 |
| Captain Matt Fonteyne and the Silvertips are a desperate team. |
The Everett Silvertips will be the desperate team on Friday
when they hit the ice at the Angel of the Winds Arena for Game 5 of the WHL
Championship series at 7:30 p.m. local time in Everett. The Swift Current
Broncos lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 and can capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup
with a victory in Friday’s showdown.
For the first time in the post-season, the Silvertips are
facing an elimination game. When the Everett players, coaches and staffers
commute to their home rink on Friday, they know it will be their last home game
of the campaign, and it could be their last game overall in the 2017-18 season.
After posting the third best record in the WHL regular
season at 47-20-2-3 and battling through three rounds of the playoffs, the
Silvertips players have built big bonds and will not want to see their campaign
come to an end.
One of the hardest things to digest is watching your
opponent celebrate a league championship in your rink, and for Everett
overagers in captain Matt Fonteyne, Patrick Bajkov and Kevin Davis, they are
facing the fact that could be their final memory in major junior hockey. All three
are career Silvertips having played five compete seasons with the team.
The Broncos are a tight group too and have grown tighter
through their playoff journey. They finished second overall in the WHL regular
season with a 48-17-5-2 record and are one win away from capturing their first
WHL championship since 1993, which happens to be the last time a Saskatchewan
based club has won the WHL title.
Swift Current faced desperate teams already in the
post-season winning two series deciding Game 7s and posting a 3-2 record in
contests where they can close out a series. The desperation they will likely
see out of the Silvertips will be something different from what they have faced
in the past.
The Broncos have three chances to win the WHL crown, and
this first opportunity will likely be the hardest one to do it in.
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| Kevin Davis has one point for the Silvertips in the WHL title series. |
The Broncos path to a road championship celebration will
likely mean playing a game that was similar to what took play in their 1-0
victory in Game 4 in Everett on Wednesday. In that contest, Broncos star
19-year-old netminder Stuart Skinner made 32 saves to post his fifth shutout of
the post-season.
Skinner has stopped 132-of-139 shots in the four games in
the series with the Silvertips and is the odds on favourite to be named the MVP
of the WHL playoffs. The Broncos top skaters like captain Glenn Gawdin, Tyler
Steenbergen, Aleksi Heponiemi, Giorgio Estephan, Matteo Gennaro and Colby
Sissons have all come through with big plays helping Swift Current post three
straight one-goal victories over Everett.
Star goaltender Carter Hart has given the Silvertips the
goaltending they’ve needed turning away 115-of-124 shots in the series. The
Silvertips need to get a special night out of one of their top offensive
players.
Bajkov, who led the Silvertips in regular season scoring
with 33 goals and 67 assists, has one goal in four games against the Broncos.
Fonteyne, who was second in team regular season scoring for Everett with 35
goals and 53 assists, has two goals in four games against the Broncos.
Right-winger Garrett Pilon was the third leading scorer on
Everett’s roster in the regular season piling up 34 goals and 46 assists in 69
games split between the Kamloops Blazers and Silvertips. He had three assists
in the first two games of the WHL title series with the Broncos and has been held
pointless in the last two outings.
Left-winger Connor Dewar was fourth in Silvertips team
scoring in the regular season recording 38 goals and 30 assists in 68 games. He
has been really snakebitten around the net in the series with the Broncos
recording one goal and one assist in four games.
 |
| Broncos G Stuart Skinner is a leading candidate for WHL playoff MVP. |
If any of those top end players can break through with a big
game, the Silvertips will extend their season.
In this contest, the first goal will likely be more key than
ever due to the fact the Broncos have won the last three straight clashes. If
the Broncos score first, they will likely get an emotional boost knowing how
close they are to lifting the championship trophy, and nervous energy might hit
the Silvertips with thoughts of what might be slipping away.
If the Silvertips score, they will likely get energized by
the opportunity to erase what happened in the previous three encounters for at
least one night.
Due to the situation of the series, the Silvertips will
likely deliver their best effort in Game 5, and it will be interesting to see
if the Broncos can weather the storm.
Hay retires as Blazers head coach
 |
| The Blazers announced Don Hay has retired as the team’s head coach. |
In a surprising development on Thursday, the Kamloops
Blazers announced the Hay has retired as the team’s head coach, and he will
stay on with the club in a newly created role of senior advisor of hockey
operations. Hay is the all-time leader in career regular season head coaching
victories in the WHL posting a 750-506-110 record with the Blazers, Tri-City
American and Vancouver Giants.
He was a Blazers assistant coach when they won the Memorial
Cup in 1992 and their head coach for their Memorial Cup victories in 1994 and
1995. Hay guided the Vancouver Giants to a Memorial Cup title in 2007.
Last season, the Blazers missed the playoffs with a 30-37-1-4 record.
Last season, the Blazers missed the playoffs with a 30-37-1-4 record.
