Game 23 - Calgary

[Tipped Off]

Everett Faces Three Tough Opponents this Week
11/20/06 - Western Hockey League (WHL) Everett Silvertips
The Everett Silvertips will be seriously tested this week as the hockey club will host three home games against very good teams at the Everett Events Center. On Wednesday, November 22, the Silvertips will battle their first Central Division foe in the Calgary Hitmen at the Everett Events Center at 7:05 p.m. Everett will battle their I-5 rival, Seattle Thunderbirds at the Everett Events Center on Friday night. Game time is set for 7:35 p.m. The home weekend will conclude against US Division rival, Tri-City Americans on Saturday night at the E.E.C. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. For tickets for all three home games this week, log onto www.everettsilvertips.com or call 1-866-332-8499. Heading into the big week, the Silvertips are in 1st place in the US Division with an 18-2-0-1 (37 points) record.


SILVERTIPS LEADING SCORERS

The Silvertips are led in scoring by Peter Mueller (7 goals, 24 assists) with 31 points. Zach Hamill (11 goals, 18 assists) is 2nd on the hockey club in scoring with 29 points while first year forward Kyle Beach (12 goals, 11 assists) is 3rd on the team in scoring with 23 points. Mueller currently leads the Silvertips in assists (24) and Beach leads the team in goals scored (12). Silvertips defenseman, Graham Potuer leads the hockey club in +/- with a +12. In goal, Leland Irving has posted 14 wins, 1.41 GAA, 94.0% SP and 5 Shutouts. David Reekie is currently 4-0 with the Silvertips and has posted a 1.50 GAA, 93.5% SP.


SILVERTIPS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS

Silvertips forward Peter Mueller (7 goals, 24 assists) is currently tied for 6th in the WHL in scoring with 31 points. Mueller is also 3rd in the WHL in assists (24). Zach Hamill (11 goals, 18 assists) is currently tied for 8th in the WHL in scoring with 29 points. First year forward Kyle Beach (12 goals, 11 assists) is 7th in the WHL in rookie scoring with 23 points and the leading scorer among all 16 year olds in the WHL. Defenseman Jason Fransoo (5 goals, 15 assists) is 9th among all WHL defensemen in scoring with 20 points. In goal, Leland Irving is leading all WHL netminders in GAA (1.41), SP (94.0%), Shutouts (5) and tied for 1st in Wins (14).


SILVERTIPS SPECIAL TEAMS

The Everett Silvertips are currently 2nd in the WHL on the power play (44 for 182, 24.2%) and 2nd in the WHL on the penalty kill (144 for 158, 91.1%).


HAMILL BECOMES ALL TIME ASSIST LEADER IN TEAM HISTORY

Silvertips forward Zach Hamill became the all time leader in assists in franchise history with his 83rd assist in his career with the Silvertips against the Prince George Cougars on November 17. Hamill is currently 4 points away from becoming the all time leading scorer in Silvertips history. The current leader Torrie Wheat posted 126 points in his career with the Silvertips.


WHAT A WINNING STREAK!!!

The Everett Silvertips longest winning streak in franchise history ended at 13 games after a 4-2 loss at Seattle on November 18. Here are a few facts about the Silvertips 13-game winning streak.


-6-0 at Everett Events Center

-7-0 on the road

-Out scored opponents 53-17

-32 for 114 on the power play (28.0%)

-86 for 92 on the penalty kill (93.4%)

-Peter Mueller led team in scoring and assists during streak (6 goals, 20 assists)

-Moises Gutierrez led team in goals scored (9 goals)


VERSUS THE CALGARY HITMEN

Wednesday night will be the only meeting of the regular season between the two hockey clubs. Everett is currently 1-0-1 (OTL)-1 (Tie) all time against the Calgary Hitmen and 0-0-1 (tie) all time against Calgary at the Everett Events Center. In last seasons meeting, the Hitmen defeated the Silvertips 1-0 in overtime at the Saddledome in Calgary, AB.


LISTEN TO SILVERTIPS HOCKEY ON NORTH SOUND 1380 ESPN RADIO

All 72 Everett Silvertips games can be heard on the flagship station for Silvertips hockey on North Sound 1380 AM ESPN Radio. Keith Gerhart will begin his 4th season behind the microphone as the voice of the Silvertips. New color analyst Al Kinisky will join Gerhart for all Silvertips home games and selected road games. Fans can also listen to Silvertips hockey via the internet on everettsilvertips.com and listen inside the Everett Events Center on 107.3 FM. The Everett Silvertips post game show and After the Game Show will take place at the Ice Box inside the Everett Events Center after all home games. A Silvertips player will join Keith and the crew during the broadcast.


