Tips Take 2-1 Lead

[Tipped Off]

Irving Turns Away 40 Shots in 2-0 Shut Out

Silvertips Lead Series 2-1
Everett, WA- April 11, 2006 Leland Irving and the Everett Silvertips shut out the Kelowna Rockets by a final score of 2-0 home at the Everett Events Center. This was game three of the Western Conference Semi-Finals and Everett now leads this best of seven series 2-1.

Peter Mueller tallied the team's first goal and his fifth of the playoffs at 13:14 of the first period. Mueller, skating from the boards into the hash marks, fired a shot that hit the cross bar and bounced in. Ondrej Fiala and newcomer Kyle Beach tallied the helpers. Then, to seal the deal at 57 seconds of the third session, Ondrej Fiala catches a rebound and slams one through the back door. Torrie Wheat earned the lone assist

In goal tonight for Everett was once again Leland Irving. Irving turned away all 40 Rocket shots to earn his third shut out of the playoffs. Derek Yeomans, also playing a great game and making some incredible saves, stopped 20 of 22. On the power play both teams were scoreless with Everett having five opportunities and Kelowna having seven. So far in the playoffs, the Silvertips have yet to give up a short-handed goal. Everett has been at a one man disadvantage 32 times. The Rockets out shot the Silvertips 40-22.

These two clubs battle again tomorrow night, Wednesday April 12th, here at the Everett Events Center. The puck drops at 7:05pm.

For tickets to tomorrows nights game click here. You can also order tickets by calling 866-332-8499. For groups of 10 or more call the Silvertips office at 425-252-5100. Groups save $4.00 per ticket off of the walk up price. You can also order tickets at the Everett Events Center Box office from 10:00 am through the end of the 2nd period.

Silvertips Box Score

Ondrej Fiala (1) 1 G, 1 A
Peter Mueller (5) 1 G
Kyle Beach 1 A
Torrie Wheat 1 A
Leland Irving (6-2): 40/40 saves
Power Play: Everett 0/5, Kelowna 0/7
Shots on Goal: Everett 22, Kelowna 40
Attendance: 4,729
3 Stars
Leland Irving (EVT)
Peter Mueller (EVT)
Derek Yeomans (KEL)

[Tipped Off]

In the first two games of their Western Conference Semi-Final versus the Everett Silvertips, the Rockets managed a total of 38 shots on goal. Tuesday, they fired 41 on ‘Tips’ goaltender Leland Irving – but it wasn’t enough.

Irving (pictured courtesy of the Everett Silvertips) was strong all game, and spectacular at times in turning back all 41 shots sent his way to lead his team to a 2-0 win in Game Three and a 2-1 series advantage. He was at his best during an 18-shot Kelowna barrage in the second period and again with Derek Yeomans on the bench for an extra attacker in the game’s waning moments. With the loss, the Rockets are in exactly the same spot they were in their opening round series that they eventually won in six games.

Everett’s Peter Mueller and Andrej Fiala were again a reliable source of offense for the Silvertips. Mueller scored the game’s first goal at 13:14 of the first period and now has been in on six of his team’s 9 goals in the series. Fiala, meanwhile, broke the Rockets’ hearts with a goal just 57 seconds into the third and only 35 after he returned from serving an interference penalty. The Rockets will need to find an answer for both soon.

Another sore spot for Kelowna was their ineffective power play that failed on seven chances in the game. Furthermore, the unit has been blanked on all of its 12 chances in the series to date. Everett has yet to give up a power play goal in the entire playoffs so far – a streak that has stretched to 32 in a row. Given the low scoring and tight checking nature of the series the value of power play chances will continue to increase dramatically. Obviously, the Rockets will be hoping to re-ignite their extra man unit that was first in the WHL in efficiency during the regular season.

Yeomans was solid in goal for Kelowna and earned third star honours before a crowd of 4,789 at the Everett Convention Center. Although he was tested only 22 times, he came up with a number of big saves – many during 5 unsuccessful power play tries for the Silvertips.

Rockets’ Head Coach, Jeff Truitt, again juggled his starting line up on Tuesday as he had on Sunday. Colin Joe earned another shot thanks to his strong performance and crucial goal in Game Two. Rookie, Tyler Myers sat as a healthy scratch for the first time in the playoffs. Forward Cody Almond returned to give the team 12 forwards and six defensemen in the game vs. 11 and 7 respectively on Sunday.

Kelowna-native Kyle Beach, who was a big reason why the Okanagan Valley First Rockets won the BC Major Midget Championship recently, made his series debut and picked up an assist on Mueller's goal. He tangled with Tyler Spurgeon early in the third period with both earning double roughing minors. Beach, who was selected by Everett in the first round of the 2005 Bantam Draft led the Valley First Rockets with 186 penalty minutes during the season to go along with his 49 points in 24 games. Like Myers, he’ll be a big time player in the WHL before too long.

As the final gun sounded Tuesday, some tempers flared when Clayton Bauer was called for checking from behind. Bauer and Mark Kress dropped the gloves during a melee that resulted in a total of 36 penalty minutes being called.

