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They come with loud cowbells and, sometimes, louder hairdos to cheer on Everett's boys of winter.

Since the Silvertips skated into town nine seasons ago, die-hard supporters have smothered the club with love, enthusiasm and adrenaline from all sides of Comcast Arena.

"It's my passion!" said season-ticketholder Dana Hanner of Arlington. "I even have a giant, antique cowbell that I had custom painted with the logo! It's a big hit!"

The players have returned the favor by putting on a show.

The Tips opened their 10th anniversary season at Comcast Arena on Saturday against the Prince George Cougars -- the same team they faced in their inaugural home game on Oct. 4, 2003.

The arrival of WHL hockey has given Everett fans chances to see spectacular goals and painful hits, at home and on the road.

They've witnessed the growth of future NHL players, including Peter Mueller (Florida Panthers) and defenseman Ryan Murray, selected as the No. 2 overall draft pick this year by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

We asked readers to share their favorite Tips memories. And they had quite a few.

Guy Sykes, who lives in south Everett's Silver Lake neighborhood, reveled in the memory of hearing the goal horn sound during the first-ever home game.

"Everett was down in what we all hoped would be a win when (forward) Curtis Billsten put one in," Sykes wrote. "It was music!"

Later that season, Frankie Wilbanks, of Marysville, traveled to Kelowna, B.C., to watch the Tips win the Western Conference. The trip up included a short stretch driving through blinding snow.

"I became known as Grandma Silvertip that first year and I love hockey and I love my Silvertips," Wilbanks said. "Go Tips!"

Starting during the club's rookie year, fans were excited to watch the tough-guy exploits of defenseman Mitch Love, now an assistant coach for the team.

Hanner, the fan with the antique cowbell, remembered what she called "a historic fight" between Love and Zack Fitzgerald of the Seattle Thunderbirds.

"Of course Mitch won!" she wrote.

"Amazing!" she said. "I'll never forget it!"

Deb Nordstrom of Everett recalled Love throwing his arms into the air after his first fight as a Silvertip.

"The atmosphere was PURE adrenaline and it was AWESOME!" she wrote. "I was hooked right then."

Nordstrom's favorite Tips memory didn't involve hockey players, though.

It was when she and her husband, Jerry, won the chance to enter a Silvertips fan competition that involved shooting the most goals in 30 seconds. Ahead of the March 2006 contest, her husband practiced until his elbows and shoulders hurt. He won.

Nordstrom can't remember how much money they got, but it's easy for her to recall the playoff game they watched from the Tips suite, part of their prize.

"We had a great time at the play-off game and brought some friends and family who had never been," Nordstrom wrote.

Mary Chesnut was unable to take in the Tips' inaugural season because she was deployed with the U.S. Army in Kuwait. Still, she did lend her support from overseas by wearing a Tips shirt that a friend mailed to her. Later, she was thrilled when a fellow soldier came up and asked if she knew her team was in the finals.

"I carry a Tips hockey puck when I am deployed," Chesnut wrote. "It has been to Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan twice!