. The Americans were dealt a significant blow when Juraj Gracik (22 goals, 23 assists) suffered a knee injury late in the season. He's out for the series.

Edge: Everett

Defense

Tri-City's defense was dire to start the season. The Americans had a quality defenseman in Logan Stephenson, but little else. But Tri-City addressed the problem, acquiring defensemen Nicolaus Knudsen, Landon Jones and Cole Butterfield. Those acquisitions helped tighten the Americans' defense considerably, but it still isn't air tight - Tri-City allowed 221 goals during the regular season. Stephenson has become an elite player, but the depth is questionable.

Everett also had a rocky start to the season defensively. The increase in offense was met by a corresponding slip in defense as a youthful group needed time to settle in. However, with first-team Western Conference all-star Shaun Heshka leading the way, Everett got back to its steady defensive ways. Jason Fransoo has been ever present, and youngsters Jonathan Harty, Taylor Ellington and Graham Potuer gained confidence as the season progressed. The Tips will miss the veteran presence of Cody Thoring, who is not expected to be available when the series begins because of a sprained ankle.

Edge: Everett

Goaltending

Tri-City's Carey Price is considered by many to be the best goaltender in the Western Conference. He was selected fifth overall in the 2005 NHL Draft by Montreal and is thought to be on the fast track to stardom. However, Price's numbers this season were ordinary as he finished 19th in the league in goals against average and 18th in save percentage. He also didn't fare well against Everett. He did record one shutout against the Tips, but also was yanked twice. Price does have two years worth of playoff experience and has traditionally performed well in the postseason.

Everett's Leland Irving had a spectacular first season as the Tips' No. 1 netminder. He led the league in minutes played and finished third in wins, goals against average and save percentage. He could join Price as a first-round NHL draft pick in June. However, he's still a youthful 17-year-old without a single minute of playoff experience.

Edge: Tri-City

Special teams

Since day one Everett was one of the top penalty-killing teams in the league, and that continued this season as the Tips ranked fifth in the league. This season Everett also added a lethal power play that ranked fourth in the league.

Tri-City was more around the league average in special teams. The Americans were a solid seventh on the power play, but a pedestrian 13th on the penalty kill. Everett was 16-for-76 on the power play against Tri-City this season, while the Americans were 5-for-44 against Everett.

Edge: Everett

Coaching

Don Nachbaur did a fantastic job with the Americans this season. Tri-City was ranked dead last in the Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association preseason poll, and the first month of the season it appeared that ranking was justified. However, Nachbaur molded the Americans into a .500 team, despite limited talent to work with.

Everett's Kevin Constantine has had to deal with one of the youngest rosters in the league and a season-long injury crisis. Nevertheless, Everett coasted to the U.S. Division championship, the second time in three seasons Constantine guided the Tips to the title. His teams have won four playoff series the past two seasons.

Edge: Everett

Overall

Everett controlled the season series, winning seven of the 10 games and outscoring Tri-City 34-15 in the process. The Tips were particularly dominant at home, winning all five meetings with only one of those games decided by fewer than three goals. Price is the type of goaltender who can steal games. But the offensively limited Americans still need to score goals, and Irving is no slouch.

Prediction: Everett in six games.

Nick Patterson

[Tipped Off]

Does a goalie's age matter?
Young goalies usually don't fare well in playoffs, but Tips trust their 17-year-old goaltender Leland Irving

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer


EVERETT - There's an old adage in the Western Hockey League. It states that a team can't win in the playoffs with a young goaltender.


Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

At 17, Silvertips goalie Leland Irving could be a liability in the intense glare of the WHL playoffs.
There's a certain logic behind the adage. Talent can take a player or team a long way. However, in the playoffs the pressure is ratcheted up several notches, and conventional wisdom says that experience is the best foil for pressure. In hockey, no position faces more pressure than the goaltender.

As a result, teams that consider themselves championship contenders tend to turn toward a veteran in net.

For the Everett Silvertips, it's up to their own version of Clark Kent to prove that adage wrong.




