KAMLOOPS, BC - Now that is a way to wrap-up a road trip.Behind rookie Drydn Dow's three-point night, the Tri-City Americans (14-3-0-0, 28 pts) erupted for four goals in the second period, in route to a 8-3 beating of the reeling Kamloops Blazers (8-9-2-0, 18 pts) in front of 3,897 fans at Interior Savings Centre. With the win, the Americans concluded their five-game road trip with a 4-1 record and improve to 8-3 on the road this season. Meanwhile, the Blazers have now lost seven straight games and have been outscored 39 to 13 in the process.
In a building that has been unkind to the Americans in the past, Tri-City's eight goals tied the highest output from an Americans squad at Interior Savings Centre. The franchise record is nine, which they have done four times, the last coming on Feb. 18, 1996 in Kennewick. The 8-3 win also equaled the largest margin of victory over the Blazers at Interior Savings Centre since a 7-2 win on Oct. 12, 1998.
Five of Tri-City's eight goals on the evening came via special teams and the Americans' power play got the ball rolling early into the contest. Just 3:08 into the game, Dow notched his first WHL goal on a feed from Jordan Messier. Six and a half minutes later and while playing shorthanded, Kruise Reddick was able to pick-off a Blazers pass and go in all alone on Justin Leclerc. Although Leclerc was able to block Reddick's shot, the rebound bounced right off the leg of Blazers defenseman Giffen Nyren and past a startled Leclerc, giving the Americans a quick 2-0 lead.
Headed into the first break, Kamloops appeared to gain some momentum after Tyler Shattock picked up his ninth goal of the season with 57 seconds remaining in the period. But, just as quickly, the Americans took it all back by notching three goals in the first 4:46 of the second period.
Only 56 seconds into the period, Neal Prokop let a shot go from the left circle, beating Leclerc up high for his first goal as a member of the Americans. Then, just over two minutes later, Dow heard his name called again. This time, his shot from the right point glanced off the catching arm of Leclerc and into the net. One and a half minutes later, Brendan Shinnimin followed that up with a blast that beat Leclerc between the pads, putting the Americans up 5-1.
Kamloops' Brett Lyon scored at the 8:27 mark only to have Tyler Schmidt respond 1:21 later on a 5-on-3 power play, putting the Americans back up by four headed into the second break.
The Blazers registered a power play goal of their own, this time at the 7:10 mark of the third period and off the stick of Jake Trask. But, another quick response by the Americans quickly squashed any thought of a comeback. Only 2:02 after Trask's goal and on another 5-on-3 opportunity, Adam Hughesman ripped a shot from the point, collecting his 10th goal of the season and third in as many games.
With less than two minutes remaining in the contest and on another power play, Messier capped the scoring after he banged in a shot from Dow. Messier has now notched four goals over his last four games and is just one goal shy of his 2008-09 rookie season mark (9).
Under fire all night, Leclerc finished the game with 41 saves on 49 shots faced. Meanwhile, Tri-City starter Drew Owsley stopped 25 saves to pick-up his league-leading 13th win of the season and moved into sole possession of 10th place on the Americans' all-time wins list (20). The Americans went 4-for-9 on the power play, while Kamloops was 1-for-5 on the man-advantage.
After playing 11 of their first 17 games on the road, Tri-City will now head back to Kennewick for a rare home game at Toyota Center. Their next contest is set for Friday, November 6, at 7:05 p.m. when the host the B.C. Division-leading Vancouver Giants. It is the second match-up of the season between the two clubs. Tri-City took game 1 of the four-game regular season series, notching a 5-3 come-from-behind victory at Pacific Coliseum on Oct.17. The Americans, the only undefeated team at home left in the WHL, will put their 6-0 home record on the line against the Giants, who come in with just two of their 11 wins away from Pacific Coliseum. Tri-City holds a 12-6 all-time record at home vs. the Giants, including wins in four of their last five meeting at Toyota Center. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Toyota Center box office, all Fred Meyer outlets, or online at ticketmaster.com. Fans can also catch all the action live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:45 p.m.
Applebee's 3 Stars:
1, Drydn Dow, Tri-City
2, Drew Owsley, Tri-City
3, Mark Hall, Kamloops
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