The Silvertips will play either Seattle on Tuesday or Tri-Cities Friday
If the Winterhawks defeat the Thunderbirds on Sunday, the Silvertips will clinch the final WHL playoff berth and face Tri-City in the first round of the postseason. If Seattle beats Portland to tie the ‘Tips again however, the two teams will face off again at 7:05 pm Tuesday at ShoWare Center in a one-game playoff, with the winner being awarded the eighth seed.
The forward line of Manraj Hayer, Jari Erricson and Zach McPhee led the way for Everett Saturday, accounting for three goals as the Silvertips rallied to tie the game each time Seattle scored. Hayer scored twice and had an assist, McPhee scored one goal and assisted on another and Erricson contributed three assists. Josh Birkholz, Cody Fowlie and Ryan Harrison also scored as the ‘Tips took their first lead with just under five minutes remaining.
The Silvertips allowed only one shot through the first nine minutes and held a 7-1 shot edge past the halfway point of the first, but it was Seattle who would score first. Brad Deagle’s shot from the point changed direction on its way through and landed at the feet of Connor Honey, who beat Kent Simpson at 18:34 to give the T-Birds a 1-0 edge.
Everett tied it early in the second as Manraj Hayer changed direction behind the net and tucked the puck inside the post on a wraparound try. Branden Troock muscled through a check and to the front before beating Kent Simpson a few minutes later to put the Thunderbirds up 2-1. Hayer got his second goal later in the period, following Evan Morden’s shot to the net and poking it under Calvin Pickard to tie things up at two.
Luke Lockhart then scored on a penalty shot at 16:45 of the second, but the Silvertips knotted the score at three on the powerplay when Josh Birkholz directed a Ryan Murray pass into the top corner just over a minute later. Seattle re-took the lead before intermission with a powerplay score of their own on Connor Honey’s deflected shot that flipped over Simpson and rolled across the goal line.
The Silvertips came out hard in the third period, generating chances and tying the game when McPhee backhanded the rebound of a Hayer shot past Pickard to make it 4-4. This time the ‘Tips managed to score the next goal at 15:11 as Ryan Harrison’s centering feed went off the skate of a T-Bird and right to Cody Fowlie, who fired it home to give Everett its first lead of the game. Harrison then sealed the 6-4 win with an empty net goal in the final minute.
Kent Simpson (20-31-2-5) reached 20 wins for the season with a 29-save effort, while Calvin Pickard (25-36-1-1) stopped 35 shots. The Silvertips matched their season-high with 41 shots to outshoot the Thunderbirds 41-33. The ‘Tips went 1 for 2 on the powerplay and the T-Birds were 1 for 3.
The Silvertips will now await the result of Sunday’s 5:00 pm game in Portland to learn their fate. Log on to www.everettsilvertips.com Sunday evening to see whether Everett’s next game will be played Tuesday at Seattle or Friday at Tri-City in the first round of the WHL playoffs. More information on potential postseason schedules and ticket packages will become available in the event the Silvertips officially clinch a playoff berth.
March 18, 2012
Everett Sports