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Tipped Off
02-16-2005, 12:23 PM
From the Seattle Times

No team in the Western Hockey League relies on its power play more than the Everett Silvertips.

The Silvertips have scored 130 goals this season, and 56 of them — a league-high 43 percent — have come with the opposition shorthanded because of penalties.

The Silvertips, 26-22-7-2, are second in the U.S. Division even though they have scored only 73 even-strength goals, the fewest in the league.

Torrie Wheat, who leads Everett with 20 goals this season, knows how critical it is for the Silvertips to make the most of its opportunities with an extra attacker.

"Our power play has won us a lot of games this year, and we really need for it to be going," Wheat said after scoring his team-high 12th power-play goal against the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday. Everett tied a franchise record with four power-play scores in the game.

"Our power play has been creating chances all season, but it wasn't very productive for about three weeks," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "Now that we've scored a few, maybe the guys will gain some confidence back."

The Silvertips, who have taken the fewest penalties in the league, are also the league's best at playing with a teammate in the penalty box. Everett has allowed only 27 power-play goals this season, four fewer than any other team in the league at the start of this week.
The Silvertips have scored 29 more power-play goals than they've allowed, second in the to the Medicine Hat Tigers.

"Like always, we really concentrate hard on our penalty killing," Wheat said. "It's our forte, and it's been like that for a year and a half. That's what we need to do if we want to win games. Our special teams have to be sharp every time we're on the ice."