* n n

Leland Irving has all the characteristics of a comic book superhero. Mild mannered and reserved in his alter ego - he even sports the obligatory spectacles off the ice - he is nonetheless capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound when he dons his hockey costume.

But those who know the 17-year-old only through his even-keeled off-ice demeanor may mistake Irving for a future accountant rather than one of the best goaltenders in the WHL.

"He's just a relaxed and calm guy," Everett right wing Brady Calla said about Irving's demeanor. "He's a very poised individual and he's a very nice overall."

Relaxed and in control both on and off the ice, Irving has caused fits for opponents this season. Irving compiled numbers that belie his age. In his first season as Everett's No. 1, Irving went 37-22-1-3 and finished third in the league in both goals against average (1.91) and save percentage (.925). He was named the Western Conference second-team all-star goaltender and is considered a potential first-round pick in the upcoming NHL draft.

Not bad for a player who comes from humble goaltending roots. He discovered goaltending while growing up in Swan Hills, Alberta, simply because he and his older brother, Kirk, were forced to take turns in goal while the other one took shots. And Irving didn't take to goaltending right away.

"I just liked the equipment," Irving said with a chuckle. "But I prefered to be in the center of the action."

As time passed Irving realized he was a better goaltender than a skater, and he progressed to the point where Everett used a modest fifth-round Bantam Draft pick on Irving in 2003.

Irving served capably as Michael Wall's backup last season as a 16-year-old rookie. The Tips then showed their faith in Irving when they traded Wall before this season began. Irving took over as the No. 1 and the Tips didn't skip a beat, with Irving maintaining his calm demeanor throughout.

"I'd say my personality is very representative of how I play," Irving said. "I try to keep an even keel. In the heat of a game you can't allow yourself to get too high after a great save, and you can't get too low if they do score."

But just like superheroes, looks can be deceiving.

"I think there's some deception there," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "I think anybody who competes as hard as he does isn't necessarily laid back. I think underneath a calm exterior is a pretty competitive kid."

* n n

Flash back to opening night. Everett had just lost 6-4 at Kamloops. Kamloops Daily News sports editor Gregg Drinnan, in his postgame questions, asked almost exclusively about Irving and whether Constantine was comfortable with a 17-year-old in goal.

"Coaches simply don't have confidence in young goaltenders, no matter whether they are 16 or 17 or even, in some cases, 18," Drinnan, the dean of WHL sportswriters, explained. "Any time a team begins a season with a 17-year-old goaltender, and if that team looks to have a shot at being competitive, I always look for a trade."

Teams with championship aspirations simply don't choose youth in goal, with good reason: Young goaltenders don't win titles. Over the past 10 years, only one WHL champion rode a young goaltender - In 2000 Kootenay was backstopped by 16-year-old Dan Blackburn. Among the other nine champions, three had 20-year-olds in goal, three had 19-year-olds and three had 18-year-olds.

Therefore, Irving and the Tips are up against history.

"I think teams like to go with a guy who's proven himself through the regular season and playoffs," Irving said. "I guess you could say we took a risk this year by trading Wallsey and going with me. But the coaches had confidence in me, and that gave me the confidence that I could take the load, even being as young as I am."

By this point Irving isn't your ordinary 17-year-old. He's already played 90 games in the WHL. This season he led the league in minutes played and started 66 of the Tips' 72 games. By all rights he can be considered a veteran.

And although youthful championship goaltenders are a rarity, Irving needn't look far to find a young goaltender who came close. Last season Brandon's Tyler Plante, then a 17-year-old, carried the Wheat Kings all the way to the WHL finals.

"We definitely have the utmost confidence in him," Everett defenseman Shaun Heshka said of Irving. "He's been here all year, he's played a lot of games and he knows what it takes to win. I don't have a worry in my mind that he's not going to come out ready."

* n n

Everett is not considered a favorite to win the WHL championship. Though the Tips finished first in the U.S. Division, a half-dozen teams are considered better candidates to raise the WHL championship banner. Popular belief is that Everett's time will come the following two seasons - with a playoff-tested Irving in goal.