WATCH EVERETT SILVERTIPS RINKSIDE ON EVERETT CHANNEL 21

Catch an all new season of Everett Silvertips Rinkside on Everett Channel 21 all season long. The show will air daily at 4:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. The show will also air during the evening at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. every night on Channel 21.


SILVERTIPS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Wednesday, November 22: Calgary Hitmen @ Everett Silvertips, 7:05 p.m. (Everett Events Center)

Friday, November 24: Seattle Thunderbirds @ Everett Silvertips, 7:35 p.m. (Everett Events Center)

Saturday, November 25: Tri-City Americans @ Everett Silvertips, 7:05 p.m. (Everett Events Center)

[Tipped Off]

Driving over tho Eastern WA for thanksgiving, so I'll have to miss this one.

Go Tips.

[Tipped Off]

Hitmen a change of pace for Tips
Calgary is the first team Everett faces this season from the highly competitive, offensively minded Central Division.

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer


EVERETT - There's a certain level of repetitiveness about the WHL.

The Everett Silvertips get to know their U.S. Division rivals perhaps a bit too well by the time the season's ends, considering they play each no fewer than eight times apiece. Even the B.C. Division teams become familiar after four to six meetings every year.

But tonight the Silvertips receive a breather from their Western Conference routine.

For the first time this season the Everett Events Center plays host to a Central Division team when Everett squares off against the Calgary Hitmen tonight.

It also means the Silvertips have their first encounter with what may be the strongest division in the league.

"It's going to be nice to see some new blood," said Everett left wing Brennan Sonne, whose younger brother Brett plays for the Hitmen. "Especially some home-grown family blood."

But the freshness is accompanied by threat. The five Central Division teams have a collective record of 76-43-7-4. The top four - Medicine Hat, Kootenay, Calgary and Red Deer - are all at least six games over .500. Those four are all ranked in the top nine in the latest Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association poll.

And it's not like the Central Division has just been beating up on the East Division, either. When Vancouver, Everett's rival for the best record in the league, made its trek through the Central Division three weeks ago, the Giants won just two of their four games, with both victories coming in overtime.

"They give the appearance of being the strongest division," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said of the Central. "I kind of compare them to the way the B.C. Division was last year. The B.C. Division had four teams well over .500, and that's what's going on in the Central now. Kootenay is really strong and Med Hat is really strong and Red Deer is having a rebound year. Even (last place) Lethbridge is smoking offensively. We just think it's going to be very challenging to win against teams in that division, so we expect a really tough game (tonight)."

Calgary's arrival also gives the Everett fans their first opportunity to catch a glimpse of a slightly different brand of hockey, one that wasn't as influenced by the methods Everett brought when it entered the league in 2003.

"(The Central Division) is a little bit more wide open, maybe not as defensive as the U.S. Division has become," Everett general manager Doug Soetaert explained. "A couple years ago you never saw teams blocking shots. Now out here you see everyone blocking shots, guys paying the price.

"The Central is a very competitive division, a very hard-working division," Soetaert added. "But I think there's a little bit more offense in that division than what we're used to."

For Sonne, tonight's game is even more special. Nine family members are traveling down from his home in Maple Ridge, B.C., to watch he and his brother play. That group includes his grandparents, who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Tonight is the first time Brennan and Brett have faced one another in their WHL careers. They played once four seasons ago when Brennan played for Ridge Meadows and Brett played for Port Coquitlam in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League. Brennan holds the sibling edge 1-0 and intends to keep it that way.

And if Sonne has the chance to line his brother up for a big hit?

"I'll make sure it's clean," he said. "If I hit him in the head I'm sure my mom won't be too happy with me."

Slap shots: Everett center Zack Dailey is not expected to play tonight. Dailey, who suffered a twisted ankle in an off-ice stumble, is listed as day-to-day. With center Damir Alic also out for an extended period with a separated shoulder, wingers Jesse Smyke and Jesse Burt will continue to fill in at center. ... Backup goaltender David Reekie finally matches the rest of the team as he received his new pads, which fit into the Silvertips' color scheme. His previous pads were designed with Regina's colors.

[Tipped Off]

Tips outgun Hitmen
Irving's work in the net, Sonne's shootout goal lift Everett

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer






EVERETT - His family in the stands, his brother on the opposing bench, the game on the line. Brennan Sonne couldn't have scripted it any better.

And he made sure this script had a happy ending for the Everett Silvertips.

Sonne scored the winning goal in a shootout, and the Silvertips began what they hope is another winning streak by defeating the Calgary Hitmen 2-1 Wednesday night at the Everett Events Center.

In an exciting contest that became a goaltending showcase between Everett's Leland Irving and Calgary's Dan Spence, it was Sonne who finally found the decisive crack. On the final shot of the shootout, Sonne - whose family drove down from Maple Ridge, B.C. - to see him play against his younger brother Brett, made a fake with a leg kick before slipping the puck between Spence's legs to win the game.

