Carter Hart never did get that 27th WHL regular season shutout that would have made the WHL record his alone.
The one he got on Saturday night at Angel of the Winds Arena probably felt way better than that one would have.
Hart stopped all 36 shots he faced and the Everett Silvertips beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-0, to take the series 4-1 and eliminate the team that ended their season three times over the past five year.
Connor Dewar, who has had an incredible series, scored once and added two assists and Garrett Pilon added two assists to lead the way for Everett offensively.
Dewar won a battle with Reece Harsch to get the puck the front of the net and Riley Sutter got the lone marker of the first.
Ondrej Vala added a marker in the second to make it 2-0 and Patrick Bajkov netted a power play goal to hive Everett a 3-0 advantage after 40 minutes.
The Thunderbirds played desperate over the last period but despite 11 chances, could bot solve Hart.
Dewar chipped in an empty netter and is now tied for the team-high in points with eight in five games,
Liam Hughes stopped 42 of 45 in the loss.
Congratulations Austin, Turner and Donovan on great 20-year old seasons. You brought passion, intensity and dedication every game. We are so proud to
have had you wear the T-Birds colors. You'll always be WHL Champions.#OnceABirdAlwaysABird? @BrianLiesse pic.twitter.com/FgLoIo6xEL
— Seattle Thunderbirds (@SeattleTbirds) April 1, 2018
Everett will wait for the winner of the Portland-Spokane series. Game 1 is Friday, April 6th and Game 2 is Saturday, April 7th.
