WHL Tri-City Americans

Tri-City Rips Moose Jaw 7-1

Published on October 9, 2008 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


MOOSE JAW, SK - When things are going good, it seems as if nothing can slow you down...not even your former teammates.

In their best offensive output of the season, the Tri-City Americans (5-2-0-0, 10 pts) used seven different skaters to race past the Moose Jaw Warriors (4-4-0-0, 8 pts) 7-1 at Civic Centre in Saskatchewan. For Tri-City, the seven goals marked their largest offensive output since a 9-2 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks back on February 15. The win also improves Tri-City's record to 9-5-0-0 w/ 2 ties at Civic Centre, which remains the only arena in the East Division where the Americans hold a winning record. Meanwhile, after suffering their worst loss of the season, the Warriors fall to 0-3 in their last three games against Tri-City while being outscored 15 to 5 in the process.

For the second consecutive night, the Americans got things going to start the contest. And, for the second consecutive night, it was defenseman Jarrett Toll who provided the offense. Just 2:18 into the period, Toll buried a shot past former Tri-City goaltender Kyle Birch. Birch was making his third start since being dealt to the Warriors in late September.

It remained a one-goal game until the 2:51 mark of the second period, when Jason Gardiner, from the slot, notched his first-career WHL goal. Nearly 14 minutes later, Tri-City stretched their lead to 3-0 when Jason Reese tipped in a Johnny Lazo shot for his sixth goal of the season.

With less than a minute remaining in the second period, Moose Jaw appeared to gain some momentum as Nathan MacMaster ended Chet Pickard's shutout opportunity with his first WHL goal. But, just 25 seconds later, the proverbial 'nail in the coffin' was delivered by Brett Plouffe, who found the back of the net with 14 seconds remaining, putting Tri-City back on top by three at 4-1.

The Warriors never seemed to recover and, in the third period, the Americans continued to bombard Birch. Just 1:46 into the final period of play, Tri-City captain Taylor Procyshen finally broke out of his goal-less drought, registering career goal # 77. His six-game goal-less streak was the longest he's faced since a six-game span between October 17 and November 11 of 2006. Adam Hughesman and Jordan Messier also tallied later in the period to round out the scoring for Tri-City. In addition to the win Tri-City was able to do something no other Warriors opponent had been able to do thus far this season; keep former American Joel Broda off the scoreboard. Broda entered the contest with six goals and nine points in five games.

Pickard collected 25 saves in route to his second straight win, lowering his goals against average to 2.30 in the process. Meanwhile, Birch finished with a personal-best of 36 saves after facing a career-high 43 shots in the loss. The Americans went 1-for-5 on the power play and were a perfect 4-of-4 on the penalty kill.

After a successful mid-week doubleheader, Tri-City will receive a much-deserved day off tomorrow before returning to the ice this weekend. First up is the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday, October 10. Game time is 5:30 p.m. (PST) at Keystone Centre. Last season, Tri-City snapped a three-game losing streak to the Wheat Kings with a 5-4 shootout win at Toyota Center. The Americans are 0-4 in their previous four visits to Keystone Centre and are 4-11 lifetime at the Manitoba arena. However, with 14 players on the Tri-City roster from Winnipeg, it may feel like a home game for the visiting Americans. You can catch all the action live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 5:15 p.m. (PST).

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Western Hockey League Stories from October 9, 2008


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