Games 31 & 32 - Vancouver (boo!)

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Silvertips and Giants Saturday Night

It's the game everyone has been waiting for. This Saturday Night the Everett Silvertips will battle the Vancouver Giants at the Everett Events Center at 7:05 p.m.

Saturday will be the second meeting of the year between the 'Tips and the Giants. The 'Tips and Giants play Friday Night in Vancouver in game one of the Home and Home series. Vancouver is led in scoring by Defenseman Cody Franson (36 pts- 11 g 25 a) and goaltender Tyson Sexmith (15-4-1-1). Everett is led in scoring by Peter Mueller ( 45 pts- 8 g, 37 a) and goaltender Lelend Irving ( 19-3-0-1) Irving will not be playing however, he is currently at the 2006 Canadian World Junior Selection Camp. In goal for Everett will be David Reekie ( 7-3-0-0)

Fridays game in Vancouver and Saturday's game in Everett are a rematch of the 2006 Western Conference Finals. It is also a game featuring the two best teams in the entire Canadian Hockey League. Everett is currently ranked #1 and Vancouver is ranked #2.

Saturday Night is Skagit Valley Casino Resort Casino Night. Fans 18 and over will get the chance to win fabulous prizes at the Skagit Valley Casino Resort. All fans 18 and over will get a pack of playing cards when entering the building. Lucky packs of cards will contain a joker’s card signed by a Silvertips player which can be redeemed for prizes. Prizes given away are:

2 premium seats to Joan Rivers, January 21
2 Heartland tickets, March 4
2 Charo tickets, April 5
2 Glen Campbell tickets, May 13
2 Rich Little tickets, June 21
6 dinners for two in Moon Beach fine dining ($100 value)
20 Market Buffet dinner for two ($35.90 value)
6 chess games
6 leather business card holders

There will also be prizes given away during the intermission as part of the on-ice promotions, those prizes are:

1. Overnight stay in a suite, February 1, premium seats (2) to The Marshall Tucker Band and dinner in Moon Beach fine dining ($100)

2. Stay and Play overnight packages

To order tickets to this epic battle click here or call 866-332-8499 or visit the Everett Events Center Box Office. The Box Office is open 12-6 Monday-Friday and 10-2nd Intermission on Saturday.

For groups of 15 or more call 425-252-5100. Groups of 15 or more save $4.00 per ticket as well as everyone in the group will get a voucher for a free ticket and a discount in the team store and your company/group name will be up on the videoboard.

Click here to view the Giants stats

Click here to view the Silvertips stats

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I don't care what anyone else says about Seattle or Portland, my favorite team to beat is Vancouver. I know both teams will be shorthanded, especially if the rumors about Beach's nose being broken are true & Mueller has to sit out a game or two, but that's all the more reason to win these two. I want a sweep, and hopefully it's not us getting swept!

[old_time_hockey]

So...Anyone coming up Friday?

It's teddy bear toss night! 10,000 tickets already sold. The old barn should be rocking.

Tossing a bear for a good cause will help ease the sting of a Tips loss

[ihlemic10]

I am making the trip up. Should be an intresting game, been checking the league site, nothing on Mueller. I almost wish KC would play him during the game and serve the suspension later kinda thing. I did not see or listen to the spoke game, sounded rough. Hopefully the new guys step in and not too many people are banged up from Spoke.

[Beaner]

I don't care what anyone else says about Seattle or Portland, my favorite team to beat is Vancouver.

I have to agree, beating Kelowna and Kamloops is great, but beating Everett just feels oh so good.

[rinkrat]

I almost wish KC would play him during the game and serve the suspension later kinda thing.

Thats the problem with suspensions,you don't get to choose when to serve them.
Glad to hear you're making the trip,maybe see you around the rink.

[Beaner]

Well so now we know who will be missing form the lineups.

For Vancouver:
Franson
McArdle
Repik
Bliznak

For Everett:
Irving
Mueller

Still a question as to wether Mikkelson will be back in time, and if Beach will play with his broken nose, if it is in fact broken.

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Clash of the Titans
The WHL's two best teams finally meet this season in a rematch of last season's Western Conference finals.

Nick Patterson
Herald writer

It’s the WHL heavyweight bout everyone’s been anticipating all season long.

In one corner, the Everett Silvertips — the team with the best record in the Western Hockey League and ranked No. 1 for the entire Canadian Hockey League.

In the other, the Vancouver Giants — the defending WHL champions and ranked second in the CHL.

After an interminable wait, the league’s top two teams finally step into the ring to trade punches with a home-and-home series this weekend.

And everyone’s eager to find out who will land the first blow.

“I don’t think it’s just us, it’s probably the whole WHL that’s been looking forward to this matchup,” Everett center Peter Mueller said.

The games, Friday in Vancouver and Saturday in Everett, are the most enticing so far of the WHL season. Everett (25-4-0-1) and Vancouver (25-5-2-2) have been the top two teams in the league from Day One. In addition, it’s a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals, when the Giants steamrolled the Silvertips with a dominating four-game sweep.

Add in the fact that it took nearly three months for the first of their six meeting to arrive — in comparison, Vancouver’s six-game season series with Seattle will be complete before Everett and the Giants play once — and the hype has reached epic proportions.

