WHL Tri-City Americans

Messier Sends Americans Past Chiefs 4-3

Published on March 13, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


SPOKANE, WA - The ebb and flow of a hockey season can wreak havoc on a fan's emotions. Faced with their arch rival and four points away from clinching a third straight division title, the Tri-City Americans had their fans pounding the Tums©.

The Tri-City Americans (47-21-1-2, 97 pts), however, took the lead behind Jordan Messier's go-ahead goal with 7:37 remaining in regulation, then held off the potent Spokane Chief's (43-22-3-2, 91 pts) power play over the final 1:34 of the game to pick-up a 4-3 victory in front of 10,528 fans at Veterans Memorial Arena. With the win, the Americans picked up their second straight win and moved one step closer to finishing on top of the Western Conference pile. Meanwhile, the loss snapped Spokane's five-game winning streak vs. Tri-City and eliminated the Chiefs from contending for the 2010 U.S. Division title.

The Americans' lethal power play got things going to start the game. Just 5:28 into the contest and on the man-advantage, Neal Prokop set-up camp in front of Spokane netminder, James Reid. At the same time, Brett Plouffe fired a wrist shot in from the mid-point that found the back of the net and gave Tri-City an early 1-0 lead.

But, with seven minutes remaining in the period, the Chiefs used a power play goal of their own to tie the game at 1. Moments after Tri-City goaltender Alexander Pechurskiy made a great glove save on Kyle Beach, Blake Gal, while falling to the ice, managed to sweep a backhander past the sprawling netminder.

With 19.6 seconds remaining, Tri-City just missed taking a 2-1 lead into the first break, as Prokop's shot deflected off Justin Feser's skate and got behind Reid. Reid, however, was able to reach behind him and knock the puck away with his stuck just before it reached the line. Thus, Tri-City settled for a 1-all game headed into the first intermission, but they didn't have to wait long to eventually take the lead again.

Over five minutes into the second period and while killing off a Brendan Shinnimin penalty, Spokane's Jared Cowen turned the puck over deep inside the Tri-City zone to the speedy Johnny Lazo. Lazo took off on a breakaway and eventually found Feser, who beat Reid over his blocker, and gave Tri-City a 2-1 lead.

The lead was short lived, though, as less than six minutes later and playing four on four, the Chiefs were able to tie the game again. Mitch Wahl was able to strip Eric Mestery of the puck at the Tri-City blueline and fed the puck to Gal. Gal then found Brett Bartman, who beat Pechurskiy with a drive from the left point and tied the game at 2.

But, another Tri-City power play with less than five minutes remaining in the period, set the stage for the Americans to take the lead for a third time. Kruise Reddick launched a one-timer from the high slot that got past Reid, who was screened by Adam Hughesman on the play. And, with that, Tri-City took a 3-2 lead into the second break.

The Chiefs' power play was not done, however, as 5:33 into the third period, Spokane knotted the game at 3. After a two-seam pass from Jared Spurgeon, Tyler Johnson was left all alone in the left circle and buried a shot for his 34th goal of the season.

With momentum appearing to shift more towards the Chiefs, Messier then changed everything with 7:32 left in regulation. After Reid gave up several big rebounds, Zachary Yuen eventually corralled one and fed it to Messier. Then, despite falling to the ice and sitting on his backside, Messier still managed to slip the puck past Reid for the eventual game-winning goal.

As the game approached the final two minutes, things got even more interesting. Brock Sutherland took a slashing call, giving the Chiefs their fifth power play opportunity having already connected twice early in the contest. But, despite several close calls, Pechurskiy came up with save after save in the final seconds to secure the win. Pechurskiy finished the night with 29 saves on 32 shots. Meanwhile, Reid stopped 33 of the 37 shots he faced in the loss. Tri-City ended the night 2-for-4 on the power play, while Spokane was 2-for-5 on the man-advantage.

After another classic in the 22-year history of the rivalry, the two squads will each regroup and prepare for another possible chapter on Saturday, March 13 at the Toyota Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. With the win, Tri-City will become the first team ever to win three consecutive U.S. Division titles and the first Western Conference team since the Portland Winterhawks did it from 1970-1973. Meanwhile, the Chiefs still have plenty to play for, as they can wind up anywhere from the #3-seed to the #5-seed for the upcoming playoffs. Saturday's game at the Toyota Center is officially sold out. However, the game will be aired live on KVEW-TV's My Network Channel 280, starting at 7:00 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:45 p.m.

Applebee's 3 Stars:

1, Justin Feser, Tri-City

2, Mitch Wahl, Spokane

3, Jordan Messier, Tri-City

Check out the Tri-City Americans Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 13, 2010


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