Tipped Off
04-21-2006, 10:39 AM
Giant slayer
The Silvertips' John Lammers scored eight goals and had six assists as Everett won four of six games against Vancouver in the regular season.
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD - The Vancouver Giants were as good a team as the Everett Silvertips faced this season. The Giants flew around the ice, hit everything that moved, peppered the goal with shots and dictated play.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
The Silvertips' John Lammers scored eight of his 38 goals and had six of his 37 assists this season against the Vancouver Giants.
Nevertheless, Everett was one of the few teams able to get the upper hand on the Giants during the regular season.
And the main reason for that was John Lammers.
Lammers was a one-man wrecking crew against Vancouver this season, and he'll be one of the most closely watched players when the teams begin the WHL Western Conference championship series Friday in Vancouver.
"(The success against the Giants) was nice at the time, but I've tried to forget about it," Lammers said following Tuesday's practice at the Lynnwood Ice Center. "It's a new season, it's the playoffs, and it's a team game. We're going to have to have success from all our players."
Lammers put up some eye-popping numbers against Vancouver this season. In six games he scored eight goals and had six assists, including a pair of hat tricks in Vancouver. With Lammers leading the way, Everett won four of its six meetings against a team that lost just 19 of its 72 games and finished with the best record in the Western Conference.
That left the Giants wondering just how they were going to deal with Lammers.
"Maybe kidnap him?" Vancouver coach Don Hay speculated. "I don't know. He was sure dangerous against us with 14 points and a couple of hat tricks. He seems to really enjoy playing against us. We're going to have to pay attention to him, not give him as much time and space and not give him the opportunity to be as offensive against us. That's one of our challenges."
Lammers, a left wing who turned 20 in January, hails from Langley, British Columbia, which is about a half-hour's drive from the Giants' home at Pacific Coliseum. So Lammers did his best work this season in front of his home crowd.
"It's nice when your family's there and all your friends," Lammers said. "Just naturally you step up your game, and the playoffs are another reason to step up your game."
Without Lammers, the season series may have turned out drastically different. Vancouver outshot Everett in all six games. Overall the shot total was 187-121 in favor of the Giants, good for an average of 31-20 per game. It the two games in which Lammers had hat tricks, on Oct. 29 and Jan. 14, Everett outscored Vancouver 5-2 and 4-2, despite managing a combined total of just 35 shots on goal. When Everett won 4-1 on Oct. 29, the Tips were outshot 37-17.
Those numbers suggest one shouldn't put too much stock in the regular season results.
"If you look at the scoring chances in the six games, they outchanced us," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "We try to pay less attention to shots, but if you look at the shots in the six games they really outshot us substantially. We won some games against them where they were the better team, so we're mindful of that. We know at times we didn't play great and got lucky to win, and we know we're going to have to be better in the playoffs."
Vancouver also imposed itself physically on Everett. The Giants controlled the physical play, and their hard hits resulted in several significant injuries: Defenseman Eric Doyle missed a month with a hip injury after taking a hit from Chad Scharff; left wing Karel Hromas was out three weeks with a cracked collarbone after being hit by Garet Hunt; and center Peter Mueller suffered a concussion from a hit by Milan Lucic.
Everett compensated by making Vancouver pay on the power play, scoring on eight of their 36 power-play chances.
"The games where we were successful were when we were able control the game with our physical play," Vancouver captain Mark Fistric said. "When we got into trouble was when we took penalties, because Everett is at its best on the power play. The key for us is being physical, but staying disciplined."
Vancouver has rolled through the playoffs so far, dispatching both its opponents in five games. The Giants dominated Prince George in the first round, notable because the Cougars also had Vancouver's number during the regular season, winning six of eight. Therefore, the Tips are well aware of what they face.
"It's going to be another tough series just like the other two," Lammers said. "I think they're obviously an excellent team. They finished first in the conference for a reason and they're playing well in the playoffs. I'm expecting a hard-fought series."
Slap shots: The Tips are headed to television. The Everett-Vancouver series is being broadcast throughout western Canada live on Shaw. Those broadcasts are not available in the United States. ... The Giants have just one significant injury going into the series. Defenseman Brendan Mikkelson has been a long-term casualty with a knee injury. Fellow defenseman Cody Franson didn't practice early in the week because of a sore ankle, suffered from blocking a shot in Sunday's clinching game against Portland. Franson is expected to be ready when the series begins.
