MARYSVILLE — There was at least some good news to come out of the Everett Events Center for local sports fans Feb. 28.
In spite of a strong showing, the Everett Silvertips were blanked by the Vancouver Giants 3-0, but the evening began on a high note as the Silvertips honored the city of Marysville.
Marysville City Council member Jeff Seibert stepped out onto the ice, and into the spotlight, as Silvertips game announcer Jon Rosen announced that the Feb. 28 match marked a special community night for Marysville. The opening ceremony recognized all the city’s ticket holders, many of them season ticket holders, as well as all the ways in which the Marysville community as a whole has supported the team throughout the years.
Marysville resident Larry Hawk has backed the Everett Silvertips even more than many of the team’s fans. He’s running for re-election as president of the Silvertips Booster Club, and his wife won the contest to rename the team a few years ago, which he joked gave her a chance to see “her handiwork” every time the team appears.
“The wife and I have been fans for years,” Hawk said. “We like seeing our team win, but we always enjoy a good hockey game regardless, and the Silvertips have always put competitive teams on the ice, even in their first year when they were kind of a bunch of misfits.”
Hawk praised the Silvertips for paying tribute to the city and community of Marysville, and noted that the relationship is reciprocal, since Silvertips players often visit local schools.
“They don’t just ask, ‘What can the fans do for us?’” Hawk said. “They say, ‘What can we all do for north Snohomish County, including Everett, Marysville and Arlington?’”
Even though their city wasn’t the one that received a specific shout-out that night, Arlington fans were in attendance as well, including John Meno, who was accompanied by friends, family and coworkers from both sides of the border.
“Every year, we have at least one game against Canada here, so every year, we invite the folks from our Canadian office to come down, have a pizza party with us and watch the game,” Meno said, before laughing, “I think we’ve only won one game in the past four years, but we enjoy it nonetheless.”
Meno reserves rooms at local hotels for his Canadian guests, who often shop in the local area as well.
“It’s fun, and it helps the local economy,” Meno said.