Game Four goes Wednesday at 7:05 pm in Everett.

[Swando]

Thanks - good re-cap of the game. As a Giants STH I'm hoping for a tough 7 game series--as I'm sure Tips fans are hoping Portland adds a few wins!. Good luck Tips.

[Tipped Off]

41 reasons to enjoy 18
Tips goalie Leland Irving stops all 41 shots he sees on his 18th birthday to record his third shutout of the playoffs.

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer


EVERETT - One of the burning questions facing the Everett Silvertips going into the playoffs was whether goaltender Leland Irving was ready for the postseason pressure cooker. His talent was never in question; his experience, being a playoff rookie, was.


Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

Everett goalkeeper Leland Irving (right) makes a save on a shot attempt from Kelowna's Brent Howarth (center) during the Tips 2-0 win over the Rockets Tuesday night.
But on the day he turned the page on another year, Irving produced a mature performance way beyond his years.

On his 18th birthday, Irving stopped all 41 shots he faced, and the Everett Silvertips defeated the Kelowna Rockets 2-0 in Game 3 of their second-round WHL playoff series.

"I don't think there could be a better way to celebrate a birthday," Irving said.

Irving's third shutout in eight playoff games gave the Tips a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.




"It was clearly his best game of the series so far," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said about Irving. "Tonight he was really good."

Peter Mueller scored his fourth goal of the series and Ondrej Fiala also scored for Everett, which can take command of the series with a victory in Game 4 tonight at the Everett Events Center.

But it was Irving who was the decisive factor in the game.

Kelowna had the majority of the possession and peppered the Everett goal with shots - Irving faced more shots than he did in the first two games of the series combined as the Rockets outshot the Tips 41-22. But Irving had Kelowna's number all night.

"Leland played extremely well," Kelowna coach Jeff Truitt said. "Just when we were getting a lot of pressure on, he stood tall for them and kept good opportunities out of the net."

The pick of the saves came midway through the second period. With Everett clinging to a 1-0 lead, a bad turnover in the Tips zone presented Justin Keller - the league's leading goal scorer in the regular season - with a breakaway. Keller deked to Irving's stick side, but Irving reached out his blocker to make the stop and preserve Everett's lead.

"It was just one of those nights where I was seeing everything and felt comfortable in there," Irving said. "The guys worked hard, they allowed me to see the puck and I was able to make the saves."

With Irving holding Kelowna at bay, Fiala scored the backbreaking goal 57 seconds into the third period. Torrie Wheat's shot as he crossed the blue line was saved by Kelowna goalie Derek Yeomans, but Wheat followed the shot and hacked the rebound into the air, where Fiala batted it from waist level into the net.

"That gave them a good cushion," Truitt said. "With Everett's defensive style, they don't give up an awful lot. They block a lot of shots and they make you shoot at angles you don't want to shoot at. They get in that real defensive mode when they get any lead and they did a good job of getting in front of the shots."

While Irving made 41 stops, Everett's skaters made nearly as many. Criticized by Constantine for their inability to stop shots from the point in Game 2, the Tips threw their bodies in front of shots with reckless abandon throughout Game 3.

"The practice we had when we got back from Kelowna was all about blocking shots and doing the little things," said Mueller, who blocked his fair share. "Our guys were laying their bodies in front of pucks and that was good to see today."

Yeomans finished with 20 saves in goal for Kelowna.

Kelowna had much of the play in the first period, but Everett got the best chances, with Yeomans making a number of good saves.

But there was nothing Yeomans could do at 13:14. Mueller picked up the puck along the left boards, eluded a defender, skated into the slot and wristed a shot into the top of the net, giving the Tips a 1-0 lead.

Kelowna increased its pressure in the second period, outshooting Everett 18-5. However, Irving stopped everything that came his way and the score remained 1-0.

Slap shots: Everett killed off seven penalties, meaning the Tips have been short-handed 32 times in the playoffs without surrendering a goal. ... Forward Kyle Beach was back in the lineup for Everett and made some noise, recording an assist and getting into a fracas with Kelowna's Luke Schenn. Beach, Everett's first-round pick in the 2005 Bantam Draft, joined the team full time after his midget season ended Saturday. ... The Tips have also added 1989-born defenseman Mike Alexander, who played in three games during the regular season, to the playoff roster. ... There was an ugly moment with 9:17 remaining when several pieces of debris were thrown onto the ice by fans after a bench minor was assessed to Everett.

At Everett Events Center

Kelowna 0 0 0-0

Everett 1 0 1-2

First Period-1, Everett, Mueller 5 (Fiala, Beach), 13:14. Penalties-Ellington, Everett (hold stick), 0:40; Keller, Kelowna (roughing), 1:29; Kress, Everett (slashing), 6:26; Bodie, Kelowna (tripping), 7:30; Dowzak, Kelowna (hooking), 14:53.

