Silvertips slip past Broncos 2-1 in WHL title series opener

The Silvertips celebrate a game winning goal from Connor Dewar, centre.

    SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. - The slimmest of margins made the difference in the opening game of the WHL Championship series.

    With his Everett Silvertips locked in a 1-1 tie with the host Swift Current Broncos, Silvertips left-winger Connor Dewar tipped home a point shot from Czech import defenceman Ondrej Vala at the 1:49 mark of the third period to put the visitors up 2-1. 

    Everett proceeded to shut things down defensively for most of the remainder of the frame to take the opening game of the WHL title series by that one-goal margin before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators on Friday night at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex.

    The win marked the first time the Silvertips have earned a victory in the WHL Championship series. They made their only other appearance in the WHL title series during their inaugural campaign and were swept away in the best-of-seven set 4-0 by the Medicine Hat Tigers in May of 2004.

Connor Dewar scored the winning goal for the Silvertips on Friday.

    Following Friday’s tilt, no one on Everett’s side were thinking of any milestones. Dewar just wanted his third period tally could hold up to be the decisive marker.

    “I was just hoping it would hold up and be a winning goal by the end of the game,” said Dewar. “I think it helped us get going.

    “We had a couple of more good shots after that where it didn’t go in. We just tried to minimize their chances by maximizing ours.”

    The Broncos are making their first appearance in the WHL Final since they last won the league title back in 1993. The opening result was a heartbreaker for the host side.

    Veteran 19-year-old netminder Stuart Skinner had a strong outing making 23 saves in the Swift Current goal. He just couldn’t react to the change of direction of the puck on Dewar’s tipped home goal.

Goalie Stuart Skinner makes one of his 23 saves in goal for the Broncos.

    “It was kind of just a bad bounce I think,” said Skinner. “They just shot it, and it was going up pretty high.

    “It was a high tip. If he was closer to the net, it would have been a high stick. I saw it going up, so I tried to get my body in front of it.

    “He tipped it, and it went down. It was kind of a tough one for me.”

    The Broncos hit the ice for Friday’s encounter behind a raucous crowd that often drowned out the building’s public address announcer.
    The Silvertips quieted the host team’s supporters with a power-play goal at the 14:43 mark of the opening frame, when star overage right-winger Patrick Bajkov took the puck at the left side of the Broncos net, skated across the face of the goal and tucked home the puck behind Skinner.

Aleksi Heponiemi scored for the Broncos in the second period.

    The Swift Current faithful got re-energized at the 11:26 mark of the second, when Finnish import left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi tipped home a mid-range shot from centre Matteo Gennaro to tie things up at 1-1. The goal came on the Broncos’ 24^th shot on goal.

    After Everett went ahead 2-1, the Broncos didn’t really have a quality chance to net the equalizer until late in the third. Swift Current forced a turnover in the Silvertips zone, and Gennaro found himself alone in front of the Everett goal. He tried to roof a shot top corner only to be robbed by the glove hand of Silvertips star netminder Carter Hart.

    Hart made 34 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Silvertips, who are 8-0 on the road in this year’s post-season. Star right-winger Garrett Pilon had assists on both Everett goals.

    “I thought we did a really good job being in the first game here on the road in this building that is really tough to play in,” said Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams. “We got a great power-play goal to start us off.

The Broncos fans cheer a goal from Aleksi Heponiemi.

    “We came into the second, and I probably thought the ice tilted there in favour of Swift Current. What I was really proud of was our response in the third. We started playing the way we should play.”

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said the tight encounter he expected materialized.

    “Everett did a real good job today here making it real difficult for us to get to their net front area,” said Viveiros. “They defended very well.

    “I thought both teams played very well tonight. I thought the goaltenders were very, very good for both teams. They (the Silvertips) were everything that comes as advertised tonight.

Patrick Bajkov scored the Silvertips first goal on Friday.

    “They are a team that battles real hard for loose pucks, especially in their zone, along the walls and especially in front of their net. We have to do a better job tomorrow as far as getting to the net a lot more and making sure we get our shots through to the net. I was very happy with our effort.”

    Heponiemi thought his Broncos could do a better job of getting pucks to the net.

    “They were blocking shots, and that is part of playoffs,” said Heponiemi. “We just have to play like real quick and just get pucks through.”

    Hart was pleased with how his Silvertips teammates played in front of him.

    “I felt really good in the net,” said Hart. “We did a really good job of limiting their chances to the outside.

    “We did a really good job the whole game of our D-zone coverage. I got a lot of key (shot) blocks during the year. Guys were just laying their bodies on the line to get the blocks.”

Silvertips goalie Carter Hart (#70) holds off the Broncos traffic.

    The 19-year-old, who backstopped Canada to a gold medal victory at the last World Juniors, gave praise to the Broncos fans for the support they showed their team.

    “It is good to see the support that Swift Current is getting here,” said Hart. “It is one of the smaller markets in the CHL, so it is really cool to see all the people come out and support their team and how passionate they are.

    “I think it energizes both teams. It is fun to play in these environments and play in these kind of games. Seeing how many people were here during warmups and how important it is to this city, it is cool.”

The Silvertips celebrate their Game 1 victory over the Broncos.

    Game 2 of the best-of-seven WHL title series is slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. local time at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Shirley sizzles in homecoming

Collin Shirley was on fire for the Blazers on Friday night.

    Collin Shirley ensured a rare and possibly last WHL visit to his hometown was a memorable one.

    The 19-year-old forward had a pair goals, which included a beauty on a breakaway, and an assist to power his Kamloops Blazers to a 6-2 romp over the host Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre on Friday night. Besides the strong offensive night, Shirley was also a plus-four in the plus-minus department.

    “Your time in the Western League goes pretty quick,” said Shirley. “It is crazy to think that this might be the last time to see all my friends and family here in the SaskTel Centre.

    “It was a special night I think. Lots of friends and family came out to support (me), which was awesome. I really appreciate what they have done for me.”

    As the Blazers play out of the WHL’s Western Conference, they only play in Saskatoon once every second season. That means Shirley won’t play again in “the Bridge City” unless he is traded out of Kamloops, which is unlikely, or the Blazers and Blades have a surprise meeting in the WHL championship series.

    Way back in 2011, Shirley was a first round WHL Bantam Draft selection of the Kootenay Ice, and he was dealt to the Blazers early in his 17-year-old season. He has really found his stride this season posting 19 goals, 17 assists and a plus-10 rating in the plus-minus department in 27 games.

    Shirley also played for the WHL team in the Canadian Hockey League Canada Russia Series in November and collected a goal and four assists in two games.

    “I had a better start this year than last,” said Shirley, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 197 pounds. “Jumping off to a big start was huge.

    “Me and Gage Quinney and Matt Revel are kind of clicking. It is something we didn’t really have before. It has been good so far, so hopefully we can keep that up.”

    Shirley set up Quinney for the Blazers first goal at the 14:59 mark of the first period, which tied the contest up at 1-1. Cameron Hebig gave the Blades a short lived 1-0 lead scoring just past the midway point of the opening frame.

    Early in the second period, Shirley scored on breakaway potting a goal short side on Blades goaltender Brock Hamm to give the visitors a 2-1 edge. That sparked the Blazers on a roll that saw them take a 5-1 edge into the second intermission.

    “I just kind of got lucky there,” said Shirley about his breakaway goal. “There was a blocked shot off a faceoff that kind of sent me on my way.

    “I play with Brock (Hamm) during the summer a lot. We are good buddies. I got him on the short side there, which was nice.”

    Blazers head coach Don Hay said Shirley put together a strong compete level in his game about this time last year. The veteran bench boss added that Shirley’s confidence also grew from having a great showing in the CHL Canada Russia Series.

Collin Shirley checks out on ice action after a shift.

    Hay was pleased with how all his Saskatchewan players performed on Friday night, and he believed the outing had a little extra significance for Shirley.

    “I think Shirley being 19 it was special,” said Hay. “It could be the last time that he plays in this building.

    “It is always special to come home and play well.”

    Saskatoon product Garrett Pilon and Nick Chyzowski added singles for the Blazers in the second, while Shirley picked up his second marker of the contest.

    Hamm was pulled after the second period ended having stopped 20 of 25 shots fired his way.

Associate player Dorrin Luding started the third period for the Blades and gave up a goal on the first shot he faced on a soft floater from Kamloops defenceman Ondrej Vala. Luding settled down turning away 10 of 11 shots sent his way.

    Mason McCarty rounded out the game’s scoring potting his sixth of the season for the Blades with 24.3 seconds to play in the third. Saskatoon lost its fifth in a row falling to 10-16-3.

    Imperial, Sask., product Connor Ingram made 33 stops to earn the win in goal for the Blazers (13-10-3-1).

    While the offensive side of Shirley’s game had hit another gear, he is even more proud of his work in the defensive zone.

    “For a long time, we talked about my play without the puck,” said Shirley. “I have always been a minus player in the league since I was 16 until last year.

    “This year I am kind of hoping to be in that plus (side of things) and be better defensively. The offence is there, but I need a full game.”

    Shirley had a large contingent of family and friends in the crowd of 3,797 on Friday night. There were two noticeable absences as his younger sisters Grace and Sophie were playing at the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament being held in Wilcox, Sask., and Milestone, Sask.

    Grace is a 14-year-old rookie forward on the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA team, who has 11 goals and six assists in 16 regular season games. Sophie is a 16-year-old rookie with the Notre Dame Hounds squad that plays in the Junior Women’s Hockey League, and she has piled up 10 goals and 13 assists in 16 regular season games. 

Collin Shirley's breakaway goal celebration is shown on the video screen.

    On Monday, Sophie was named as a member of Canada’s team that will play at the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation’s under-18 women’s world championships, which run Jan. 8-15 in St. Catharines, Ont.

    Collin is proud of both of his sisters, and was pumped that Sophie will get the chance to play on the international stage.

    “We give her (Sophie) a lot of credit,” said Collin. “She is a great player.

    “I used to teach her all that stuff on the backyard rink. I am just kidding. She is doing really well, and I am happy for her.”

    The Blazers head to Prince Albert on Saturday to take on the Raiders. The Blades host the Regina Pats on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    If you would like to pass along any comments about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.