Pre Game 3 articles

[Tipped Off]

Black aces' selflessness Flatters Giants
Reserves put team ahead of ambition as wins keep coming
Ian Walker, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, April 25, 2006

One thing is for certain in advance of tonight's Game 3 of the WHL Western Conference final between the Vancouver Giants and Everett Silvertips.

Giants defenceman John Flatters will be watching from the stands.

His coach knows it. His teammates know it. Flatters, a healthy scratch throughout Vancouver's playoff run, knows it.

High above the ice at the Pacific Coliseum, Flatters watches Saturday's Game 2 unfold. He's not alone. Fellow black aces Mitch Czibere, David Rutherford and Kenton Dulle are all in the immediate vicinity. What makes his plight different though, is while the others are all WHL rookies, Flatters is a sixth-round selection of the Philadelphia Flyers.

"It's a whole different perspective from up here. You can really see the tendencies of the teams and the individual guys," says Flatters, who played 65 regular-season games at both forward and defence positions, recording three goals and seven points to go along with 142 penalty minutes.

"It's bound to make me a better player when and if I get my chance."

That chance might not come until next season's training camp. With the Giants up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, which shifts to the Everett Events Center for the next two games, why change anything? Never mind anyone.

"All I can do is be a high-energy guy in practice and in the dressing room, and hopefully that makes my teammates better," said the 18-year-old Calgary native.

"Don [Hay] went with the lineup he was comfortable with at the start and we're winning with that lineup. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

"I still love that we're winning. If this means we go the whole way without me playing, I'll take that tradeoff."

It's not that the 6-1, 205-pound Flatters doesn't want in the lineup. He'd love nothing more than to be banging bodies on the blue-line or clearing lanes up front. He's choosing to ignore his ego for the betterment of the team.

"You want to be out there battling and contributing that way. No doubt, this is the time of the season you play all year for," said Flatters. "But the way I'm looking at it is that all of us up here are contributing through our work ethic in practice, pushing guys, making the coach notice you're not satisfied with sitting out.

"Same goes with our attitude. This is the [most fun] time of the year and we're winning. Everyone's excited, the team, the organization. What kind of teammates would we be if we were walking around feeling sorry for ourselves?"

Flatters' attitude isn't going unnoticed. Czibere, Rutherford and Dulle have all followed Flatters' lead at practice and in the dressing room.

"Our black aces are all hungry guys and that's the hardest part of sitting out -- you have to be the hardest workers at practice even though you know you're not going to be instantaneously rewarded," said Giants coach Hay, who goes out of his way to make his scratches feel a part of the team by including clips of them from practice or previous games in a video montage he shows to motivate his players before each series.

Hay and assistant coach Craig Bonner also play a game of 3-on-3 with his aces after practice on game days. "Flatters is really handling this like pro and the younger guys are following his example," said Hay. "The attitude of all those guys on and off the ice is making us all better as a team."

With the crowd on its feet cheering and waving white towels as the seconds wound down in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Silvertips, Flatters surveyed the packed lower bowl.

"This is just awesome to be a part of," he said.

A big part, John. A big part.

- The Giants are undefeated on the road this season while the Silvertips are 5-1 at the Everett Events Center this post-season. The Giants are 5-6-1 lifetime on the road against the Silvertips . . . Vancouver is first in the playoffs on the penalty kill and have killed off 41 straight penalties in the post-season. Everett has allowed four power-play goals against in last three games after starting its first eight of the playoffs without any against.

iwalker@png.canwest.com

[Tipped Off]

WHL Playoffs: Tips roughed up by Giants
By Jim Riley

Special to The Seattle Times


The biggest battle being waged in the Western Hockey League's Western Conference final isn't between the Vancouver Giants and Everett Silvertips.

That's a mere sideline to the debate between ice hockey's more physical past and its more skilled future. So far, hockey's past is scoring a knockout.

The Giants lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 entering Game 3 at 7:05 tonight at the Everett Events Center.

Vancouver is a hard-hitting, unapologetically physical team that has already sidelined two key Everett players, Ondrej Fiala and Karel Hromas, with concussions.

Everett coach Kevin Constantine said that makes six players from his team who have suffered concussions after hits from Giants players in the three seasons the Silvertips have been in the league.

Constantine said he has no problem with a physical game, but that the league emphasis this season on trying to cut down on the number of concussions is suddenly being ignored.

"I thought we were moving toward protecting players against those kind of injuries," he said. "I'm worried about the careers of young men."

Besides, Constantine said, the Silvertips have nothing against clean, hard hits that are within the rules. That wasn't what he saw when watching video of the first two games.

"They've gone way over the edge, in my opinion," he said. "In Game 1 alone, we felt there were 18 instances of over-the-edge hits where calls weren't made."

Constantine, who is also Everett's general manager, said he has been in contact with the WHL, but wouldn't divulge the nature of the conversations.

