Birch Wins Home Debut; Americans Dull Blades 3-1
October 21, 2007 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release
KENNEWICK, WA - As a player, your first career start at home is a memorable event. For Americans rookie goaltender Kyle Birch, he made a lasting impression on his home team fans.
Birch stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced, earning first star honors, as the Tri-City Americans (10-3-0-0, 20 pts) skated to a 3-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades (3-7-1-0, 7 pts) on Saturday night at the Toyota Center. For Birch, it was his best performance of his young career, while helping Tri-City extend their home winning streak to 18 games. Meanwhile, for the Blades, it was their second straight set-back on their tour through the U.S. Division, which takes them to Portland on Tuesday.
It certainly did not come easy for Tri-City, as the Blades came out firing. But, at the 8:30 mark of the first period and playing a man down, 20-year-old defenseman T.J. Fast broke through the Saskatoon power play line and beat starting goaltender Braden Holtby with Tri-City's third shot of the game. Following the goal, Holtby was pulled for back-up net minder Garrett Zemlak.
But, with less than seven minutes remaining in the period, and on the power play, Saskatoon's Ondrej Fiala knotted the game at 1-all. However, it would be Birch's only blemish in an otherwise impressive performance.
Tri-City added two more goals in the second period to pad their lead. While on a power play at 6:57, Kruise Reddick tallied his seventh goal of the season to snap a five-game scoreless drought. Then, with 45 seconds left to play in the period, rookie Johnny Lazo netted his sixth goal of the season and second in as many nights.
The Americans out shot the Blades 14 to 2 in the final 20 minutes of regulation, as they were able to skate away with their third straight win. Tri-City finished 1-for-10 on the power play, while Saskatoon was 1-for-4 on the man-advantage. The win also allowed Tri-City to maintain their four-point cushion on first-place in the U.S. Division, as the Spokane Chiefs came from behind to defeat the Kelowna Rockets for their fourth straight win.
In the midst of their seven-game home stand, the Americans will now turn their attention to the East Division's Brandon Wheat Kings. Brandon will travel to the Toyota Center on Wednesday, October 24 for their lone regular season match-up between the two clubs. Game time is 7:05 PM. Last season, the Wheat Kings won the contest between the two clubs, 4-2. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Toyota Center box office, all Fred Meyer locations, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. And, as always, the game will be broadcast live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Budweiser Warm-Up show at 6:45 PM.
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Western Hockey League Stories from October 21, 2007
- Early Third Period Goals Haunt Hawks Again, Fall to Bruins 4-3 - Portland Winterhawks
- Blazers win on the road - Kamloops Blazers
- Birch Wins Home Debut; Americans Dull Blades 3-1 - Tri-City Americans
- Hickey and Boyer score in 2-0 victory over Portland - Seattle Thunderbirds
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