"I've got to pinch myself, I can't believe that just happened," Sonne said. "I got a shootout chance in Regina and didn't score there, and we've got so many talented guys on the team I was fortunate to get another chance. That's a move I've been practicing on Leland for a while and fortunately it went in, against no greater foe, eh?"

Taylor Ellington scored during regulation and Irving made 35 saves for Everett (19-2-0-1), which bounced back with a victory after seeing its 13-game winning streak halted Saturday in Seattle.

Karl Alzner scored and Spence stopped 32 shots for the Hitmen (15-9-0-2), who brought their A game against the Tips.

"I thought we played really well," Calgary's leading scorer Ryan White said. "They're the top team in the nation right now and we came in here and worked hard, did all the little things right and had a lot of fun out there tonight. We worked hard for that point, it's just too bad we couldn't come out with two."

Calgary, the first team from a strong Central Division that Everett's faced this season, gave the Tips everything they could handle. The Hitmen created several quality scoring chances, but Irving always positioned himself in the right spot to deny them.

"That was one of the toughest games I've ever had to play in this league," Irving said. "You've got to give them credit. They're a good hard-working team and their offensive systems are very effective. They use good spatial relationships, they're able to get open and the guys with the puck are finding those guys for pretty good scoring chances."

But while the victory took the sting away from Saturday's loss at Seattle, it also masked some problems. Everett gave up far more quality scoring chances than normal, took more penalties than Calgary, looked subpar on the power play and at times was outworked. If not for Irving, the Tips would have their first losing streak of the season.

"I would have thought that if anything we would have played hard," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "You can always excuse something that's related to skill play. But to lack passion and energy ... We gave the guys Sunday and Monday off just to make sure it wasn't an energy thing, so there was no fatigue factor. There should be no complacency factor because we just got beat pretty soundly. So, it was very frustrating for me."

The first period had plenty of action, with Calgary peppering the Everett goal. But it was the Silvertips who emerged with a 1-0 lead when Ellington's slap shot from the left point beat Spence to the far-upper corner at 13:06.

Everett then got itself into a penalty bind late in the second period and the Hitmen took advantage. On a five-on-three power play, Alzner and White traded passes on the perimeter until Alzner one-timed a shot drifting in from the center point, tying it up at 15:47.

Everett picked up its play in the third period, with the trio of Zach Hamill, Brandon Campos and Ondrej Fiala standing out. But the Tips were unable to find a breakthrough. Then in overtime Irving had to make a pair of stops to preserve the tie and force a shootout.

Slap shots: Everett was shut out on the power play for the first time in 18 games, going 0-for-5. The Tips had scored at least two power-play goals in each of their last five games. ... Everett again played without centers Zack Dailey (day-to-day with a twisted ankle) and Damir Alic (out for about a month with a separated shoulder), necessitating the use of right wings Jesse Smyke and Jesse Burt at center. ... Center Jonathan Milhouse, who was reassigned earlier this week, will join the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League.

Silvertips 2, Hitmen 1 (SO)

Calgary 0 1 0 0 - 1

Everett 1 0 0 0 - 1

Everett won shootout 1-0

First Period-1, Everett, Ellington 3 (Doyle Calla), 13:06. Penalties-McMillan, Calgary (fighting), 2:23; Harty, Everett (fighting), 2:23; Plante, Calgary (tripping), 3:55; Hamill, Everett (interference), 4:28; Campos, Everett (hooking), 12:05; Figren, Calgary (interference), 13:00; Fiala, Everett (roughing), 14:14; Kelner, Calgary (fighting), 17:54; Beach, Everett (fighting), 17:54; Thoring, Everett (high sticking), 19:29.

Second Period-2, Calgary, Alzner 4 (White), 15:47 (pp). Penalties-Dupont, Calgary (hooking), 10:36; Burt, Everett (roughing), 14:00; Thoring, Everett (hooking), 15:18.

Third Period-No goals. Penalties-Hengen, Calgary (high sticking), 1:56; Beach, Everett (tripping), 16:59; Figren, Calgary (tripping), 18:29.

Overtime-No goals. Penalties-None.

Shootout-Calgary 0 (Figren NG, Petterson NG, White NG); Everett 1 (Mueller NG, Hamill NG, Sonne G).

Shots on goal-Calgary 14-10-8-4-36. Everett 10-6-14-3-32. Power-play opportunities-Calgary 1 of 7. Everett 0 of 5.

Goalies-Calgary, Spence 13-7-0-2 (32 shots, 31 saves). Everett, Irving 15-2-0-1 (36 shots, 35 saves).

A-5,302.