WHL Tri-City Americans

Martyniuk Blanks Cougars; Americans Cruise 4-0

Published on November 1, 2009 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


PRINCE GEORGE, BC - Kids all over the country were trying to score as much candy as they could this Halloween. But Brett Martyniuk was able to do one better...he kept the Prince George Cougars from scoring at all.

Making his first start of the season, Martyniuk stopped all 20 shots he faced, notching his first career shutout and backstopping the Tri-City Americans (13-3-0-0, 26 pts) to a 4-0 win over the Cougars (3-12-0-0, 6 pts) in front of 1,630 fans at CN Centre. The win was Martyniuk's first since a 3-1 victory over Prince George in Kennewick on March 15 of last season. The win also pushed Tri-City's winning streak to eight straight over the Cougars. Tri-City wrapped up the month of October with an 11-2 record, establishing a new franchise-best. Meanwhile, the Cougars fell to 2-6 at home this season. The Cougars have now lost 18 of their last 20 match-ups with the Americans.

Midway through the first period, and on their first power play opportunity of the night, Brendan Shinnimin capitalized from the right circle and beat Hudson Stremmel for the early 1-0 lead. Late in the second period, Tri-City got a bit more breathing room when Shinnimin connected again. This time, while parked just outside the crease, Shinnimin slipped a Justin Feser pass in at the far post. For Shinnimin, it was his team-leading 12th goal of the season, matching his rookie season total, and fifth multi-goal game of the year.

The back-breaker for Prince George came just 48 seconds into the final period. Shinnimin drew triple coverage from the Cougars' defense and, in doing so, allowed Adam Hughesman to park backdoor on Stremmel. After Shinnimin fed him the puck, Hughesman was able to tap in a near empty netter, giving the Americans a 3-0 lead. Then, with 4:30 remaining in regulation, Johnny Lazo added a power play marker to cap the scoring in the contest.

Tri-City only got stronger as the game went on, outshooting the Cougars 19 to 6 in the final period. Tri-City finished the game with a 40 to 20 shot advantage in the game. The Americans went 2-for-7 on the power play and were a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

Now 3-1 on their five-game road trip, Tri-City will get a couple days to travel and recuperate before they finish their road trip on Tuesday, November 3 when they take on the Kamloops Blazers. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Interior Savings Centre. It is the first match-up of the season between the two clubs. The Americans took three of four from the Blazers last season, but Interior Savings Centre has never been kind to Tri-City. The Americans hold an all-time record of 17-53-3-0 with 4 ties in Kamloops, their worst road record vs. any current Western Conference opponent. The Blazers are 6-2-1-0 at home this season, but are currently on a six-game losing skid. Fans can catch all the action live, via WHL WebTV, at the Americans' home away from home, Kimo's Sports Café in Richland. The game will also be aired live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:45 p.m.

Applebee's 3 Stars:

1, Brendan Shinnimin, Tri-City

2, Adam Hughesman, Tri-City

3, Zachary Yuen, Tri-City

Check out the Tri-City Americans Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from November 1, 2009


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