The Silvertips' John Lammers scored eight goals and had six assists as Everett won four of six games against Vancouver in the regular season.
By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD - The Vancouver Giants were as good a team as the Everett Silvertips faced this season. The Giants flew around the ice, hit everything that moved, peppered the goal with shots and dictated play.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
The Silvertips' John Lammers scored eight of his 38 goals and had six of his 37 assists this season against the Vancouver Giants.
Nevertheless, Everett was one of the few teams able to get the upper hand on the Giants during the regular season.
And the main reason for that was John Lammers.
Lammers was a one-man wrecking crew against Vancouver this season, and he'll be one of the most closely watched players when the teams begin the WHL Western Conference championship series Friday in Vancouver.
"(The success against the Giants) was nice at the time, but I've tried to forget about it," Lammers said following Tuesday's practice at the Lynnwood Ice Center. "It's a new season, it's the playoffs, and it's a team game. We're going to have to have success from all our players."
Lammers put up some eye-popping numbers against Vancouver this season. In six games he scored eight goals and had six assists, including a pair of hat tricks in Vancouver. With Lammers leading the way, Everett won four of its six meetings against a team that lost just 19 of its 72 games and finished with the best record in the Western Conference.
That left the Giants wondering just how they were going to deal with Lammers.
"Maybe kidnap him?" Vancouver coach Don Hay speculated. "I don't know. He was sure dangerous against us with 14 points and a couple of hat tricks. He seems to really enjoy playing against us. We're going to have to pay attention to him, not give him as much time and space and not give him the opportunity to be as offensive against us. That's one of our challenges."
Lammers, a left wing who turned 20 in January, hails from Langley, British Columbia, which is about a half-hour's drive from the Giants' home at Pacific Coliseum. So Lammers did his best work this season in front of his home crowd.
"It's nice when your family's there and all your friends," Lammers said. "Just naturally you step up your game, and the playoffs are another reason to step up your game."
Without Lammers, the season series may have turned out drastically different. Vancouver outshot Everett in all six games. Overall the shot total was 187-121 in favor of the Giants, good for an average of 31-20 per game. It the two games in which Lammers had hat tricks, on Oct. 29 and Jan. 14, Everett outscored Vancouver 5-2 and 4-2, despite managing a combined total of just 35 shots on goal. When Everett won 4-1 on Oct. 29, the Tips were outshot 37-17.
Those numbers suggest one shouldn't put too much stock in the regular season results.
"If you look at the scoring chances in the six games, they outchanced us," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "We try to pay less attention to shots, but if you look at the shots in the six games they really outshot us substantially. We won some games against them where they were the better team, so we're mindful of that. We know at times we didn't play great and got lucky to win, and we know we're going to have to be better in the playoffs."
Vancouver also imposed itself physically on Everett. The Giants controlled the physical play, and their hard hits resulted in several significant injuries: Defenseman Eric Doyle missed a month with a hip injury after taking a hit from Chad Scharff; left wing Karel Hromas was out three weeks with a cracked collarbone after being hit by Garet Hunt; and center Peter Mueller suffered a concussion from a hit by Milan Lucic.
Everett compensated by making Vancouver pay on the power play, scoring on eight of their 36 power-play chances.
"The games where we were successful were when we were able control the game with our physical play," Vancouver captain Mark Fistric said. "When we got into trouble was when we took penalties, because Everett is at its best on the power play. The key for us is being physical, but staying disciplined."
Vancouver has rolled through the playoffs so far, dispatching both its opponents in five games. The Giants dominated Prince George in the first round, notable because the Cougars also had Vancouver's number during the regular season, winning six of eight. Therefore, the Tips are well aware of what they face.
"It's going to be another tough series just like the other two," Lammers said. "I think they're obviously an excellent team. They finished first in the conference for a reason and they're playing well in the playoffs. I'm expecting a hard-fought series."
Slap shots: The Tips are headed to television. The Everett-Vancouver series is being broadcast throughout western Canada live on Shaw. Those broadcasts are not available in the United States. ... The Giants have just one significant injury going into the series. Defenseman Brendan Mikkelson has been a long-term casualty with a knee injury. Fellow defenseman Cody Franson didn't practice early in the week because of a sore ankle, suffered from blocking a shot in Sunday's clinching game against Portland. Franson is expected to be ready when the series begins.