When the 4,982 fans showed up to catch their only glimpse of the Everett Silvertips for the next two years, they knew they were going to see some great goaltending.
What they didn’t know, was that it wasn’t coming from the two-time Del Wilson Memorial Trophy winner Carter Hart, who has only appeared in two games this season and was listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Silvertips, once third-stringer Dorrin Luding won the goaltending duel between him and Hitmen No. 1 Nick Schneider, as he blanked the hometown team 1-0 Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Silvertips (3-3-0-0) usual backup, Dustin Wolf, was also listed as week-to-week by the club. So it has been Luding filling in between the pipes the past three games, with the advice from Hart helping him along the way.
“Hartsey is always a big part of this team. I’m happy that I’ve been given this opportunity and now I want to run with it,” said Luding, who appeared in one game with the Tips last season. “Hart tells all the time to take things day by day, and that if something gets in my head, to get it out right away. That has really helped out a lot.”
The last time the Silvertips were in the Dome on Nov. 21, 2015, the Hitmen were able to slide four past Hart, in a shootout victory.
The Himten (1-3-1-0) didn’t come out with any extra pep in their step knowing they going up against the backup’s backup. Luding wasn’t tested early, stopping nine shots in the first period with relative ease.
“We were pretty focused on our own game; there’s lots to focus on there right now,” said Hitmen Head Coach Dallas Ferguson. “They did a great job keeping our shots to the outside and we weren’t getting much second or third scoring chances. They protected the net well and he made the saves he needed to make.”
The Hitmen turned up the gas on the fill-in netminder following Wyatte Wylie’s collision with Luding. Mark Kastelic was sprung on a break six minutes into the second period while Layne Toder was in the box for holding. Dashing in on net, he tried to slide a drop pass to Luke Coleman, but it was broken up by a diving Wylie. Unable to hit the breaks, Wylie slammed right in Luding.
Luding lay motionless, folded up in his own net for a few moments while athletic trainer Blake Draughon ran out to check on him.
“I was a little worried at first; it hurt a bit. I wanted to make sure that everything was okay. Once I got up, everything felt good and I was ready to go. I actually started feeling more into the game after that,” said Luding, who made 29 stops for his first career blank slate.
After a couple casual laps in his own end, Luding determined that the knee was good to go, ending the hopes of former Hitmen Kyle Dumba to enter the game.
On Aug.1 , the Hitmen dealt Dumba to the Kamloops Blazers for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.
Dumba was selected 68th overall by the Hitmen in 2013. In 39 games over three seasons with the Hitmen, Dumba posted a 3.77 goals against average with a .875 save percentage. The Calgary native didn’t stick around long in Kamloops, as he was released and selected off waivers by the Silvertips.
On the ensuing shift, the Hitmen began to launch from anywhere and everywhere: Gennaro piped a shot from along the goal line and Toder blasted a shot from the point. The Hitmen went on to outshoot the Silvertips 13-10 in the second stanza.
At the other end of the ice, Schneider was standing on his head. The Silvertips controlled the puck in the Hitmen zone for the first 1:29 of the game and the Hitmen didn’t send a shot in the other direction until the 3:56 mark.
Entering the first game of their biennial road trip through Alberta, wingers Connor Dewar and Patrick Bajkov were two of the hottest players in the league, both with seven points in their past three games.
Bajkov was certainly on the hunt to extend that streak in Calgary.
The Nanaimo native worked his way into the wide-open slot 11:08 into the second period with a free shot at Schneider, but was denied by the left pad. He tied for the team lead with five shots.
Also having an impactful game was the Calgary product Riley Sutter.
Sutter is off to a great start with the Tips. He played a heavy game early against the Hitmen, smashing puck handlers along the boards. In six games this season, he has four goals and picked up his first assist of the season on the game winner.
The son of Ron and nephew to Darryl, Duane, Brent, Rich and Brian had the puck low on the right half wall when he spotted his captain Kevin Davis walking in from the blue line.
Receiving the puck in stride, Davis uncorked a clapper that burnt Schneider blocker side at the 3:03 mark of the third.
“Anytime you lose it’s frustrating, especially by one goal like that. Tonight they had a little better team then us and their goalie was, too. I gotta give them credit,” said Schneider, who drops to 1-2 this season despite making 32 saves.
It was a difficult game to prepare for; the Hitmen’s new head coach had never seen the Silvertips with his own eyes and both teams are still trying to figure themselves out at this point in the season.
One Hitmen player went into the fifth game of the season with a little background knowledge.
Hunter Campbell is in his first year with the Hitmen, played for the Everett Junior Silvertips 16U last season. He appeared in 22 games, scored 12 goals and 27 points. Tonight, he recognized a few familiar faces.
“Our locker rooms were beside each other last year and we worked out in the same area, so I got to know a bunch of the guys,” said the 16-year-old Campbell. “I knew what a couple of their games were like, but it just didn’t work out. We tried to get as many shots as we could on net and pepper him, but nothing went in.”
As the Hitmen were trying to force overtime in the third, Jakob Stukel got slapped with a 10-minute misconduct for not having a mouth guard in at the 13:31 mark. He had scored in back-to-back games and is now the second Hitmen this season to pick up the penalty, joining Justyn Gurney.
Earlier this week, the Hitmen finally made a decision about their backup goaltender position. On Thursday, the Hitmen reassigned Connor Dochuk to a Junior A club that has yet to be determined. That leaves 18-year-old Calgary-native Matthew Armitage to serve as backup for the 20-year-old Schneider.
The Hitmen will look to pick up the split on this brief home stand Sunday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings (2-2-0-1). Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Dome.
