WHL Tri-City Americans

Americans Win OT Thriller, Force Game Six in Seattle

Published on March 31, 2007 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


KENNEWICK, WA - In Greek mythology, the Phoenix was a bird that symbolized resurrection. In Tri-City, that symbol was Juraj Valach.

In a game for the ages, the Tri-City Americans (2-3-0-0, 4 pts) held off a late rally and staved off elimination for one more night, as they skated to a 5-4 overtime victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds (3-2-0-0, 6 pts) at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. The win assured that there will be a Game 6, tomorrow, March 31 at KeyArena in Seattle. If necessary, the series will shift back to the Toyota Center for Game 7 on Tuesday, April 3.

However, it took a Herculean-effort on Tri-City's part to live to play another day.

Tonight, though, it was the Americans that struck first. While on the power play at the 8:22 mark of the first period, Roman Teslyuk let a slap shot go from the mid-point. Seattle net minder Derek Yeomans deflected the puck up into the air, where Tri-City's Michael Kaye was waiting. Kaye whacked the puck out of mid-air and past Yeomans for the early 1-0 lead.

The lead grew to 2-0 early in the second period, courtesy of Taylor Procyshen. Just 1:35 into the period, Procyshen picked up the loose puck, maneuvered his way past two Seattle defenders, and stuffed the puck between the pads of Yeomans. However, Seattle answered back less than four minutes later. While on the power play at the 5:17 mark, Seattle's Aaron Gagnon, from his stomach, put home a rebound shot to make it a 2-1 game.

But, the Tri-City offense continued to click. Only 3:32 after Gagnon's goal, Colton Yellow Horn responded with his first goal of the post-season. While playing four-aside, Yellow Horn buried a T.J. Fast pass past Yeomans to put the Americans up 3-1. Then, with 5:24 remaining in the period, Tri-City captain Alex Aldred notched a short-handed goal over Yeomans' blocker to give Tri-City a 4-1 lead. Still, the T'birds fought, as Thomas Hickey notched a power play goal with less than two minutes remaining in the period to cut the deficit to 4-2.

In the third period, despite 16 shots on goal, the T'birds appeared almost content to write the game off and head back to Seattle. However, Yeomans was pulled with 2:30 remaining in regulation and the gamble paid big dividends for the T'birds. With 1:11 remaining in the third period, Gagnon registered his second goal of the night. Shortly thereafter, Seattle head coach Rob Sumner called timeout to rally his troops. Then, with 5.6 seconds remaining in regulation, Seattle's Bud Holloway buried a pass that went right across the crease, and past Tri-City goaltender Carey Price, to tie the game at 4-apiece and send it into overtime.

At the 12:59 mark of the overtime period, while on the power play, Tri-City's salvation came from an unlikely source. Yellow Horn corralled the puck in the Seattle zone and passed it off to Valach. Valach, after a pass back from Matt Swaby, let a slap shot go from the mid-point that beat Yeomans and sent the 3,683 fans in attendance into a frenzy. Yeomans finished with 29 saves on 34 shots faced, while Price collected 46 saves on 50 shots to cap a first-star performance. Seattle was 2-for-8 on the power play, while Tri-City was 2-for-6 on the man-advantage.

Game 6 will be played at Key Arena in Seattle on Saturday, March 31. Game time is 7:05 PM. You can catch the Americans' play-off drive, live on NewsTalk 870 AM. The broadcast starts with the Budweiser Warm-Up Show, which begins 15 minutes before game time. Single-game tickets are now on sale for Game 7 through all TicketsWest locations, including Red Lion Hotels, by calling 1-800-325-SEAT (7328), by visiting amshockey.com, or by stopping by the Toyota Center box office.

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 31, 2007


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