Second Period-No goals. Penalties-Wheat, Everett (high sticking), 3:44; Heshka, Everett (cross-checking), 12:32; Keller, Kelowna (slashing), 15:36; Howarth, Kelowna (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:36; Ellington, Everett (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:36; Heshka, Everett (roughing) 15:36; Cumiskey, Kelowna (goaltender interference), 18:02; Fiala, Everett (interference), 18:23.

Third Period-2, Everett, Fiala 1 (Wheat), 0:57. Penalties-Schenn, Kelowna (roughing-roughing), 1:08; Howarth, Kelowna (roughing), 1:08; Beach, Everett (roughing-roughing), 1:08; Dailey, Everett (elbowing), 3:55; Everett bench (unsportsmanlike conduct, served by Alic), 9:17; Bauer, Kelowna (checking from behind-fighting), 20:00; Ofukany, Kelowna (roughing-10-minute misconduct), 20:00; Kress, Everett (fighting), 20:00; Potuer, Everett (roughing-10-minute misconduct), 20:00.

Shots on goal-Kelowna 10-18-13-41. Everett 8-5-9-22. Power-play opportunities-Kelowna 0 of 7. Everett 0 of 5.

Goalies-Kelowna, Yeomans 5-4 (22 shots, 20 saves). Everett, Irving 6-2 (41 shots, 41 saves).

A-4,729.

[Tipped Off]

Birthday boy unbeatable
By Doyle Potenteau
Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 12:27 AM



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EVERETT, Wash. — Leland Irving celebrated his 18th birthday in style Tuesday: shutting out the Kelowna Rockets.

Irving made 41 saves and Peter Mueller scored the game-winning goal as the Everett Silvertips blanked the Rockets 2-0 in Western Hockey League playoff action before 4,729 fans at the Everett Events Centre.

The Silvertips now leads the Western Conference semifinal series 2-1, with the best-of-seven set resuming today in Everett. Game time is 7 p.m.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a birthday,” Irving said after posting his third post-season shutout.

“It was just one of those nights where I was seeing everything and I felt comfortable. The guys worked hard, allowed me to see the puck and allowed me to make the save.”

Of the many saves Irving made, none was bigger than his second-period robbery of Justin Keller, who had picked off a poor clearance deep in Everett’s end to earn a short breakaway, only to have his sure backhand goal picked out of the air by Irving.

“We played pretty well in the offensive zone,” said Rockets winger Brent Howarth, one of Kelowna’s top players Tuesday night.

“We got pucks in deep, banged their defence and got turnovers. We would have liked to funnel a few more pucks at their net for more offensive chances, but Irving played good and all the credit to him.”

Ondrej Fiala, who batted a waist-high rebound out of the air one minute into the third period closed out the scoring.

Mueller opened the scoring at 13:14 of the first period when he skated in from the left side and sniped home his fifth goal of the playoffs.

Earning an assist on the goal was Kelowna resident Kyle Beach, whom Everett called up from the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who completed their season on Saturday.

Derek Yeomans made 20 saves for the Kelowna Rockets, who, for the first time this series, outshot the Silvertips, 41-22.

“I felt confident with my game,” said Yeomans. “Overall, as a team, we played well . . . and Irving played really well. He was the difference out there. That’s the type of effort that teams need from their goalies if they want to win in the playoffs.”

The Silvertips also received a good effort from Beach, who, though just playing in his sixth game for Everett and first against Kelowna, has earned a bull’s-eye from the Rockets.

Early in the second period, Beach, Kelowna’s Luke Schenn and Howarth all earned roughing penalties for a pileup in Kelowna’s crease. Schenn and Beach were handed double roughing minors. Howarth just one minor for roughing. And while the three were serving time, they began jawing at each other.
“It was an exciting game,” said Beach, 16, who played a regular shift with Damir Alic and Zack Dailey.

“We got the 1-0 lead, hung onto it until the third, got some chances and took the advantage in most of them. That was nice to see. I had a couple of games before, but to get into (Tuesday’s game), it was just awesome.
“I didn’t expect to get in so early because I only had a couple days’ of teaching and one practice. To get played that much, it’s awesome
because they’re showing trust in me.”

What wasn’t awesome from Kelowna’s perspective was Everett being handed a power play in that scrum involving Beach. Though the Silvertips didn’t convert, they had two golden chances to increase their lead.

“There was a shot, I went to the net and somebody hit me from behind,” said Beach of the play. “I bumped into Schenn and he grabbed me and it went from there.

“We were just bugging each other (in the box). I go to school with those guys back in Kelowna. As soon as they grabbed me, I went down because I didn’t want to give them the momentum . . . and I didn’t want my . . . butt kicked at the same time. We were just talking and they were letting me know I was a (lightweight), so it was all good.”

ICE CHIPS: Kelowna’s scratches were Lauris Darzins (knee, two to three weeks), Tyler Myers, Kevin Reinholt, Colin Long, Josiah Anderson and Rob Roteliuk. Everett’s scratches were Eric Doyle, Mike Alexander, Zach Sim, Jonathan Milhouse, Shane Harper, Ryan Sawka and Brennan Sonne. . . . Kelowna was 0-for-7 on the power play. Everett was 0-for-5.