Silvertips strut stuff

If the playoffs started today, the Spokane Chiefs would draw the first-place Everett Silvertips in the opening-round U.S. Division matchup.

Spokane has played without fear against the Canadian Hockey League’s top-ranked team all season and entered Tuesday night’s Western Hockey League game with a 4-3 season series advantage despite standing fourth in the five-team division.

That psychological advantage all went out the window in the last regular-season meeting of the season between the teams. Everett broke open a close game in the third period to post a 6-2 victory at the Arena before a crowd of 4,539.

The problems for Spokane (34-26-4-3, 75 points) started, but did not end, in net.

Starting goalie Kevin Armstrong had an admittedly poor night and gave up three goals on the first 10 shots he faced and was pulled at the 8:21 mark of the second and Spokane trailing 3-1.

He was relieved by rookie Dustin Tokarski, who faced only two shots, but made a spectacular save near the end of the second period that gave the Chiefs life after two periods.

Then, in a change of heart, Chiefs coach Bill Peters told Armstrong he would be going back on the ice to start the third. If he was trying to boost the veteran goalie’s confidence, it backfired. Armstrong was demoralized after giving up three more third-period goals.

“I don’t know, I just wasn’t feeling it out there tonight,” said Armstrong. “I made the first big save, then things just kind of took a turn for the worse. It just wasn’t my night, I guess.”

Peters refused the put all the blame on his goalie or second-guess himself for pulling him, then putting him back into net.

“I was just trying to shake things up (when he pulled him),” Peters said. “For me, it wasn’t just goaltending.”

Spokane rallied to start the third and got a goal from captain Adam Hobson at the 2:17 mark that cut Everett’s lead to 3-2. His power-play goal came when he turned the corner on Everett defenseman Graham Potuer, stopped at the near post, and put it past Silvertips goalie Leland Irving to the far side.

“We played a really solid game, we were in it the whole time,” said Hobson, sporting a nasty cut next to his right eye from a high stick that went uncalled. “It was a competitive game, but they seemed to score on their chances and we didn’t.”

Most absent for the Chiefs was the lack of production on the power play, where they went 1 of 9. Everett was 2 of 5.

Yet the team did lose any momentum it had gained after Hobson’s goal when Armstrong gave up a 2-on-1 rebound chance which Everett star Peter Mueller converted for his second goal of the game.

It came after an intense 10 minutes of hockey in which the Chiefs dominated but couldn’t get the tying goal.

Armstrong gave up another goal on the next shot, just 19 seconds later, to make it 5-2. Then Everett added an injury-to-insult goal from Jesse Burt with 29 seconds remaining.

The Silvertips took the initial lead at the 14:01 mark of the first. Jason Fransoo wristed in a shot from the right circle that eluded Armstrong high to the near side of the net.

The second goal came on a 5-on-3 Everett power play that came after a small meltdown by Peters. Upset after a penalty was called and he wasn’t allowed to substitute a couple of players, Peters barked until he received a bench minor with just less than 2 minutes left in the period.

Mueller made the Chiefs pay, as he blasted a shot from just inside the blue line that whizzed past Armstrong 18 seconds later.

After the game, Peters was sheepish about putting his team in such a hole on night when two injured starters returned (Justin Falk and Drayson Bowman).

“I put us in a bad spot when I put us in that 5-on-3,” he said. “That’s my fault. I didn’t handle that properly.”

Silvertips 6, Chiefs 2

First Period—1, Evt, Fransoo 9 (Alic) 14:01 (pp); 2, Evt, Mueller 20 (Irving) 18:20. Second Period—3, Spo, Szaszkiewicz 8 (Haw, Lenoski) 3:53; 4, Ev, Vartovnik 8 (Alic, Fransoo) 8:21.Third Period—5, Spo, Hobson 14 (Ryan, Armstrong) 2:17 (pp); 6, Evt, Mueller 21 (Hamill, Crowley) 11:51; 7, Evt, Gendur 20 (Alic, Harty) 12:10; 8, Evt, Burt 3 (Alexander) 19:31. Power-play Opp.—Everett 2 of 5; Spokane 1 of 9. Saves—Everett, Irving 23. Spokane, Armstrong 15, Tokarski 2. A—4,539..