Toll Hands Americans 3-2 Win Over Cougars
November 17, 2007 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release
It's often said that a player can win or lose a game single-handedly. However, on Friday night, Jarrett Toll really did win the game with one hand.
Deep in the Prince George end, Toll grabbed a poor clearing pass by the Cougars out of mid-air and, after a couple of nifty moves, beat goaltender Real Cyr for the eventual game-winning goal, giving the Tri-City Americans (16-5-0-0, 32 pts) a 3-2 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars (9-16-0-0, 18 pts) at Toyota Center. Toll, who set a career-high for goals in a season with the mark, lifted Tri-City to their fourth straight home win and improved the Americans record on home ice to 10-1 this season. Meanwhile, the road weary Cougars dropped their seventh straight contest, as they now head to Spokane to take on the Chiefs tomorrow night.
Colton Yellow Horn got the scoring started for Tri-City early into the contest. While on the power play at the 4:13 mark, Yellow Horn used passes from T.J. Fast and Shaun Vey to set up his ninth goal of the season. For Vey, his assist on Yellow Horn's goal registered as his 100th career Western Hockey League point. It came just one game after Taylor Procyshen recorded his 100th point against the Cougars on Wednesday.
However, with less than two minutes remaining in the first period, Prince George knotted the game at 1, courtesy of defenseman Patrik Magnusson. The 6'5, 250 lb Swede collected his first of two goals on the night to tie the game headed into the first intermission.
But, in the second period, the Cougars could manage only three shots on net, while Tri-City peppered Cyr with 19 shots in the period. Again, the Americans struck early in the period and on the power play. Kruise Reddick picked up his 11th goal of the campaign and team-high 26th point of the season at the 3:05 mark of the period to give Tri-City a 2-1 lead. Then, while playing short-handed and with less than 11 seconds remaining in the period, Toll counted the game-winning goal.
Just three minutes into the third period, Magnusson tallied his second goal of the evening, but Tri-City net minder Kyle Birch stood strong over the final 17 minutes to preserve the victory. Birch finished with 18 saves on 20 shots, while picking up his third straight win. Meanwhile, Cyr collected 44 saves on 47 shots in the tough luck loss. Tri-City ended with a 2-for-6 mark on the power play, while Prince George was 0-for-3 on the man-advantage.
After winning their fourth straight season series over the Cougars, the Americans will now prepare for a battle between the Canadian Hockey League's top ranked teams. The #10 Regina Pats make their only visit to the Toyota Center tomorrow, Saturday, November 17 to take on the #7 Tri-City Americans. Game time is 7:05 PM. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Toyota Center box office, all Fred Meyer locations, or online at ticketmaster.com. And, as always, the game will be broadcast live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Budweiser Warm-Up show at 6:45 PM.
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Western Hockey League Stories from November 17, 2007
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- WHL scholarships continue to pay dividends - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Toll Hands Americans 3-2 Win Over Cougars - Tri-City Americans
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