AFTERMATH: Three Stars, Sunday 2/18 Edition
By Hailey Robinson – Silvertips Staff Writer
Three stars of the game after the Tips defeated Kamloops, 4-0:
1. Martin Fasko-Rudas
Fasko-Rudas was moved to a line with Matt Fonteyne and Patrick Bajkov against Kamloops due to his work ethic, and it showed with a goal and two assists.
“I told them after the first if you want to mirror your game around anyone watch Fasko,” head coach Dennis Williams said. “You win with guys like him, because to him it’s not about the individual points, it’s about the two points.”
Beyond his three points, Fasko-Rudas exemplified the direction the team wanted to go for the game, planting himself net-front on the power play and battling for the puck. His hard work and drive make him a key part of the team.
“I told the guys, send the pucks on the net and we score goals,” Fasko Rudas said.
2. Patrick Bajkov
One goal away from standing alone as the Silvertips all time leading goal scorer after a power play goal today, Patrick Bajkov has long been a dominant presence on the ice for the Tips, adding an assist on Fasko-Rudas’ goal as well. Bajkov has been standing at the precipice of tying the record for two weeks, with three assists but no goals since Feb. 3.
“Getting it out of the way is a nice feeling,” Bajkov said. “Tying the record is a huge thing, obviously I want more to break it. I guess Kelowna was the last time I had a few goals so it was nice to get one in general.”
With 12 games left to play, Bajkov has topped his point total from last season by nearly 20 points, and has already gone down in Silvertips history as the franchise leader in points.
3. Dustin Wolf
While Wolf faced only 20 shots, he stopped all 20 for his fourth career shutout.
“Those are the hardest games too, sometimes,” Williams said. “If you ask the goalies they prefer the 28 to probably 32 shot category where they stay involved but I thought he was sharp when he needed to be, smothered pucks and had good rebound control.”
Wolf has four shutouts in 17 games, tying Carter Hart’s mark in his rookie season. He’s holding down the fort as Hart’s backup goaltender with remarkable poise for a rookie goaltender, and a win column more than doubling his losses and a .931 save percentage spell a bright future in the Silvertips goal.
