Everett, WA. – Ryan Grout made a career high 57 saves for the Tri-City Americans (25-26-3-1) Sunday night, who battled back from a 3-0 deficit, but couldn’t find the equalizer in a 3-2 loss to the Everett Silvertips (47-7-2-1).
Fast Start and Late First-Period Breakthrough
The first period began with an excellent pace as both teams had scoring chances in the early going. The best look for the Americans came on a give-and-go passing play off the rush, with Cruz Pavao just missing the return feed to open the scoring.
It wasn’t until late in the period that the first goal of the game was scored. After Everett worked the puck out of their own zone, a two-on-one rush quickly developed through center ice.
Landon Dupont gained the Americans line on right wing and held onto the puck as long as he could before sliding it over to Jesse Heslop who beat Ryan Grout on the blocker side. The goal came with 5:06 remaining in the period.
Tri-City went to the penalty kill late in the period, but held the Silvertips power play off the board to get to the intermission down just 1-0. Shots were 20-7 Everett after one.
Everett Extends Lead in Dominant Second Period
The second period saw Everett turn up the pressure and add to their lead. After a lengthy shift in their own zone, the Americans turned the puck over on a clearing attempt at the blue line and Carter Bear wired a wrist shot past Grout to extend the lead 4:43 into the second.
Everett continued to rack up chances in the middle frame, outshooting Tri-City 24-5. Zackary Shantz pushed their lead to 3-0 after another turnover in the neutral zone as Bear was denied on a partial break but stayed with the play and hooked the rebound to the slot for Shantz to score.
The Americans went to their first power play shortly after the goal but couldn’t cut into the lead. Everett carried their 3-0 advantage into the third, outshooting Tri-City 44-12.
Americans Rally in the Third Period
The pace slowed down in the early going of the third period and the Americans got on the scoreboard. Cruz Pavao skated down the left side of the Everett zone off the rush before getting to the goal line. He saw that Raiden LeGall was low in the crease and Pavao lifted a shot over the shoulder of the Everett goaltender for his 16th of the season 4:56 into the third.
The game remained 3-1 for over 13 minutes before Tri-City struck again. David Krcal came out from behind the Everett net and backhanded the puck up to Jakub Vanecek, who fired a one timer along the ice and through the five hole of LeGall with 1:36 left in regulation, cutting the lead to 3-2.
Late Push Falls Just Short
The Americans called their 30-second timeout following the goal, but the Silvertips clogged up the neutral zone and didn’t allow the Americans to advance as the clock wound down, eventually hitting zero as the Silvertips held on for the 3-2 win.
The Americans return home to host the Victoria Royals (24-23-5-3) on Tuesday night for a pivotal matchup at the Toyota Center.