WHL Tri-City Americans

Pickard, Americans Shutout Cougars 4-0

Published on February 18, 2009 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


KENNEWICK, WA - Since returning from the World Juniors in mid-January, Chet Pickard has been a rock in goal.

Coming into tonight's game, Chet was 10-5-0-1 since his return, totaling a 2.18 goals against average and a 0.922 save percentage.

After Tuesday's contest, those numbers only improved as Pickard picked up his sixth shutout of the season, leading the Tri-City Americans (40-16-0-3, 83 pts) to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars (23-36-0-2, 48 pts) in front of 3,551 fans at Toyota Center. Pickard, who has a 1.69 goals against average through six games in the month of February, now has 12 shutouts for his career, three shy of matching Carey Price's franchise-high of 15. The Americans also won their second straight game, increasing their lead in the U.S. Division to four points over the idle Spokane Chiefs. Meanwhile, the Cougars fell to 0-3 against Tri-City this season and have now lost their last three contests.

The Americans tried to jump on Prince George early into the contest. But, Kevin Armstrong and the Cougars were up to the task, stifling the Tri-City offense throughout the first period.

After a scoreless first 20 minutes, Tri-City's offense finally came unleashed, tallying three unanswered goals in the second period.

At the 6:00 mark of the period, Tyler Schmidt set-up Justin Feser, who blasted a shot from the left circle past Armstrong. Then, with 1:21 remaining in the period, Johnny Lazo's face-off win went straight to Jason Reese, who buried it for his 28th goal of the season. Then, exactly one minute later and while killing off a penalty, Kruise Reddick broke out Taylor Procyshen, who fired the puck between Armstrong's pads, giving Tri-City a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.

But, despite the offense, a big factor throughout the first two periods was the play of Pickard. The Cougars outshot Tri-City 26 to 23 during that time, missing out on several opportunities to light up the scoreboard. But, save after save, Pickard was up to the task.

Midway through the third period and on the power play, Mitch Fadden capped off the scoring in the contest with a shot from the slot, beating Armstrong top shelf.

Pickard, who also notched his sixth assist of the season on Procyshen's goal, collected win #29 on the season, finishing the night with 32 saves. Armstrong, meanwhile, stopped 36 of the 40 shots he faced in the loss. Tri-City finished 1-for-8 on the power play, but was a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

With the win, the Americans notched their third straight 40-win season and just their fifth all-time.

Now, Tri-City will turn their attention to a critical three-game weekend, where three different division opponents await. The weekend will kick-off on Friday, February 20, when the Everett Silvertips make their final trip to Toyota Center this season. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Americans are 6-1-0-1 against the 'Tips this season, including 4-0 in Kennewick. Coming into tonight's game, Tri-City has won their last three match-ups with Everett. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, including all Fred Meyer locations, the Toyota Center box office, or online at ticketmaster.com. Those unable to make it to the game, can catch all the action live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:45 p.m.

U.S. Cellular Three Stars:

1, Chet Pickard, Tri-City

2, Tyler Schmidt, Tri-City

3, Jason Reese, Tri-City

Taylor Procyshen's 'Go Pro' MDA Challenge Update:

After 59 games, Tri-City has recorded 217 goals = $868

If you would like to join Taylor's MDA Challenge, contact the Americans office at 509.736.0606 and ask how you can contribute.

Check out the Tri-City Americans Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2009


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