Chilliwack hands Everett its fourth straight loss, 2-1 in shootout

By Nick Patterson
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- In a game where offense was at a premium, it appeared as though the Everett Silvertips' early third-period goal would be enough to end their losing streak.

Instead it just stirred up a hornet's nest known as the Chilliwack Bruins.

Chilliwack responded to Kyle Beach's tiebreaking goal by turning the intensity knob up several notches, and the Bruins went on to defeat the Silvertips 2-1 in a shootout Wednesday night at Comcast Arena.

It appeared Beach's goal at the 4-minute, 22-second mark of the third period would be enough to decide it.

Instead it motivated the Bruins into action, and Oscar Moller scored an excellent goal with 3:17 remaining to force overtime.

"When teams are down some teams get feistier and want it more," Everett captain Jonathan Harty said. "They obviously wanted to come out and tie the game up, which they did."

Chilliwack went on to win the shootout 2-1, with Jadon Potter and Nick Holden scoring the goals. Zach Hamill scored for Everett, which was participating in its first shootout of the season.

Former Silvertip Matt Esposito made 19 saves in goal to earn the win for Chilliwack (13-7-2-0).

"I thought we played terrific, definitely our best game in here as a young franchise," Chilliwack coach Jim Hiller said. "We had some long nights in here last year, but tonight was really a great effort from start to finish.

"From a fan's perspective it maybe wasn't the most exciting or entertaining game, but from a structural coach's perspective it was played tight and both teams certainly competed."

Leland Irving made 30 saves in goal for Everett (11-10-0-1), which saw its losing streak extend to four games. However, by reaching overtime the Tips did earn their first point during the stretch.

"I didn't really think the game had a lot of flow," Everett coach John Becanic said. "It was pretty tight checking, they had some good chances and we had some good chances. After we made it 1-0 they started to double their top line and it's hard to shut them down every shift, and we probably started icing the puck more than we had to. Eventually it caught up to us."

It seemed appropriate that the game's opening goal came from nothing. Beach got to a loose puck in the right corner and decided just to fling it goalward. Somehow the puck snuck between Esposito's arm and the post, giving the Tips a 1-0 lead.

Shortly after Beach had a couple golden opportunities to make it 2-0 on the power play, but fired wide with the goal beckoning, and that proved costly.

Chilliwack dominated play the rest of the way, keeping the Tips pinned in their own zone, and the Bruins finally found the net thanks to a moment of magic by Moller, the league's leading goal scorer. Mark Santorelli got the puck to Moller in the slot, and Moller did a little pirouette before backhanding a shot under Irving to tie it up.

"It was a goal-scorer's goal," Becanic said. "They were throwing pucks blind to the net and we were doing a real good job of picking them up, but one got through us. They certainly had their chances in the third. If they didn't score on that one they had a lot of other chances."

Moller's goal ultimately led to the shootout. Everett was dominating in shootouts last season, winning 10 of 12. However, the Tips definitely showed the rust of a team that hadn't faced a shootout in months. With Becanic electing to have the Tips shoot first, Beach lost control of his opening attempt and never got off a shot, setting the tone. Potter put the Bruins ahead, and although Hamill kept the Tips alive by scoring on Everett's third shot, Holden beat Irving bad with a move to his forehand to end it.

Both teams had chances on the power play in the first period, but were unable to convert. Oscar Moller smacked the post with a one-timer from the point for Chilliwack, and Beach shot wide on a partial breakaway for Everett.