The Blazers also announced general manager Stu MacGregor has
joined the amateur scouting department of the Dallas Stars and the contracts of
Matt Recchi, who was the team’s director of player personnel, and Mike Needham,
who was an assistant coach, will not be renewed.
The media members in Kamloops noted that Hay was not present
at the press conference, when these announcements were made. That has led to
early speculation that Hay might have been forced into retirement.
The Blazers are bidding to host the 2020 Memorial Cup, so
this shake up wasn’t expected.
Anyways, time will tell how long Hay stays retired from
coaching.
Hurricanes set for the future
 |
| Dylan Cozens was named the WHL’s rookie of the year. |
Having advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship
series last year, the Hurricanes heading into a reloading phase for the 2017-18
campaign. The bumps in the reload only lasted the duration of the regular
season, where the Hurricanes finished second in the Central Division with a
33-33-6 record.
In the playoffs, the Hurricanes made a surprising run to a
second straight WHL Eastern Conference Championship series. At that point, they
gave the Swift Current Broncos, who finished second overall in the WHL regular
season standings with a 48-17-5-2 mark, all they could handle. Swift Current prevailed
in the hard-fought best-of-seven series 4-2.
The Hurricanes do lose three key overagers. Left-winger Brad
Morrison had a stellar post-season piling up 16 goals and 21 assists in 16
games. His 37 points equaled the Hurricanes team record for most points in one
post-season set by Wes Walz with 13 goals and 24 assists in the 1990 playoffs.
Netminder Logan Flodell was named the top goalie in the
Eastern Conference posting a 38-18-4 record, a 3.13 goals against average, a
.909 save percentage and three shutouts in 61 regular season appearances split
between the Hurricanes and Swift Current Broncos.
Defenceman Tate Olson had a strong final WHL campaign
recording two goals and 22 assists in 54 regular season games.
 |
| Calen Addison was a standout on the back end for the Hurricanes. |
Defenceman Calen Addison cemented his role as a power-play
quarterback as a 17-year-old sophomore leading all Lethbridge rearguards in
scoring with 11 goals and 54 assists in 68 regular season games.
Centre Logan Barlage, who completed his 16-year-old rookie
season, had seven goals and 13 assists in 71 regular season games split between
the Hurricane and Broncos, and he has the potential to make a bigger impact in
future seasons.
Flodell and Barlage came to the Hurricanes in a blockbuster
trade with the Broncos on Jan. 9.
Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt is one of the
smartest men in hockey, and he always seems to make the most astute move for
his team. Lethbridge has a strong coaching staff led by head coach Brent Kisio.
When the 2018-19 season gets underway, it wouldn’t be a
surprise to the Hurricanes be one of the league’s stronger teams.
Blades lose popular Russian to KHL
 |
| Mark Rubinchik has signed to play in the KHL. |
On Monday, the team issued a nice send-off press release for
Russian import defenceman Mark Rubinchik, who signed a two-year, two-way
contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League. He was set
to enter his 19-year-old campaign with the Blades.
Last season, Rubinchik, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 188
pounds, appeared in 67 regular season games for the Blades posting four goals
and 19 assists. Over two campaigns in Saskatoon, he has suited up for 130
regular season games recording four goals and 42 assists.
The Blades selected Rubinchik, who is from Moskva, Russia,
in the first round and seventh overall in the 2016 CHL Import Draft. He became
one of the more popular players around the team’s dressing room displaying a
constant huge grin on his face and an upbeat personality.
“It’s surreal for sure,” said Rubinchik in the release. “You
grow up watching the guys play at the highest level, and you see how the arenas
fill with people watch players do what they love.
“I used to think, “I want to be like them.” The KHL is a
great league – arguably the second best in the world. Of course, being close to
family and friends is a bonus as well.
“I just want to establish myself as an impact player early
on in my career, and I hope that Salavat Yulaev gives me that opportunity.”
Rubinchik said he was grateful for his time in Saskatoon.
 |
| Mark Rubinchik controls the puck at the point for the Blades. |
“I wish the boys all the best. They were always so kind to
me and helped me out when I needed it most. Being so far away from home can be
challenging, but everyone in Saskatoon made sure I felt safe and superb.
“I’m very proud to call every staff member and player my
friend, thank you.”
Blades general manager Colin Priestner was pleased to see
Rubinchik get a chance to play in a top professional league, where he can play
close to home.
“It’s great, we love seeing our player move on to the next
level and for Mark to be able to do that back home is exciting for both him and
his family,” said Priestner in the release. “It’s never easy to move across the
world when you’re a teenager, but Mark came here focused and really fit in well
with our group.
“He was an important part of our organization both on the
ice and in the community, so we’re thankful to have had him for the past two
seasons. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward and thank him for his
commitment to our club during his time here.”
With Rubinchik’s departure, the Blades have two import spots
to fill, and they plan to make two selections in the CHL Import Draft, which is
slated to be held either June 26 or 27.
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