Hayer's Hat-Trick Helps Silvertips Defeat Giants

Manraj Hayer had a hat-trick, including the winning goal in the late stages of the third period, as the Everett Silvertips downed the Vancouver Giants 6-5 in a high scoring affair at the Pacific Coliseum on Friday evening. Brett Kulak and Cain Franson each had two goals for the G-Men while Travis McEvoy scored as well for Vancouver.

Vancouver got out to a great start when Kulak opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game, beating Everett goalie Austin Lotz cleanly with a slap shot from the left point. The Silvertips responded with three unanswered goals. First, Hayer tallied his first of the evening, completing a nice passing play that also involved Joshua Winquist and Kohl Bauml to tie the game. Brayden Low gave Everett the lead shortly thereafter when he scored on a rebound from the right circle, and Bauml made it 3-1 with a garbage goal from the top of the crease. Kulak pulled Vancouver back to within one in the final minute of the period when he beat Lotz with a long shot from the blue line right off a face-off.

The Giants built off of Kulak's late goal in the first and tied the game on the power play in the middle frame when Franson scored from close range, picking the top left corner to make it 3-3. But less than a minute later, the 'Tips retook the lead when Austin Adam's wrist shot from the blue line found its way past Payton Lee. Vancouver evened the score again when Franson buried his second power play marker of the evening, knocking the puck into the Everett net after a nice pass off the left wing from Carter Popoff. However, Everett responded quickly again as Hayer tipped a centring feed from Tyler Sandhu past Lee, and the Silvertips were ahead once again.

McEvoy had a couple of golden opportunities to tie the game early in the third when he got a shot away from the slot and then picked up his own rebound, but Lotz kept both attempts out. McEvoy wouldn't be denied though as he would eventually score the equalizer for Vancouver, pouncing on a loose puck in front to tie the game. The score remained level until the final two minutes of the third when Hayer completed his hat-trick and gave Everett the victory, walking off the right boards to the front of the net and scoring on the forehand.

The G-Men will return to action on Saturday evening when they head south of the border to visit the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Pre-Game Show begins at 6:30pm followed by the puck drop at 7:00pm on TEAM 1040 and http://teamradio.ca.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Manraj Hayer - Everett
2. Brett Kulak - Vancouver
3. Cain Franson - Vancouver