The top two teams in the U.S. Division clashed on Saturday night. The Everett Silvertips (15-5-1-0) led the Portland Winterhawks (14-5-1-2) by two points entering the evening. The Winterhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead and ultimately held on for a 4-3 victory, bringing the teams into a tie atop the standings.
Portland has been fighting the injury bug lately but received a boost with the return of Seth Jarvis and Simon Knak to the lineup.
Jarvis was glad to make his return on Saturday. “I think sitting out those (three) games was a little bit hard, but it is what I needed to do to get back. Coming back brought a lot of excitement for me. It was fun, especially getting the win.”
The Winterhawks came out flying and scored the opening goal against the Silvertips for the second time this season.
Jake Gricius picked up where he left off on Wednesday night. The overage centerman lit the lamp 1:31 into the contest for an early Portland lead. The goal was the Colorado Springs, Colorado, native’s fifth goal in the last three games.
Winterhawks general manager and head coach Mike Johnston said, “I thought we came out of the gate hard and made a lot of good plays early in the game. We had our skating legs and then we got the lead. We did that against them in Everett. Certainly teams as well structured like they are, it is good to have the lead. It kind of forces them out of their comfort zone.”
Before the horn could sound on the opening 20 minutes, 2002-born forward Tyson Kozak found a loose puck to the left of Dustin Wolf for his fourth goal of the season.
Describing his goal, Kozak said, “I just saw (Matthew) Quigley shoot it from the point. Simon bumped it to me in front of the net, and I just had to put it in. That one felt good. I’ve been in a little bit of a drought lately, but that one felt really good.”
Jarvis mentioned, “Tyson’s goal there, that is the most excited I’ve ever seen him on a celebration. Awesome for him.”
In the second period, the teams traded goals.
Everett’s power play has been clicking of late, scoring six goals with the man advantage in the last two games.
Silvertips captain Bryce Kindopp commented on their recent success, “I think our special teams, power play, and penalty kill have been really good. It is something we take a lot of pride in, and we have worked on it a lot lately. It is good to see them working.”
Gage Goncalves took a cross-ice pass from Cole Fonstad and had the entire net to shoot at for his 11th of the season.
With less than three minutes remaining in the middle frame, the puck was dumped in on Wolf. Mason Mannek pressured the 18-year-old netminder into a mistake. Lane Gilliss was the beneficiary and fired the puck far side for his sixth tally of the year.
Portland held a 3-1 lead entering the 3rd period and looked to be in complete control of the game.
Jaydon Dureau won a puck battle along the wall and sent a pass to an open Seth Jarvis. The 17-year-old then wired a shot glove-side on Wolf that kissed the post on the way in.
“Jake (Gricius) and Jaydon (Dureau) did an unreal job on the forecheck creating havoc,” Jarvis described. “It popped out to me, and I was able to put it into the net. I trust my shot, and I think beating goalies glove side is kind of easy for me. Shooting there was just kind of an instinct.”
Portland ultimately ended up needing the goal as Everett pushed hard in the final five minutes.
Gage Goncalves picked up his second goal of the game on a wraparound to start the Silvertips comeback. The 18-year-old from Mission, British Columbia, is off to a blazing start. Last year the six-foot-one, 170-pound forward registered 1 goal and 14 points in 67 games. Through 18 games in 2019-2020, he has 12 goals and 8 assists.
Kindopp is not surprised at Gage’s progression. “I knew he would have a big jump this year. He is a really skilled hockey player that sees the ice really well. He is doing all the right things and is being rewarded for it, which is really good to see.”
As Everett continued to pressure, the Winterhawks were forced to ice the puck. Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams called his timeout with 3:09 remaining. Whatever he said during the 30 second break worked.
Kindopp won the faceoff back to Gianni Fairbrother who put a slap shot onto Joel Hofer. Kindopp and Max Patterson were at the front of the net. The goal was announced as Kindopp’s but may be changed to Patterson after the fact.
Either way, the Silvertips cut their deficit to one and 27 seconds later were given their fifth power play of the game. Everett came close on a Fairbrother chance only a few feet in front of Hofer, but the puck stayed out.
Portland was able to get the kill and run the clock out for a 4-3 victory.
While Kindopp was proud of the pushback, he wasn’t thrilled the team was in the situation. “We need to be in the lead early and build from there. Good to see a little bit of pushback, but we can’t put ourselves in those situations.”
In the last few minutes Mike Johnston continued to play Tyson Kozak in an elevated role with Robbie Fromm-Delorme and Reece Newkirk still out of the lineup. “Even though Tyson doesn’t turn 17 until Christmas, we still consider him like a 17-year-old player with us as a 2002-born,” Johnston said. “I just think he keeps getting better and better. He is a very responsible guy. You saw tonight without Newkirk, we had Kozak killing with Gricius on our top penalty-killing group. That is the type of confidence we have in him. We don’t mind him out late in the game either. I think for him, he is just a guy you trust at both ends of the rink.”
Kozak mentioned how the increase in minutes is beneficial for him. “With the injuries that we have, a lot of guys are stepping up. Everyone is logging more minutes than they are used to and are adapting. I think it is going to make me more confident and up my game even more, playing against these top players.”
“Tyson played unreal (Saturday),” Jarvis said postgame. “That was another big game for him. He has been playing great as of late, especially with all the guys out. I think he has stepped up big and played some big minutes and roles he is not used to.”
Getting Jarvis and Knak back helped bring some experience to the lineup for Johnston, but he discussed the youth still playing key roles. “You could see even late in the game we had a lot of inexperienced guys that were playing still. They are getting a great opportunity and are getting some time when they normally wouldn’t. I think it is positive but is challenging when you are playing a team that has a veteran lineup like these guys do up front. I thought Simon and Jarvis were good tonight. They are just a little bit off because of game timing, but thought they both played well.”
Everett returns home to the Angel of the Winds Arena where they conclude their three-in-three against the Tri-City Americans. Kindopp talked about what needs to be different on Sunday. “We just need a better start. We can’t get behind like that in these games. It is a big, important game, and we need to come out better.”
Portland wraps up their homestand with their only matchup against the Saskatoon Blades. “When we play those teams from the other side, it is all about our game and making sure our game is solid,” Johnston said. “We want to build off what we did tonight. They are playing three-in-three, so we have to have some good energy, play our depth, and hopefully that will be a factor in the game.”
Notes:
– Everett has only lost twice in regulation in the last 18 games. Both losses have come at the hands of the Winterhawks.
– Joel Hofer stopped 28-of-31 Silvertips shots in his 60 minutes of action. Dustin Wolf was 30-for-34 in 58:48 of game time.
– Faceoffs were pretty even between the teams. Portland held a slight edge 31-28, in large part to Jake Gricius and Tyson Kozak who went 15-of-22 and 8-of-13 respectively.
