at sea
KENT, WA – The Everett Silvertips scored three powerplay goals in the first period and didn’t look back in a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds Sunday at ShoWare Center. Following their third victory of the season, the ‘Tips will now depart for Edmonton, Alberta to open their Central Division road swing Wednesday against the Oil Kings.
Josh Birkholz netted a goal and an assist, Tyler Maxwell scored twice and Kent Simpson stopped 34 of 35 shots to lead the way for Everett – who finished 3 for 5 on the powerplay. Ryan Harrison, Dominik Bittner and Cody Fowlie each contributed a pair of assists and Everett also got goals from Nick Walters and Zach McPhee to even their season series with the T-Birds at one.
Seattle actually scored the game’s first powerplay goal six minutes in on a re-direction from Burke Gallimore, who tipped in a point shot to make it 1-0. Everett got a 5-on-3 powerplay chance three minutes later and cashed in when Josh Birkholz walked into the slot and rifled a perfect wrist shot into the top corner to knot the score at one. Tyler Maxwell notched the ‘Tips second powerplay goal just over one minute later, beating Calvin Pickard short-side to put the visitors on top 2-1.
Another powerplay opportunity led to another powerplay goal later in the first when Nick Walters’ shot from the right boards snuck through traffic and into the net to give the Silvertips a 3-1 advantage. The score remained the same all the way into the third period thanks in large part to Kent Simpson, who stopped all 15 Seattle shots in the second frame to keep Everett up by a pair.
Zach McPhee made it 4-1 eight minutes into the third, scoring his second goal of the year in front to finish off a nice cycling play. The Silvertips outshot the trailing Thunderbirds 14-10 in the third and Maxwell finished off the 5-1 win with an empty-net tally at the 18:38 mark.
Simpson’s (3-6-0-1) 34 saves helped the Silvertips hold an opponent to one goal for the first time this season. Calvin Pickard (5-3-0-0) stopped 27 shots in the loss as Seattle outshot Everett 35-32 in total. The T-Birds went 1 for 3 on the powerplay.
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The Silvertips will now venture north to Edmonton, Alberta as their Central Division road swing opens Wednesday night against the Oil Kings. Opening faceoff is set for 6:00 pm in the Pacific Time zone, with radio coverage beginning at 5:30 on Fox Sports 1380 AM. Log on to www.everettsilvertips.com throughout the road trip to track the team’s progress as well.
