Everett Comes Back to Beat Tri-City 4-2
By Dan Mulhausen | Tri-City Americans
EVERETT, WA – Heading into Saturday, the Americans had compiled a 15-0 record when leading after two periods. But, in the final game before the Winter Break, Tri-City let their first lead slip away, leaving a sour memory for the Americans to replay in their minds over the holidays.
Brennan Yadlowski scored the eventual game-winning goal as part of a three-goal third period, as the Everett Silvertips (16-15-2-3, 37 pts) rallied for a 4-2 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans (19-11-1-1, 40 pts) in front of 5,725 fans at Comcast Arena. With the win, Everett heads into the break having won two straight and improved to 3-0-0-1 against Tri-City this season. Meanwhile, the Americans saw their three-game winning streak snapped. Tri-City also has dropped their last three contests vs. the ‘Tips, something the club has not done since a three-game stretch in the 2007-08 season.
It didn’t take Everett long to get the scoring started, as the Silvertips connected on their first shot of the game. Just 24 seconds into the contest, and from behind the net, Kellan Tochkin found Parker Stanfield in the slot. Stanfield fanned his shot, however, but the puck found Josh Winquist, who then shelved a shot on Drew Owsley.
Tri-City responded quickly, though, as they countered on their first shot of the game as well. After Brendan Shinnimin ripped a shot into the Everett zone, Mason Wilgosh collected the puck behind Silvertips’ netminder, Kent Simpson. Wilgosh then feed Adam Hughesman, set-up in the slot, who knotted the game at 1-apiece.
Seven and a half minutes later, Hughesman was heard from again, this time on the power play. Shinnimin again found Hughesman parked in front of Simpson, who redirected the pass past the goaltender, recording his 20th goal of the season and putting the Americans on top 2-1.
The rest of the first period belonged to Owsley, as he held the Everett offense in check and finished with 14 saves in the period. After the first 20 minutes, the Silvertips headed to the locker room with a 15 to 4 shot advantage but trailed by one on the scoreboard.
Tri-City returned the favor in the second period, outchancing Everett 10 to 5 over the next 20 minutes. But the Americans could not generate any more offense on Simpson and the Silvertips, as they held tight to their one-goal lead entering the final period. However, Tri-City hurt themselves by taking five of their 10 penalties in the third period, as Everett eventually capitalized to grab the lead.
Just 2:01 into the third, a costly turnover in the Tri-City zone ended up on the stick of Tochkin. From the right circle, Tochkin whipped around and fired a shot on Owsley, who made the save. But, there to capitalize on the rebound was Tyler Maxwell, who put back his team-leading 24th goal of the season and tied the game at 2.
Then, at the 6:49 mark of the period, and on the man-advantage, Ryan Murray set-up Yadlowski at the right point, whose shot glanced off the post and past Owsley, giving Everett the lead for good.
With just over two minutes remaining, a Hughesman tripping penalty put a damper on Tri-City’s comeback attempt. But, with Owsley pulled to make it 5-on-5, and 40 seconds remaining in regulation, Simpson made a brilliant glove save on Shinnimin to keep Everett on top by one.
Everett called timeout after the save and, 26 seconds later, Scott MacDonald found the back of the vacated Americans’ net to cap the scoring in the contest.
On the night he became just the 7th Tri-City goaltender to surpass the 5,000-minutes played mark, Owsley collected 31 saves on 34 shots in the loss. Meanwhile, Simpson picked up 24 of the 26 shots he faced to win just his second game since Thanksgiving. Tri-City, which was averaging 9.25 power play opportunities per game over their last four games, finished 1-for-2 on the man-advantage while Everett went 2-for-6.
With a 4-2 record thus far in December, the Americans will now get the next eight days to rest up at home before returning to Kennewick to prepare for a critical portion of their schedule. Their final three games of 2010 will be against the two clubs they currently trail in the standings, Portland and Spokane, and will start with a home-and-home series with the division-leading Winterhawks (25-9-0-3). Game time is 7:00 p.m. for Tuesday, December 28’s meeting at the Rose Garden in Portland. The two division rivals have split the first two games in the nine-game season series, with the ‘Hawks taking the most recent meeting, a 5-1 win in Portland on December 3. Portland enters the break having gone 4-4-0-2 over their last 10 games, while the Americans have won seven of their last 10. Fans can catch all the action live, via WHL Live, at the Americans’ home away from home, Kimo’s Sports Café in Richland. The game will also be broadcast live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:45 p.m.
Applebee’s 3 Stars:
1, Kellan Tochkin, Everett
2, Ryan Murray, Everett
3, Kent Simpson, Everett
