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scamperdog
04-17-2006, 07:28 AM
A tough pill to swallow’
By Doyle Potenteau
Monday, April 17, 2006, 12:00 AM



EVERETT, Wash. — It’s over.
The Kelowna Rockets’ three-year reign as the Western Hockey League’s monarchs came to an abrupt, and upsetting, end Sunday evening at the Everett Events Center. Peter Mueller scored twice, Zach Hamill had four assists and the Everett Silvertips cashed in three power-play goals for a 6-2 victory, a win that earned the U.S. Division champions their second playoff upset of Kelowna in three seasons.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Rockets winger Blake Comeau after Everett won its Western Conference semifinal series with Kelowna, 4-2. Heading into the best-of-seven series, nearly every pundit had predicted a Kelowna victory, including the defending league champions themselves.
“We thought we had a team to go far this season in the playoffs,” continued Comeau, his eyes red with tears. “You have to give Everett a lot of credit because they played well. It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially for the guys moving on, like Troy Bodie and Lauris Darzins. We wanted to do it for those guys, and we ended up coming out on the wrong side.”
For the Rockets, it’s deja-vu. In 2004, with Kelowna looking to repeat as league champions, the Silvertips upset the Rockets in the playoffs, albeit in the third round, not the second.
“This one hurts a bit more because we don’t have a bye into the Memorial Cup this season,” said Comeau, who likely played his last junior game.
The six-foot-one forward, having recently signed a contract the New York Islanders, is a lock to play in the AHL next season, along with a handful of other Rockets, including Troy Bodie, Lauris Darzins, Mike Card and Justin Keller.
“It was fun while it lasted,” said Comeau. “We just didn’t get it done. It’s tough. It’s never easy losing, especially after you get a taste for winning. When you get knocked, it’s tough. (My last junior game) . . . it’s tough. We came out and battled right to the end. Everett did a good job of capitalizing on their chances. I’m proud of the guys in our room.”
Ondrej Fiala, with two goals, John Lammers and Mark Kress, with an empty-net goal, also scored for Everett, which advances to the Western Conference championship against the Vancouver Giants. Chris Ray, with his fourth and fifth goals, replied for Kelowna, which trailed 3-0 and 5-2 at the period breaks.
Derek Yeomans made 16 saves on 21 shots for the Rockets before giving way to backup Kris Westblom, who made 10 saves in relief. Leland Irving turned aside 23 shots for the Silvertips, who jumped all over Kelowna in the first period and never let up.
“We made a couple mistakes early on that got us down,” said Bodie, his eyes red with tears, having played his final game for Kelowna. “It’s tough to battle back from 3-0 early on. Then we’re down 5-0, we started going and got a couple of goals; that just shows the never-quit attitude of this team. In the end, we just fell short.
“It’s tough (losing). Everett’s a good team and they played really well throughout the series. We give them all the credit and they came out with the win; we didn’t. They’re a good team and they deserve it.”
Bodie was one of Kelowna’s top two players on Sunday, the other being Chris Ray.
Neither, however, could keep pace with Mueller, who buried two scoring chances and buried Kelowna’s chance of winning its third league title in four seasons.
“We’ve been so successful in the last four seasons,” said Bodie. “The way we’ve been playing, the way we’ve gone, going out in the second round is tough for us. I don’t want to sound greedy, or anything like that, but I guess you gotta be.”
Everett opened the scoring early in the first period, Mueller with a five-on-three power play goal at 6:16.
With Kelowna down Luke Schenn for hooking John Lammers and Blake Comeau for high-sticking Torrie Wheat, Mueller slowly skated in from the blue-line to the high slot, where Hamill fed Everett’s leading scorer.
One second later, the ’Tips were on the scoreboard, Mueller having picked the corner for his sixth playoff goal through a partial screen.
At 12:01, Everett made it 2-0, Mueller with his second goal of the night from the slot, one-timing a soft pass from Wheat in the right corner during five-on-five play.
“Any time you get a quick goal, then another one right after that, it sets the tone,” said Mueller. “Kelowna’s the champs and we knew we were the underdogs coming into this series. We wanted to be the underdogs. We don’t want to be up top, so we kept that mentality and it went our way.”
At 19:11 — and Schenn in the box for roughing after bulldozing his way into an Everett crease scrum from the blue-line — Everett all but sealed the deal with its third goal of the period.
Lammers loosed a point shot and Yeomans made the save, but the rebound popped out to the right post and Fiala, who buried his third of the post-season.
“We just wanted to take it one shift at a time; we didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” said Lammers, who then made it 4-0 one minute into the second period by one-timing a faceoff draw to Yeomans’ right.
“A couple times in this series, we were up by a couple of goals and they came right back. They never stop working. In the final few seconds, Tyler Spurgeon hit somebody; they just go, go, go until the very end.”
At 3:57, and Everett on the power play again with Alexander Edler off for high-sticking, Fiala made it 5-0 by zipping in a cross-crease pass from Hamill along the left boards.
Following Everett’s 21st shot on net, the Rockets yanked Yeomans and replaced him with backup Kris Westblom.
Kelowna would score twice before period’s end, with Ray tallying both, but by then, it was too little, too late.
Everett’s dominating first period had all but sucked the will out of the defending league champions.
“We didn’t play well when we needed to,” said Ray, a Westside product. “It’s an unfamiliar feeling for a lot of us, and that makes it that much harder, knowing what it feels like to win. But give the guys credit because they worked hard and we went right to the end.
“I guess you can’t win all the time, but we would have liked a better result.”
ICE CHIPS: Kelowna’s scratches were Lauris Darzins (knee), Tyler Myers, Kevin Reinholt, Craig Cuthbert, Josiah Anderson and Rob Roteliuk. Everett’s scratches Eric Doyle, Mike Alexander, Zach Sim, Jonathan Milhouse, Shane Harper, Ryan Sawka and Brennan Sonne. . . . Kelowna was one-for-five on the power play. Everett was three-for-seven. . . . The three stars were all Silvertips: Mueller, Ondrej Fiala and Lammers.

