Five-Goal First Sends Americans Past Seattle 5-3
November 18, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release
KENNEWICK, WA - Even the reigning CHL Goaltender of the Week could not snap the Americans' home winning streak.
Behind goals from five different skaters, all in the first period, the Tri-City Americans (17-5-0-0, 34 pts) outlasted the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds (8-13-1-3, 20 pts) 5-3 in front of 3,693 fans at the Toyota Center. With the win, the Americans improve to 8-0 at home this season, while taking a 2-1 lead in the 10-game season series with Seattle. Meanwhile, Seattle saw their season-high four-game winning streak come to an end and have now lost their last eight trips to Kennewick.
Entering tonight's contest, Calvin Pickard, who had backstopped the T'birds to consecutive shutouts over Everett and Vancouver, had the CHL's honor bestowed upon him just hours before Tuesday's contest. Compiling a 0.75 goals against average and 0.971 save percentage over that four-game span, Pickard had not allowed a goal in his last 131.50 minutes played.
But, it took only 4:05 into Tuesday's contest to put an end to that run. From the right corner, Neal Prokop sent in an innocent shot that found room between Pickard's pads and slipped past the near post, giving the American an early 1-0 lead. Just 2:53 later and on the power play, Justin Feser made it 2-0 when he redirected a shot from Brett Plouffe. Less than two minutes later and on the power play again, Tyler Schmidt notched his first goal of the season after his wrist shot from the left circle beat Pickard high on the glove side. Then, just past the halfway point of the period, Johnny Lazo made it 4-0 when he tipped in a shot off Pickard's stick and in. Out shooting Seattle 11-0 at one point, Tri-City dominated the first period of play.
With 2:25 remaining in the period, Seattle's Prab Rai tallied a power play goal to get the T'birds on the board. But, with 58 seconds remaining in the frame, Kruise Reddick found Brooks Macek waiting back door, who then buried the feed and put the Americans up 5-1 after 20 minutes of play.
With a commanding lead going into the second period, Tri-City appeared to take their proverbial foot off the gas pedal offensively, opening the door for Seattle to inch back into the contest. Just 1:56 into the second period, Jeremy Schappert had his shot from the far boards sneak past Drew Owsley, pulling the T'birds to within three. Then, with 6:39 remaining in the period, Jonathan Parker saw his shot dribble between Owsley's pads and across the line, cutting the Seattle deficit to two.
But, over the final 26 minutes, the Tri-City defense shut down the Seattle offense, limiting the T'birds to just six shots on goal in the third period. Owsley, who picked up win #16 on the year, stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced in the win. Meanwhile, Pickard finished the night with 27 saves on 32 shots in the loss. Tri-City went 2-for-4 on the power play, while Seattle was 1-for-5 on the man-advantage.
With Seattle now behind them, Tri-City will focus their attention on another division rival, the Everett Silvertips, who visit the Toyota Center on Friday, November 20. Game time is 7:05 p.m. It is the first match-up of the season between the two clubs. Last year, the Americans took the 10-game season series with Everett, going 8-1-0-1 during the regular season. Then, in the first round of the 2009 WHL Playoffs, Tri-City ended Everett's season with a 4-1 series win. This year, Tri-City will put their undefeated home winning streak on the line vs. an Everett squad who is right in the thick of the division race, coming in with 12 wins in 19 games this year. The 'Tips have allowed a League-low 49 goals and are averaging just 2.58 goals against per game this season. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Toyota Center box office, all Fred Meyer outlets, or online a 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, Brooks Macek, Tri-City
2, Kruise Reddick, Tri-City
3, Prab Rai, Seattle
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- Five-Goal First Sends Americans Past Seattle 5-3 - Tri-City Americans
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