The Everett Silvertips’ lucky lottery win was no one-shot celebration.
It keeps paying dividends practically every time Niko Huuhtanen steps onto the ice.
Back in June, the Silvertips were awarded in an even-odds lottery the second-overall pick in the CHL Import Draft and used it to select right winger Niko Huuhtanen. As he so adequately proved this week in a two-game visit north to play the Prince George Cougars, the Silvertips did their homework.
They’ve uncovered a six-foot-two, 209-pound gem in Huuhtanen, an 18-year-old native of Helsinki, Finland, who had a hand in all four goals the Silvertips scored with a goal and three assists in a 4-2 victory Tuesday.
Coming off a two-goal, two-assist night Tuesday in Tuesday’s 6-5 overtime win over the Cougars, Huuhtanen found his scoring touch again in the second period of the rematch, sparking a four-goal outburst when he helped set up Ryan Hofer’s opening goal 13 seconds into the period. Huuhtanen got the puck deep and was knocked off his feet and fell into goalie Tyler Brennan, and before he could react, Ryan Hofer jammed in the loose puck just outside the crease.
The Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Huuhtanen in the seventh round of the NHL draft in July and he showed one of the reasons why on Everett’s second goal, 4:01 into the second, with Cougars defenceman Ethan Samson off for high-sticking. Playing the left point, Huuhtanen got a full extension from his lengthy wingspan and cranked off a wicked right-handed slapper that was in the net before Brennan could flinch for a 2-0 lead.
The Everett power play connected twice more in the second period and Huuhtanen's puck-handling prowess and strength along the boards made that happen. Hofer one-timed a cross-ice pass from Huuhtanen at the 16:52 mark and Alex Swetilkoff finished off a sweet feed from behind the net from Jacob Wright for the fourth goal. The second assist to Huuhtanen was his 24th point in 13 games in December, tops in the WHL. He has three goals and eight assists for 11 points in his last three games and that’s put him on a 16-18-34 pace in 31 games this season.
The Cougars, to their credit, did not quit and gave their fans in the crowd of 1,641 reason to cheer in the third period. Riley Heidt won a draw in the Everett end and the puck came back to rookie defenceman Bauer Dumanski, who slid a wrist shot that trickled through the legs of goalie Koen MacInnes to break up his shutout bid 4:32 into the third. The Cougars replaced Brennan with an extra skater on a power play in the final minute and were rewarded when Koen Ziemmer banged in a rebound for his ninth on the season – his 10th point in six games.
The Cougars outshot their opponents 33-28.
Despite seven injured players and three away at the world junior tournament, the Silvertips swept the Cougars and improved their Western Conference-leading record to 23-6-2-1. The Cougars, who have lost three straight, sank to 13-16-1-0.
The game was the first for newly-acquired Cougar left wingers Cayden Glover and Carlin Dezainde, who joined the Cats in a trade Tuesday from the Medicine Hat Tigers. Glover played the left side on a line with Ryker Singer and Carter MacAdams, while Dezainde was paired with Fischer O’Brien and Caden Brown. Celebrating his 17th birthday Wednesday, Dezainde come oh-so-close to scoring midway through the second period on a 3-on-1 break. Brown’s hustle along the right side created the odd-man rush and he dished the puck to O’Brien, who quick-fed Dezainde in the slot, only to see his labelled shot swallowed by MacInnes’s trapper.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Cougars will have a day of practice to work out some of the kinks before they take on the B.C. Division-leading Kamloops Blazers in a New Year’s Eve affair Friday (5 p.m. start) at CN Centre… Jonas Brondberg, a 20-year-old defenceman acquired in Monday’s trade which sent goalie Taylor Gauthier to Portland, is expected to be in the lineup to face Kamloops on Friday… Gauthier and the Winterhawks will make the trip to Prince George for games Feb. 25th and 26th… Cougars defenceman Keaton Dowhaniuk had a three-point night in Tuesday’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Silvertips, assisting on the last three goals the Cougars scored. It was the second time in the 17-year-old’s WHL career he reached the three-point plateau. He topped that in the spring season in the Kamloops bubble on April 28 when he scored a goal and had three assists in a 5-1 win over the Blazers. Selected third overall by the Cougars in the 2019 WHL draft, Dowhaniuk is eligible for next year’s NHL draft… The Silvertips are slotted No. 5 in the CHL’s top-10 rankings.
Wednesday WHL summary
Silvertips 4 at Cougars 2
First Period
No scoring.
Penalties – None.
Second Period
1. Everett, Hofer 10 (Huuhtanen) 0:13
2. Everett, Huuhtanen 16 (Hofer, Lambos) 4:01 (pp)
3. Everett, Hofer 11 (Huuhtanen, Lambos) 17:19 (pp)
4. Everett, Swetlikoff 17 (Wright, Huuhtanen) 19:44 (pp)
Penalties – Samson PG (high-sticking) 3:31, Huuhtanen EVT (hooking) 12:25, Brown PG (goaltender interference) 16:52, Thornton PG (roughing) 19:29.
Third Period
5. Prince George, Dumanski 2 (Hooker, Heidt) 4:32
6. Prince George, Ziemmer 9 (Samson, Bowie) 19:21 (pp)
Penalties – MacAdams PG (roughing) 6:07, Smith EVT (tripping) 18:34.
Shots on goal by
Everett 11 13 4 -28
Prince George 11 11 11 -33
Goal – Everett, MacInnes (W,10-3-0-0); Prince George, Brennan (L,5-10-0-0)
Power plays – EVT: 3-4; PG: 1-2.
Attendance – 1,641.
Referees - Brayden Arcand, Brody McGrath; Linesmen – Tyler Garden, Anthony Maletta.
