Americans blanked for first time this season; fall 4-0 to Spokane

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WHL Tri-City Americans

Americans blanked for first time this season; fall 4-0 to Spokane

December 31, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


Kennewick, WA - The Tri-City Americans (19-11-2-1) ended the 2024 calendar year on a sour note with a 4-0 loss to the Spokane Chiefs (24-12-0-0) in their annual New Year's Eve game Tuesday night.

The game didn't start great for the American as the Chiefs came out of the gate strong, firing pucks toward Lukas Matecha from all angles. It resulted in the opening goal 5:07 in.

A rebound came off Matecha and bounced toward the slot. Austin Zemlak ran into Chase Harrington and fell toward the crease, sliding into Matecha. Harrington gathered the puck and slid it toward the goal, bouncing it off Zemlak and in to open the scoring.

Tri-City continued to struggle containing Spokane for the next few minutes as the Chiefs added to their lead. Off the rush Sam Oremba worked the puck across the slot before recovering a bouncing puck and beating Matecha over the glove to put Spokane ahead 2-0 12:29 into the game.

The Americans then got their legs under them and started to control play for the remainder of the period, closing the gap on the shot clock but unable to score as they trailed 2-0 heading into the second.

They carried their strong play into the middle frame, generating multiple good looks in the opening minutes. Dawson Cowan stood his ground in the Spokane crease however, denying them at every turn.

Cowan's play allowed Spokane to catch their breath before pushing their lead to three. Rasmus Ekstrom snapped a shot over the shoulder of Matecha from the left faceoff circle with 7:04 remaining in the period.

Hayden Paupanekis then made it 4-0 when he beat Matecha on the blocker off the rush in the final minutes of the period as Spokane carried the 4-0 advantage into the third period.

The final frame saw each team send eight shots on goal, but neither team scored as the Americans were shutout for the first time this season, dropping their fifth game in a row.

Tri-City continues their six-game home stand by welcoming the Portland Winterhawks (20-13-2-0) on Friday night.

Announced attendance was 5,737, a sellout.

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