Silvertips forward Zackary Shantz looks for a pass around Wild defenseman Darian Rolsing during Everett’s 4-3 shootout win against Wenatchee at Angel of the Winds Arena on Sept. 20, 2025. Shantz had a natural hat trick to overcome a 3-0 deficit and force overtime. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Everett wins season-opener 4-3 in shootout against Wenatchee on Saturday.
EVERETT — After scoring two power-play goals in the first period, it took just 1:55 in the second for the Wenatchee Wild to take a 3-0 lead against the Everett Silvertips at Angel of the Winds Arena on Saturday.
Wild forward Luka Shcherbyna passed the puck back-and-forth with linemate Mason Kraft on a rush to get behind the defense before he beat Silvertips goalie Raiden LeGall (25 saves) from the left post. Such a deficit would be tough for any team to climb out of, much less a lineup with five players making their WHL debut and three more with fewer than 15 games of experience, but the Silvertips made sure not to give up with nearly 38 minutes left.
“We’re just talking on the bench like, not to get flat, keep that energy up,” forward Zackary Shantz said. “And that’s what we did.”
Shantz cut the deficit to 3-1 at 14:15 of the second period, poking in a net-front rebound to finally cash in as Everett piled up chances, then scored two more goals in the third period to complete a natural hat trick and force overtime. The Silvertips controlled most of the possession in OT, but couldn’t find a winning goal. It took six rounds of a shootout, but Everett (1-0-0-0) edged out Wenatchee (0-0-0-1) to secure the 4-3 win on opening night of the 2025-26 season.
Despite a messy start as the newer players shook off first-game jitters, the Silvertips racked up 63 shots on goal while allowing just 28, completely tilting the ice to secure the comeback.
“We needed to be more direct,” Everett coach Steve Hamilton said. “Go to the net, apply pressure, rebound, retrieve it, get it moving, get it back towards the net. And then, you know, it felt like that started to tilt it in our favor and we had some good back-to-back-to-back shifts where we were able to put them on their heels.”
After starting to find their game midway through the second, a too many men penalty against Wenatchee at 12:41 opened the door for Everett. Forward Cole Temple had been the Silvertips’ most effective player at getting to the net through the first half of the game, and he once again managed to get two shots through to Wenatchee goalie Tobias Tvrznik (60 saves). The second one fell in front of the crease, where Shantz and Jesse Heslop swiped at it until Shantz pushed it across to cut it to 3-1 at 14:15.
After killing off another Wild power play, Everett generated chances right into the intermission, which it managed to carry over into the third. Just 1:49 into the frame, Shantz struck again, skating into the slot and ripping a shot through to cut it to 3-2.
Fully feeling the momentum, the Silvertips continued to press until Heslop connected with Shantz on a crisp pass to the net front, where he finished to tie the game 3-3 at 7:06.
“Everyone started forechecking well, playing their position well and getting pucks on net, which led to goals,” Temple said. “So huge game by ’Shantzy,’ and yeah, we started playing better in the second and carried it on to the third.”
Silvertips forwards Zackary Shantz (left) and Cole Temple swarm the net looking for a rebound during Everett’s 4-3 shootout win against the Wenatchee Wild at Angel of the Winds Arena on Sept. 20, 2025. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Silvertips forwards Zackary Shantz (left) and Cole Temple swarm the net looking for a rebound during Everett’s 4-3 shootout win against the Wenatchee Wild at Angel of the Winds Arena on Sept. 20, 2025. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Wenatchee nearly retook the lead less than 40 seconds later if not for a big stop by LeGall at 7:54, and not even handing the Wild their fifth power play of the game slowed the Silvertips down, as they still managed to create a handful of 4-on-5 chances.
Everett had a prime opportunity to secure the win in regulation when forward Lukas Kaplan drew a hooking penalty against Wild defenseman Michal Capos at 17:43, but the Wenatchee penalty kill held on to send it to overtime.
The Silvertips outshot the Wild 46-16 across the second and third period, and 6-2 in overtime. Shantz had half of Everett’s shots in the extra period, nearly scoring his fourth goal of the night a few times, but with no score in overtime, it transitioned to a shootout.
Shantz, Matias Vanhanen and Nolan Chastko scored in the shootout for Everett, with Chastko speeding in and zipping a shot through in the sixth round before Wenatchee’s Alexandre Andre missed at the other end to secure the comeback win.
“It’s kind of my go-to move,” Chastko said. “I knew exactly what I was doing when my name was called, and (I was) fortunate for it to go in.”
The Wild built up their lead with a couple of power-play goals in the first period. Dawson Seitz sliced through the middle before slotting a low shot past LeGall to give Wenatchee a 1-0 lead just 2:27 into the game, and Shcherbyna scored his first of two at 18:21, with the Wild snapping the puck around before finding him with space in the right circle.
Everett may have kicked off the season missing four key players participating at NHL training camps — forwards Carter Bear (Detroit), Julius Miettinen (Seattle) and Shea Busch (Florida) as well as defenseman Tarin Smith (Anaheim) — but the young players who stepped in proved they were ready for the moment. At least after the first 20-30 minutes.
“Some fresh faces today, and obviously the four guys that are away are pretty impactful players,” Hamilton said. “So we just wanted the guys that were in the lineup tonight to play like Silvertips, and we’ve spent a good portion of the last week going through what that looks like, what it feels like, and I like the leadership of our group today. …
“It’s always going to be a work-in-progress early in the year. It’s going to be ugly at times, and it was, but there was also moments of really, really positive things. So it’s a long, long season, but I think we’d all prefer to start with a win than the alternative.”
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Silvertips forwards Zackary Shantz (left) and Cole Temple swarm the net looking for a rebound during Everett’s 4-3 shootout win against the Wenatchee Wild at Angel of the Winds Arena on Sept. 20, 2025. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
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