Silvertips outwork Rockets
EVERETT, Wash. — There’s much to say about the Everett Silvertips: Some negative, some positive.
They clutch, they grab, they hold, they run picks and interference to perfection. They also score goals in bunches, block shots, make pretty passes and finish their scoring chances. On Sunday, they were too much for the Kelowna Rockets, who haven’t been kicked out of the playoffs this early since 2001.
“It’s a tough ending, no doubt . . . a different feeling for sure,” Rockets head coach Jeff Truitt said after Everett rubbed Kelowna out of the WHL’s 2006 playoff picture with a convincing 6-2 victory. Ironically, the Silvertips’ winning gameplan closely resembled the Rockets’ modus operandi the past three seasons, where timely offence was backed by maddening shot-blocking defence.
“You have to give Everett a lot of credit,” continued Truitt. “Being down 3-1 (in the series), we dug ourselves a hole. Then going down 3-0 (in Game 6), we dug ourselves another hole. We tried to battle back but came up short.”
In short, Everett’s skill simply outmatched Kelowna’s vaunted work ethic. Mind you, given the large amount of shots the Silvertips blocked, it’s not like Everett didn’t deserve to win this series.
“We worked pretty hard as a team and I think we earned it,” said Everett forward John Lammers, who had an outstanding series for the Silvertips.
“A lot of the things we do, we do because of Kelowna. They’ve been the top guys the last three, four seasons. They’re a great team and every game could have went either way. I can’t give them enough respect and it wasn’t over until the final buzzer.”

rinkrat
04-17-2006, 11:10 AM
Interesting comments from Comeau

“This one hurts a bit more because we don’t have a bye into the Memorial Cup this season,” said Comeau :spineyes:

Redwic
04-18-2006, 11:54 AM
... Just think of it as a "new beginning"!!! :thumb:

See you all next season!!!

Triton
04-18-2006, 12:13 PM
All good things come to an end.To be totally honest and not to be rude in no means,I'm glad that Kelowna is done.It now gives another team a chance to taste success and it gives the team and their respective players experience.If Kelowna represents us every year,all around the CHL our league would be known and posterized as a one team league.Whether it be Everett,Vancouver,Moose Jaw,Calgary or Medicine Hat,our league will be well represented.

Hold your heads up Kelowna fans.You have made Kelowna and the WHL proud.If you can get through next season,you'll have created something great..even through adversity.Next season won't be as bad as you think.

SimonTemplar
04-18-2006, 04:22 PM
I am still shocked the Rockets went down to Everitt but maybe the season series was saying something all along. 4-2 for The Tips and Mueller is a awsome player so its not like some dog beat you by mistake.

Well I guess we won't be rejoining Kelowna at Moncton this spring, we are making the trip east for The Cup hopefully with London Knights as Champions of the OHL but either way still going.

That sure has been a great team for 4 years in Kelowna and trust me Rocket fans they are used as a measuring stick by many clubs around the CHL now.

Good luck with the re-build we will be joining you in that edventure as soon as playoffs are over. Schremp is gone to Edmonton, Dave Bolland to the Hawks, Dylan Hunter to Buffalo Sabres, Dennis to Sabres and maybe more.

Congrats Rocket Fans on a long run.