Inside the CHL
After winning just three of 13 games in December, the Everett Silvertips have suddenly become one of the hottest teams in the Canadian Hockey League.
r
The Silvertips set a new team record when they edged the Kamloops Blazers 2-1 on Sunday for their 14th straight win. The 2006-07 edition of the Silvertips won 13 in a row and their 14 game winning streak matches the Kootenay Ice for the longest streak in the Western Hockey League this season.
r
“We don’t want to downplay it,” Silvertips’ coach Craig Hartsburg told The Everett Herald. “In the big picture we have lots of games left but the kids should be proud of themselves. They’ve battled back from some adversity. We didn’t have a great month in December.”
r
The Silvertips’ perfect record so far in 2010 has moved them to within seven points of the Tri-City Americans, who are in first place in the WHL standings with 76 points.
r
“Give the kids credit because they stuck with it,” Hartsburg said. “They’ve built themselves back up and they’re doing it hard. There’s nothing easy for them.”
r
Overage winger Shane Harper was a sophomore when the Silvertips set the franchise mark of 13 straight wins three years ago. He leads the team with 33 goals and 62 points in 52 games this season.
r
“We’ve been trying to be the go-getter instead of sitting back,” said Harper, who is riding a six game goal scoring streak and an eight game point streak. “Even when it’s a close game, we don’t want to sit back, we want to keep going. I think that kind of shows in those one-goal games. You can’t sit back and wait for the other team, you have to keep attacking.”
r
The streak started with a shootout win on home ice against the Americans on Jan. 2 and started to take shape with four straight road wins early this month. The past six wins have all been in one goal games, including an overtime win over the Seattle Thunderbirds on Jan. 17.
r
“Every game right now is very intense, it seems like playoff-type games no matter who we’re playing,” Hartsburg said. “What it does for our kids, though, is keep their focus. They’re learning how to play in these games and though they’re not perfect, they’re getting better at it.”
r
Earlier this season, the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Saint John Sea Dogs put together 22-game winning streaks. The WHL record for the longest winning streak is 22 games and was set by the Estevan Bruins early in the 1967-68 season.
r
The Silvertips are a long way from approaching the league record but are looking forward to seeing how long they can keep this streak alive. They travel to Spokane to face the Chiefs on Wednesday and are in Vancouver to play the Giants on Friday before returning home to host Spokane on Saturday.
r
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said goaltender Thomas Heemskerk, who made 19 saves in their 14th straight win. “You never know how long this record might stand or how much more it will grow. It’s certainly something special.”
r
In the QMJHL, the Moncton Wildcats have won all 12 games they’ve played in 2010 including weekend wins over the Victoriaville Tigres and Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The longest current streak in the OHL is a seven-game stretch by the Plymouth Whalers, who picked up wins over the Brampton Battalion and London Knights on the weekend.