“I think from Day One we’ve been looking at those games,” Everett center Zach Hamill said. “They killed us in the playoffs last year and it wasn’t fun losing four straight like that. They’ve got a good record for a reason and they won the league last year pretty easily. It’s always a challenge against them, every time we play them it’s a war, so it’s going to be a tough couple games.”

These games are particularly important to Everett. The Silvertips, despite being the top-ranked team, are still the challengers who have to find a way to knock off the kings.

“Vancouver was the team last year, Vancouver started out this year as the team to beat, Vancouver is hosting the Memorial Cup,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “We’re not going to the Memorial Cup and we’re not winning the Memorial Cup without probably having to go through Vancouver once or twice. So there’s an enormous amount of anticipation of playing them.”

Because the Giants went on to beat Moose Jaw in the WHL finals and advance to the Memorial Cup last year, the specter of Everett doesn’t hold quite the same sway over Vancouver as the Giants do over the Silvertips.

“I don’t think we anticipate it any more,” Vancouver coach Don Hay said. “We look forward to it. Both teams got off to good starts and are playing well. There’s some rivalry there from playing in the playoffs and we always know that when we play Everett we better be prepared to play hard and play smart.”

It wasn’t just the fact Vancouver beat Everett in the playoffs last season, it’s the manner of the beating. The Giants physically manhandled the Tips, cowing Everett into acquiescence. Everett made a number of moves, including the offseason acquisition of mammoth right wing Moises Gutierrez and the recent pick up of hard-nosed defenseman Jesse Zetariuk, specifically with the Giants in mind.

“You could say that they outhit us last year in the playoffs, so we need to bring a more physical game,” Everett defenseman Jason Fransoo said. “We have to compete hard and play our game, focus on the things we’ve been doing this year that made us successful so far.”

Vancouver, led by the intimidating presence of Milan Lucic, is still as physical as ever. The question is whether the Tips remain intimidated or use the memory of last season’s beating as motivation.

“I think it should fire anyone up who was here last year,” Hamill said. “Four straight and we were close in maybe one of them. They embarrassed us and I think we have to go out there and try and send a message.”

Whether the Tips are able to send that message will be determined when the opening bell sounds Friday.

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For big showdown, Tips and Giants bring 'B' game

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer


EVERETT - This weekend's games between the Everett Silvertips and the Vancouver Giants, the top two teams in the Canadian Hockey League, may be the most eagerly anticipated of the WHL season so far.

However, a little of the luster of those games has been taken off because both teams will be a shadow of their true selves. Neither Everett nor Vancouver will be anywhere near full strength when the teams square off tonight in Vancouver and Saturday in Everett, both games a casualty of the schedule-makers.

"I'm excited, of course," said Everett goaltender David Reekie, who will be in goal with Leland Irving gone. "But on the other hand we want to play their whole team. We want to show we can beat the whole Vancouver Giants, not just when their core guys are gone."

The primary reason for the player shortage is the World Junior Hockey Championships. Most of the competing countries are holding their tryouts now, meaning many junior teams are bereft of their best players. While Everett loses Irving to Canada's tryouts, Vancouver is minus five players: Left wing Kenndal McArdle and defensemen Cody Franson and Brendan Mikkelson are trying out for Canada, left wing Michal Repik is with the Czech Republic and center Mario Bliznak is with Slovakia.

The tradeoff may seem to give a big edge to the Silvertips. However, Everett has other issues. The Tips appeared to receive a bonus when leading scorer Peter Mueller was allowed to stick around for the Vancouver games, since Team USA has already chosen its team. But his status is now up in the air because of a boarding major penalty he took in Wednesday's 4-2 loss at Spokane. He could end up suspended for one or both games.

Also, defenseman Eric Doyle is out with a leg injury and right wing Brandon Campos is doubtful because of a hip injury. All of which means both teams will be fielding their B teams this weekend.

"I don't know where that swings it," Vancouver coach don Hay said. "For us, we worry about the players we have available, we're not going to worry about anything else. We feel our strength is in our systems. If we play well and continue to do the things that made us successful, we'll continue to have success."

It's possible some of those players will be back for at least one game. Canada's final cuts are scheduled for this morning. It's conceivable that anyone cut could hop a plane out of Calgary and arrive in Vancouver in time for tonight's game. More likely, any cut players would be available Saturday.

But even if players return, the teams will still be short of full strength.

"I don't think you can put an enormous amount of stock in the results because the guys who are missing are the difference makers," Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. "When you take the difference makers out of games you have to be careful of passing any judgment on really where the two teams are at.

"But it will still give you a better feel for the other team because you're playing them head to head," Constantine continued. "We'll certainly understand each other better after the weekend."

Slap shots: Neither team is coming into the weekend playing its best hockey of the season. Everett lost two of its past three, with the one win requiring a miracle third-period comeback. Vancouver recently suffered a three-game losing streak before winning its past three. ... Everett should have some players back for this weekend's games. Right wing Moises Gutierrez (knee) and center Damir Alic (shoulder) are slated to return tonight. Also, left wing Kyle Beach, who didn't finish Wednesday's game after being popped in the nose during a fight, will wear a full bubble and should be able to play. ...

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According to the article, Beach (wearing a full bubble), Gutierrez and Alic should all play...but Doyle and Campos are both doubtful. Mueller's status is still up in the air.