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Tri-City Americans

Tri-City Fights Off Rust, Takes Down Everett 6-3

December 28, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


EVERETT, WA - Even WestJet couldn't slow down the Tri-City Americans' offense.

After fighting off travel delays, a week's worth of rust and a first period hat trick from Tyler Maxwell, the Tri-City Americans (27-9-0-0, 54 pts) kept their winning streak alive by defeating the Everett Silvertips (19-14-2-1, 41 pts) 6-3 in front of 5,712 fans at Comcast Arena. With the win, the Americans stretched their winning streak to five games, outscoring their opponents 2 to 7 in that span, and improved to 8-1 in the month of December. Meanwhile, the 'Tips fell to Tri-City for the second time in their last three games and have now lost eight of their last nine to the Americans.

After nearly half their team had to drive down from Vancouver on Sunday afternoon, the Americans didn't get a full team skate in before the drop of the puck to start the second half of the season.

That early rust showed in the first period, as Everett scored three times in the first 20 minutes while outshooting Tri-City 16 to 6. Just 34 seconds into the game, Maxwell notched his first of the night to put Tri-City in an early hole. Then, two minutes later, and on the power play, Maxwell made it 2-0 when he banged in a Byron Froese rebound at the right post.

With the early deficit, head coach Jim Hiller used his timeout to refocus his team. It appeared to work, as Brooks Macek got the Americans on the board. With just under eight minutes remaining in the period, and on the power play, Macek buried a rink-wide pass from Sergei Drozd, cutting Everett's lead in half.

But, with 1:15 remaining in the period, and on the power play, Maxwell completed the hat trick on another Froese rebound, giving Everett a 3-1 lead headed into the first break. For Maxwell, his third goal gave him a new career-high for goals in a season (23) and marked his second hat trick vs. the Americans. His first was in Game 2 of last season's first round playoff series.

However, the second period belonged to Tri-City, as they used a three-goal period of their own to get back in the contest. Their first came just three minutes into the period, when Neal Prokop stuffed in an Eric Mestery rebound. Then, with seven minutes remaining in the period, Jordan Messier swept a backhander past Thomas Heemskerk, extending his point streak to five games. Finally, with less than three minutes remaining in the period, and on the power play, Justin Feser beat Heemskerk between the pads, to complete the Tri-City comeback.

The two squads battled closely throughout the final period but, behind a couple of fortunate calls, both confirmed by video replay, the Americans were able to seal the victory. The first came at the 13-minute mark of the period, when a Drydn Dow rebound landed right at the near post, which was then knocked in by Adam Hughesman. The play was reviewed, it was deemed a goal and Tri-City gained a 5-3 lead.

The second came with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, when Froese thought he pulled the 'Tips to within one. But, after reviewing the play, the officials determined that Froese kicked the puck into the net, negating the goal. Shortly after the ruling, Everett pulled Heemskerk for the extra attacker but, with eight seconds remaining, Prokop nailed a shot from center ice to cap the scoring in the contest.

Despite having his scoreless streak snapped early on, Drew Owsley won his fifth straight start by stopping 33 of the 36 shots he faced. Meanwhile, Heemskerk finished with 28 saves in the loss. Tri-City finished 2-for-4 on the power play, while Everett was a perfect 2-for-2 on the man-advantage.

Both teams will get one practice day before they face-off against one another again, this time at Toyota Center on Tuesday, December 29. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Americans, who are 3-1 vs. Everett this season, will look to keep their three-game home winning streak alive. Everett, meanwhile, has handed Tri-City one of their three home losses this season and will look to win their second straight road contest. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Toyota Center box office, all Fred Meyer outlets, or online at ticketmaster.com. 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, Brooks Macek, Tri-City

2, Tyler Maxwell, Everett

3, Neal Prokop, Tri-City

Check out the Tri-City Americans Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from December 28, 2009


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