Tips Jump into Fourth with Win Over Victoria
EVERETT – A capacity crowd of 8,290 fans watched the Everett Silvertips move into fourth place in the standings with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Victoria Royals on Fan Appreciation Night Saturday at Comcast Arena. Paired with losses by both Seattle and Spokane, the win guarantees Everett either the #4 or #5 seed in the Western Conference and their first-ever playoff matchup with the rival Thunderbirds. Both the ‘Tips and T-Birds conclude the regular season tomorrow.
Defensemen Mirco Mueller and Ben Betker scored goals to give Everett a 2-1 lead, but the ‘Tips would need Carson Stadnyk’s winning score with 1:28 remaining to get the win. Overager Manraj Hayer chipped in two assists and goaltender Austin Lotz (31-18-3-2) made a number of key saves among his 22 in net for the victory.
The first 20 minutes were evenly matched, but Victoria scored a late goal to take the lead. With a minute to go in the frame, Logan Nelson received a long pass from Joe Hicketts for a partial breakaway and scored on a backhand shot to put the Royals up 1-0. Shots were 13-10 in favor of Everett through the first period.
The Silvertips tied the game on the powerplay midway through the second period as Zane Jones set a screen on goaltender Coleman Vollrath just before Mirco Mueller’s low slapshot from the point made its way to the back of the net. The ‘Tips took a 2-1 lead a few minutes later when Manraj Hayer sped into the offensive zone, cut across the slot and dropped a pass to Ben Betker, who blasted it past Vollrath for his seventh goal of the year. Everett led 22-15 on the shot clock at the end of the second.
Victoria outshot the Silvertips 9-3 in the third as they worked to come from behind, which they successfully did with 3:31 to play. Brandon Magee’s centering pass from the corner bounced off the outside of the net on the play and in front to Tyler Soy, who quickly banged it in to even the score at two. The game appeared headed for overtime when Dawson Leedahl stole the puck at center to create a 2-on-1 rush before sliding a pass across to Carson Stadnyk, who fired it home to put Everett up 3-2 with less than 90 seconds to go.
Goaltender Coleman Vollrath (20-8-1-1) stopped 22 of 25 shots in net for Victoria. The Silvertips were 1 for 3 on the powerplay and held Victoria scoreless on one opportunity. Final shots were 25-24 in favor of the Everett.
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The Silvertips close the regular season Sunday evening in Portland with a 5:05 pm matchup against the Winterhawks at Memorial Coliseum. A win in that game would clinch fourth place and home ice advantage for the Silvertips in their first-round playoff series vs. Seattle. Pregame broadcast coverage starts at 4:30 pm on Fox Sports 1380 AM, or you can always watch the game online with WHL Live as well. A full schedule of the Everett-Seattle playoff series will be released after the completion of Sunday’s games.
Playoff ticket packages including all home games of Everett’s first-round playoff series vs. Seattle are available now at the team office. Visit our website or call 425-252-5100 for more information. To keep up with all the latest team news, “like” the Everett Silvertips Hockey Club on Facebook or follow @WHLSilvertips on Twitter.
