Thunderbirds hammer division-leading Everett Silvertips 7-0

KENT – There’s nothing like dominating one of your biggest rivals to get your game back on track.

Seattle hosted the division-leading Everett Silvertips Saturday night at the ShoWare Center and dominated them in every aspect on the way to a 7-0 shutout win. The T-Birds had two goals from Roberts Lipsbergs, three assists from Mathew Barzal and 15 saves from Taran Kozun.

Seattle (31-21-3-4) got contributions up and down the lineup as it was the more physical team and defensively did not give Everett any room to work.

“It was the most consistent game we’ve played in a long time,” head coach Steve Konowalchuk said. “First two periods, everybody was on the same page, playing with jump, playing with intensity and playing smart.”

Seattle held Everett (35-17-3-4) to only 15 shots, which allowed Kozun to pick up his fourth shutout of the year.

“I just thought we kept it simple all night,” defenseman Evan Wardley said. “We got pucks out, got pucks deep. On the forecheck we were physical right from the get-go and I think that when we have that presence it makes teams hesitant.”

Wardley led the way for the T-Birds defense by throwing big hits early and often. That physical play set the tone for the game and let Everett know they would be in for a long night.

“We want to play that way against everybody,” Konowalchuk said. “If we’re not getting to the puck we want to make sure we’re physical. Our guys were jumping good tonight, it was good to see.”

After getting a first period lead on a Keegan Kolesar marker, the T-Birds took control early in the second period when they scored four goals in just over four minutes of play. It started after killing off an early Everett power play – Scott Eansor was fresh out of the penalty box, got the puck, broke in on Silvertips’ goalie Austin Lotz and slid it by him for his 11th goal.

“The way we were coming out I kind of felt if we can get that second or third goal it would be a hard night for them,” Konowalchuk said.

That goal broke the Silvertips’ backs and Seattle started filling the net.

Lipsbergs would get his first score two minutes later to make it 3-0 and Ethan Bear would pick up his 11th goal two minutes after that to make it 4-0.

It was a tough night for Lotz, who allowed four tallies on the first nine shots he faced. The T-Birds weren’t done with Lotz, however, as Cory Millette would bang home a goal from right in front late in the second to give Seattle a commanding five-goal lead.

Seattle didn’t let up in the third period and would score twice more as Ryan Gropp finished a nice pass from Shea Theodore and Lipsbergs would get his second of the night after a rush up ice.

There were a lot of offensive stars Saturday night and once again Barzal was at the center of it. He drove the play every time he was on the ice and picked up three more assists. He has seven helpers in his last two games and has picked up 10 points over the last four.

For a team that struggled early in the season to score goals, getting a home season-high seven against a good defensive club like Everett was huge.

“It’s definitely really good to see,” Eansor said of the goals. “Good to see other guys put it in the net. Once our top few lines are going, our other lines are going. I think we lead by example. Younger guys and other guys are gaining confidence in games like this.”

While the goal scoring was fun for the 5,008 in attendance, Seattle only needed the first one thanks to its defensive effort. That included the forwards as well as the guys on the blue line. The line of Nolan Volcan, Donovan Neuls and Calvin Spencer were matched up with Everett’s leading scorer Nikita Scherbak.

Those three forechecked hard and didn’t give the Montreal Canadiens first-round pick any room, turning him into a non-factor in the game.

“Simple smart hockey players that do all the right things,” Konowalchuk said of the trio. “They’re quick enough, they finish checks and they manage the puck properly. It’s hard for other teams’ lines to get any momentum.”

With the forwards making life hard on the Silvertips, the T-Birds defensman shut down the back end. They kept the Everett forwards to the outside most of the night and did not allow them to get any good chances. With a five-goal lead they didn’t let up and only allowed four Everett shots in the third period.

Kozun got the shutout but was not tested much all night. This shutout had more to do with the guys in front of him.

“As of late we’ve let in a few goals,” Wardley said. “We’ve kind of left our goalies out to dry so as a defensive group we wanted to make sure we were strong tonight.”

Part of Seattle’s defensive effort came on the penalty kill. The T-Birds played with discipline and only allowed three Everett power-play chances. Everett has lived off of power-play goals in the season series with Seattle, scoring half of their goals with the man advantage. Saturday the T-Birds shut down all three chances and didn’t allow any shots on the first two Everett bids.

“You have to play with discipline,” Konowalchuk said of the penalty kill. “I thought Kozun made a couple saves but our guys were pretty aggressive, not giving them too much time to make their plays.”

The T-Birds will next play on Tuesday when the red hot Calgary Hitmen come to town. Calgary has won nine of their last ten and have tracked down the Medicine Hat Tigers to tie for the Central Division lead. The T-Birds will look to avoid a let down after a big win against a division rival.

“Not getting ahead of ourselves,” Barzal said looking forward. “We’ve been pretty hot the last two games scoring goals. We just need to come out with that compete and physically and we should be fine.”

Notes

• About the only thing that didn’t go right for Seattle Saturday night was its power play. They had three opportunities but failed on all three. Despite that they potted a season-high number of goals at home and the game was the largest margin in a shutout since 2009 when they beat Everett 10-0 in the last game of the season.

• The Silvertips have been in first place all season long but after losing three straight Portland is breathing down their necks. The Winterhawks are only three points behind Everett for the U.S. Division top spot. Seattle is five points back of Portland for second.

It was a good weekend for Cory Millette. He potted two goals – both from about one foot away from the goal – and added three assists in Seattle’s two games.

• Scott Eansor continues to have a strong season. He’s playing well at both ends of the ice and has three goals in his last four games.

Follow Andrew Eide on Twitter @andyeide.

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