It's just the preseason, but the defending US Division Champion Everett Silvertips are off to a solid start. The Tips went 3-0 in their own tournament last weekend, before splitting a pair of games in the Tri-City tournament this week.
Yan Khomenko and Dawson Leedahl lead the team with five points in the preseason and Mario Petit leads goal-tending with a 0.79 GAA while stopping 70-of-72 shots. Everett will conclude the preseason next week with two home games against Portland on Friday September 18 and Victoria the next day. Click here for more information.
EVERETT PRESEASON TOURNAMENT
Defeated Victoria Royals 5-4
The Everett Silvertips started their annual preseason tournament against BC Division foes Victoria Royals. Victoria struck first with a goal from Matthew Phillips, but Everett answered right back 15 seconds later with a goal by Dawson Leedahl. Carson Stadnyk and Gunnar Wegleitner had goals to help Everett lead 3-1 after two periods. New Russian winger Yan Khomenko scored to help Everett maintain 4-1 lead.
Then things got interesting when Victoria answered back twice, including a short-hander from Chaz Reddekopp. Brayden Pachal was called for tripping, and Patrick Bajkov capitalized on the power play to put Everett up 5-3. Regan Nagy would score to help cut the deficit by one, but Victoria couldn't score an equalizer. Austin Lotz stopped 39-of-43 shots for Everett.
Defeated Spokane Chiefs 4-0
Everett would face Spokane the next night with likely backup Mario Petit in net. Petit made the most of this opportunity with a 31 shot shutout. Matt Fonteyne and Mackenzie Dwyer scored in the second period to give Everett a 2-0 lead with Cole Chorney and Yan Khomenko adding goals in the third to cap the victory.
Defeated Portland Winterhawks 4-3
The final day of the tournament, Everett would face US Division rival Portland. Everett struck first with a goal from Remi Laurencelle, with Carson Stadnyk adding to make it 2-0. Portland would answer back to lead 3-2, with two goals from Carl Ericson and one by Alex Overhardt. Everett received a power play chance at 14:12 due to Portland being called for too many men. Carson Stadnyk scored his second goal of the night to make it 3-3. Everett would go on the power play again with Yan Khomenko scoring for the second straight night. Carter Hart stopped 33-36 shots in net.
TRI-CITY PRESEASON TOURNAMENT
Lost to Prince George Cougars 2-4
The Silvertips would square off against Prince George for their first game at Tri-City. Hart would start in net but would be relieved by Petit after giving up three goals on nine shots in the first period. Matt Fonteyne and Devon Skoleski would score for Everett but the Silvertips came up short losing 2-4 to the Prince George Cougars. Mario Petit went on to stop 15-16 shots in relief for Hart.
Defeated Portland Winterhawks 3-1
The Silvertips battled against Portland again for their finale in Kennewick. All the scoring occurred during the second period with Everett jumping out first with a goal from Spencer Gerth. Alex Overhardt would counter back 5 minutes later with a goal to even things up but Patrick Bajkov helped Everett retake the lead two minutes later. Dawson Leedahl would score on the power play at the 19:48 mark to seal a 3-1 victory for Everett. Mario Petit stopped 24-25 shots in his second start in net.
OTHER TIPS NEWS
- Everett will have four players attending NHL camps. Carson Stadnyk (St. Louis Blues), Nikita Scherbak (Montreal Canadiens), Kevin Davis (Edmonton Oilers), and Austin Lotz (Chicago Blackhawks) Noah Juulsen will not be attending camp in Montreal due to recovery from a concussion.
- Everett made a trade sending defenseman Jordan Wharrie to the Victoria Royals for prospect defenseman Carter Stephenson.