But when the Tips have been fully healthy this season, they've been as competitive as anyone. And Everett is nearly back to full health heading into the playoffs. They're not of the mindset to be satisfied with reaching the second round.

But for Everett to prove the prognosticators wrong, the Tips will have to play beyond their years.

And Irving will have to prove one of the WHL's most-revered beliefs untrue.

[Tipped Off]

Ams set for playoff opener
This story was published Friday, March 24th, 2006

By Annie Fowler, Herald staff writer

The Tri-City Americans and Everett Silvertips know each other quite well, having played 10 regular-season games in the U.S. Division.

But the playoffs are a whole other beast. What you know about a team may be valuable, but it may no longer be applicable.

"Because they are in our division, we know a lot about them, but you never know what they will throw at you," said Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur of the Silvertips. "If you really break it down, they have had everyone's number this year. They may be a better hockey team, but does that mean they are going to win the series?"

The best-of-7 series begins tonight in Everett, with Game 2 following Saturday night at the Everett Events Center. The series will shift to Toyota Center on Tuesday and Wednesday. Games will alternate between sites after that, if necessary.

The Silvertips (40-27-2-3) won the U.S. Division title for the second time in three years. Everett scored a franchise-record 203 goals this season, while allowing 156 goals -- the second-fewest in the WHL.

"They get five guys back to the front of the net and they protect it very well," Nachbaur said. "You have to find different ways to score against them."

The Americans (30-35-4-3), who lost the season series to the Silvertips 7-3, come into the playoffs having dropped seven of their final 10 regular-season games. Tri-Cities was chasing Portland for third place but fell short when the Winter Hawks beat Seattle on Saturday.

"There are areas we have to clean up, but that doesn't mean we don't play hard," Nachbaur. "We are going to use our assets and we are going to push hard on that."

The Americans have relied heavily on Ian McDonald, Jason Beeman, Matt Schneider and Juraj Gracik for the bulk of their scoring. The four accounted for 112 of the team's 188 goals this season, but when it comes to playing the Silvertips, the four have combined for just seven goals.

Tri-Cities will be without Gracik, who sprained his knee March 11 after taking a hit from Spokane's Adam Hobson.

"That is just part of hockey," Nachbaur said. "What defines good teams is interjecting players who don't play much and keep the team rolling."

Defensively, Tri-Cities will look to Logan Stephenson (10 goals, 53 points). Stephenson leads the Americans in scoring against the Silvertips with two goals and seven points. Schneider has three goals, while McDonald, Alex Aldred and Igor Bacek have two.

With both teams averaging fewer than three goals per game, goaltending could be the difference in the series. Everett's Leland Irving posted a 6-2-1 record and a 1.43 goals-against average against Tri-Cities.

The Americans have one of the top goaltenders in the league in Carey Price, who has struggled at times against the Silvertips this season but has the ability to dictate a series.

Price proved that his rookie season (2003-04) when he displaced veteran Tyler Weiman and beat Portland 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs, allowing just eight goals over the five games.

"We know that Leland Irving will be in their net. He's their No. 1 guy and he's played pretty well against us," Nachbaur said. "Carey has always been our No. 1 guy, but that doesn't mean we aren't afraid to put Chet (Pickard) in -- he's done a nice relief job for us this year. Carey has a lot of experience in the playoffs -- in big games and big series."

Everett has the advantage playing at home, where it posted a 25-9-0-2 record, but its road record was not as impressive (15-18-2-1).

"They've done a hell of a job and they've earned our respect," Nachbaur said. "We are going to have to be our best to come away with a victory. I just hope we can get an even playing field."

The Silvertips are the least penalized team in the league with 1,013 minutes. The Americans have 1,468 penalty minutes and drew supplemental discipline from the league three times after Everett coach Kevin Constantine petitioned the WHL.

Between Beeman, Price and Aaron Boogaard, they sat out a total of five games.

"It's time for the playoffs and all the whining and diving are not going to be viewed the same as the regular season," Beeman said. "But you do have to watch your hits, which takes all the fun out of the game. It's not fun. It's not hockey. It's like men playing against little boys. I hate that that's happened to hockey. If you can't handle the rough stuff, play baseball."