From the Everett Herald...
EVERETT - The Everett Silvertips are mired in the worst stretch in the franchise's short history. Everett has lost seven of its last eight games - including its first ever regular season four-game losing streak - and the Silvertips' once-unassailable grip on second place in the Western Hockey League's U.S. Division has shrunk to insignificance.
So it must be full crisis mode in Everett, right?
Not so, say the Silvertips.
"I wouldn't say it's a crisis," Everett right wing Alex Leavitt said. "We're just going through a little bit of a tough slide. We have to figure out what's wrong so we can change it. We've played some pretty good games, we just haven't won."
"I'd say we've had a below-average effort in every area," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said about the recent slump. "Whether you're talking about health, or talking about work ethic, or talking about blocking shots, or talking about team fundamentals, or talking about any part of our game, we've been below what is normal for our team. Not any one of those areas have been ridiculously bad, but all those areas have been slightly below what we're used to."
"I think the game against Portland is the biggest of the season so far, with how close Portland's gotten because of our slide," Leavitt said. "This is a game we need to win to stay ahead, it's a four-pointer.
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