"A physical style always has been, and always will be, a part of the game," he said. "The question is, where is the line of what's legal physically? We try to stay within that line because we think that's the way the game should be played."

Other teams have tried to play a physical style against Everett but have paid on the scoreboard because of its usually potent power play. That hasn't happened against the Giants, who have held the Silvertips without a power-play goal in 12 tries.

Vancouver coach Don Hay said all the debate isn't going to change the way his team plays.

"I don't think we're a dirty team," Hay said. "We're an honest team. We don't go out to hurt anybody."

Note

• Hromas practiced with the team on Monday, and his status will be determined at game time. Neither Fiala nor G Leland Irving, who has missed both games of the series with a groin injury, practiced. "The chances of either of them playing are close to zero," Constantine said.

[Tipped Off]

Teams point accusing fingers
Everett questions the Giants' physical play. Vancouver questions the Tips' toughness.

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer


LYNNWOOD - The war of words escalated Monday between the Everett Silvertips and Vancouver Giants, with Everett coach Kevin Constantine questioning the legality of Vancouver's play and the Giants accusing the Tips of being soft.

At issue is the aggressiveness with which the Giants have laid hits on the Tips during the best-of-seven Western Hockey League Western Conference championship series, which Vancouver leads 2-0. Those hits led to apparent concussions to Everett left wings Ondrej Fiala and Karel Hromas, who both sat out Game 2.

"Do I think, based on watching the tape, that their play is over the edge and there should be more penalties?," Constantine asked following Monday's practice at the Lynnwood Ice Center. "My answer is: yes, I do. It's been way over the edge. In Game 1 we felt there were 18 instances of over-the-edge calls not made."

Meanwhile, Vancouver captain Mark Fistric countered with claims that the Tips were diving in attempt to get calls.

"I think they go down a bit easy," Fistric told the Vancouver Province. "But that's not something we're going to worry about. I think the league knows about that, I think the refs know about that. We can't change our game because they go down easy. We're a bigger team and they're outmatched physically, but we're not going to stop using our size."

Vancouver has controlled the series thus far, largely because of its physical play. The Giants say that's just their style and their way of combating Everett's wealth of offensive skill.

"A lot of skill guys like to play a non-physical game," Vancouver coach Don Hay told the Province. "I think the key is our skill guys are prepared to really dig in and play physical. We have to continue to finish our checks on them, try to disinterest those skill guys from using their skill."

But Constantine refuted the idea that Everett plays soft.

"I don't think we play a non-physical style of hockey," he said. "Physical hockey always has been and always will be part of the game. But what's the line between what's legal and what's not legal? We try to stay within that line, partly because we think that's the way the game should be played, and partly because we think that will keep you out of the penalty box. But we have to make sure that's based on how the game's going to be called. That's where our concerns would be."

There was one piece of good news for Everett on Monday. Hromas, who left during the first period of Game 1 after sliding head-first into the boards following a Brett Festerling hit, practiced Monday and appeared to be fine. He's probable for tonight's Game 3 at the Everett Events Center.

However, neither Fiala nor goaltender Leland Irving practiced Monday, and Constantine said there was "close to zero chance" either would be able to play tonight.

The Tips have missed Irving's calming presence as the last line of defense. Stand-in Matt Esposito filled in valiantly in the first two games after Irving suffered a groin pull the day before the series began. However, the rest of the team appeared to be in a bit of shock from not having its stalwart backstop.

"I think guys were a little shakier than they should have been," Everett defenseman Shaun Heshka said. "Espo played really well, he definitely wasn't the deciding factor in the losses. I hope Irv comes back, but if not, we're totally confident in Espo."

There's still no definitive timetable on Irving's return. The original hope was that he'd be ready for Game 5, but there's no certainty about his availability.

"All we know with the injury is he told us the last time he felt the exact same issue it was a seven-day healing process," Constantine said. "It happened on Thursday, so seven days would be this Thursday. That's just one case, we don't know if it's going to be the same or not, but that's the only kind of time frame to work off of."

Slap shots: Everett hasn't fared well when falling behind 2-0 in playoff series. Twice before in franchise history the Tips have trailed 2-0 - the 2004 WHL finals against Medicine Hat and last season in the second round against Kootenay. In both instances Everett was swept. ... Moose Jaw goaltender Joey Perricone was named the WHL Player of the Week for Apr. 17-23. Perricone had a 1.99 goals against average and .935 save percentage in three road games, leading the Warriors to a Game 7 victory over Calgary and a 2-0 series lead over Medicine Hat.

[Beaner]

Wow, 18 hits that should have been penalties in Game 1? Was there a single Giants hit in game 1 that KC didnt feel was worth a penalty?

KC is really working the media hard in this series.

Nice to see that Hromas is probably back.

[langdak]

He sure remained calm behind the bench if there was 18 hits that werent called.

I only saw him scream and go tomato red 2 or 3 times, like this -> :mad: