Tri-City, at the back end of a three-in-three, looked to close out the weekend in Everett with a win.
A place that has troubled the Americans over the years, Tri-City had just one win in its previous five years at Angel of the Winds Arena. However, this year’s Everett team is not quite like the teams of the past five seasons.
It would not be an easy task, as Tri-City had to take a 6 a.m. ferry Sunday morning after playing in Victoria on Saturday night.
After being outplayed for the first 40 minutes, Tri-City came out swinging in the third and turned what looked like a runaway Everett victory into a game. Down 3-0 entering the final period and playing with just 10 forwards, the Americans managed to force overtime before eventually completing the comeback in a shootout.
It was arguably their most impressive win of the young season, especially considering they were outshot 31-10 through the first two periods, and it will be hard to match a win like this.
First Period
The long day of travel appeared to catch up with Tri-City, as the Americans came out sluggish in the opening frame.
Tri-City had an early opportunity to break the ice and grab the first goal, but failed to capitalize on a golden chance. Everett made sure to answer on the following rush.
Defenseman Brek Liske pinched in for Everett, but his aggressive positioning backfired as David Huk received a feed for a breakaway in the opposite direction. Unfortunately for the Americans, Huk couldn’t capitalize, as Jayden Krause made the save.
Everett quickly turned the play around, with Liske charging into the Tri-City zone down the right wing and firing a shot that Ryan Grout kicked aside with a pad save.
However, as Koji Gibson retrieved the rebound for Tri-City, he collided with an Everett player and lost possession.
The puck was left sitting in front for Lukas Kaplan, who fired a rocket past Grout from close range to give Everett a 1-0 lead just four minutes into the game.
In the final minutes of the period, Everett continued to outwork Tri-City and doubled its advantage.
Following a simple dump-in, the Silvertips worked the puck out front. Eddy Spytz, despite being knocked down, managed to get a pass through to Brek Liske in the slot. Liske fired a shot that somehow slipped underneath Grout’s pad and into the net.
Tri-City also faced a few penalty kills in the opening period, but its penalty-killing unit stood strong. The Americans entered the night with one of the top-five penalty kills in the WHL, operating at an 82% success rate.
Everett carried a 2-0 lead into the first intermission and held a commanding 15-4 advantage in shots.
Second Period
The second period was much of the same, as Tri-City, playing its third road game in three nights, continued to struggle to keep pace with Everett.
The Silvertips extended their lead to 3-0 halfway through the period on the power play.
Atte Vuori, who scored his lone career WHL goal against Tri-City, found Rhys Jamieson, whose attempt went off his skate and into the net.
Things then got physical after Tri-City captain Jaxen Adam was rocked along the boards by Eddie Spytz.
Lukas Lima attempted to stick up for his teammate, dropping the gloves with Luke Vlooswyk. However, Lima was overwhelmed in the fight, taking several punches before being brought down to the ice.
It was another dominant period for Everett, which outshot Tri-City 16-6. Through 40 minutes, the Silvertips had controlled nearly every aspect of the game.
Third Period
The story of the third period was Everett’s inability to stay out of the penalty box, giving Tri-City an opportunity to climb back into a game that had seemingly gotten away from them.
The Americans took advantage early, getting on the board with a power-play goal.
Following a rebound off an Eli McKamey shot, Cruz Pavao found himself open at the backdoor and put the puck into the net to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The momentum had completely shifted toward Tri-City, and Aden Bouchard made it a one-goal game with a sharp-angle shot from the left-wing boards that squeaked through Krause and into the net.
With the net empty and the Americans pressing for the equalizer, Eli McKamey tipped a shot from Aden Bouchard that found its way through traffic and into the back of the net.
Suddenly, a game that looked all but over after 40 minutes was heading to overtime, with Tri-City completing an incredible three-goal comeback.
Overtime
Both teams had opportunities to finish the game in overtime.
Dylan LeBret, the Maine commit, had plenty of net to shoot at, but Krause aggressively challenged him by coming well out of his crease and making an excellent save to keep Everett alive.
On the other end, Rhys Jamieson found himself all alone on a breakaway. His shot beat Grout but rang off the crossbar, with the Americans getting a fortunate bounce to keep the game tied.
After an entertaining back-and-forth overtime period, neither team could find the winner, sending the game to a shootout.
Shootout
Tri-City entered the shootout having dropped its only previous attempt of the season on opening night against Spokane. Everett was also still searching for its first shootout victory of the year.
Ryan Grout proved to be the difference, turning aside all three Everett shooters.
Cruz Pavao provided the lone shootout goal for either team, completing the comeback and giving Tri-City an improbable 4-3 victory.
Postgame / What’s Next
With the miraculous victory, Tri-City improves to 8-9-1 and will now play seven of its next 10 games at home after spending an extended stretch on the road.
The victory would not have been possible without Ryan Grout, who seems to find another level whenever he faces Everett. Grout turned aside 38 shots in the 4-3 win, keeping the Americans within striking distance despite being heavily outplayed through the first two periods.
Eli McKamey also showed why Tri-City brought him in, recording a two-point night and scoring the massive game-tying goal late in the third.
The Americans top line deserves plenty of credit as well, accounting for all three goals in regulation and providing the offensive spark that made the comeback possible.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the victory was that Tri-City played a majority of the third period with just 10 forwards. Despite the fatigue of a three-in-three and the difficult travel schedule, the Americans found a way to get the job done.
Tri-City will now enjoy a much-needed bus ride home before getting some rest ahead of a doubleheader at home next weekend.
The Americans will open the weekend Friday night against the Seattle Thunderbirds as Tri-City looks to carry the momentum from one of their most memorable victories of the season.
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