Ams win shootout – lead series 2-0

Tri City and Kelowna combine for 16 goals

Nolan Yaremko scored three times to pace the Tri-City Americans nine-goal onslaught against the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday night in an unlikely 9-7 road win.

The Americans now hold a 2-0 series lead as the teams head back to Kennewick, Washington for game three on Wednesday.

Nolan Yaremko

Yaremko was a central figure at puck drop, drawing a slashing minor for giving Dillon Dube a whack. When the Ams finally controlled the puck, Yaremko was thumbed for slashing 20 seconds in. The pesky forward didn’t warm the bench in the penalty box for long, as Kole Lind zipped a one-timer past goaltender Patrick Dea 16 seconds later to open the scoring.

It was the Rockets first shot of the night against the same Tri-City goaltender who pitched a 39-save shutout in the series opener on Thursday. And just to totally ruin Dea’s night, Kelowna scored on its next two shots – Kyle Topping at :51 and Cal Foote at 3:00 – to stake the Rockets to a 3-0 lead.

It was a strange start to a strange evening at Prospera Place, where the 5,560 in attendance experienced a 60-minute roller coaster ride.

The Rockets got off to the quick start it needed, but Americans bench boss Mike Williamson called a timeout after the third goal and addressed his troops.

“We didn’t really say much,” Williamson said about the timeout. “It was more of trying to get the guys focused and making sure we didn’t try to hit home runs. Singles and doubles were probably going to give us an opportunity to get back in the game and we got some bounces, too.”

Michael Rasmussen

Coincidentally, Tri-City owned the final 17 minutes of the first period, directing 19 more shots at the Rockets net and  scoring four times in a span of 7:18 to chase Kelowna starter James Porter.

Michael Rasmussen and Yaremko scored two goals apiece before the period ended, one each on the power play as Tri-City quickly quieted the boisterous crowd. In fact, the Americans went 5-for-5 in the series on its first five opportunities with the man advantage.

Tri City led 4-3 at the break.

For an encore, the teams added another four tallies in the second stanza; three by the Rockets.

Kelowna opened the period shorthanded with Dillon Dube in the penalty box for 1:59, thanks to an unsportsmanlike conduct minor. The Rockets would kill the penalty, its first in six tries against the Americans this post-season.

Cal Foote

Less than a minute later, Nolan Foote intercepted an ill-advised Amerks clearing pass at the blueline, walked in alone on Dea and went high stick side at 2:45 to square the match at 4-4.

At 8:58, the Rockets took the lead when the power play connected for the second time. Lind Lind tipped in point shot from Cal Foote.

Tri-City tied the game 5-5 at 11:18 when Jordan Topping’s shot sailed wide, but Isaac Johnson picked up the loose puck and shoved it under Brodan Salmond at the near goal post.

Kaedan Korczak

Kaedan Korczak’s unassisted goal gave Kelowna a 6-5 lead at 15:01. The rookie defenceman circled the net in his own end, skated the length of the ice, dumped the puck into the Ams zone, then beat defenseman Anthony Bishop to the puck at the goal line. When Korczak shoved the puck over Dea’s pad, it spelled the end of the night for the 20-year-old goaltender, who was yanked in favour of Beck Warm.

The Americans outplayed Kelowna in the third period, outscoring the hosts 4-1. Morgan Geekie scored twice in the third, Johnson added his second and Yaremko completed his hat trick with an empty-netter.

Carsen Twarynski countered with a power play goal for Kelowna at 11:37, his first of the series which gave the Rockets a short-lived 7-6 lead.

“I certainly thought we were capable of competing and I like our hockey team,” Williamson said, when asked to assess the Ams 2-0 series lead. “Kelowna has a good team and they’re tough in this building. We were fortunate to get these wins and I think the series could easily be reversed.

“But we’ll take it. We know, there’s a lot of hockey to be played and a lot of experience over there. We’ll enjoy this right now but there’s a lot of work to do.”

Should Kelowna earn at least a split in Kennewick this week, the teams will return to Kelowna Saturday for game five, a 7:05pm start at Prospera Place.

If necessary, game six is an early start on Easter Sunday in Kennewick, 5:05pm at the Toyota Center.

Post Game Interview: Kole Lind (click here)

Post Game Interview: Jason Smith (click here)

Ice Chips…Tri-City outshot Kelowna, 39-26…Three stars were Cal Foote, Rasmussen and Yaremko…Foote scored once and added three assists on the night…Porter stopped 12 of 16 shots on the night, while Salmond made 18 saves….Dea blocked 10 of 16 attempts, while Warm stopped nine of 10 shots…Kelowna was 3-for-4 on th epower play. Tri-City was 2-for-3…Tri-City scratches were Liam Belcourt, Mitchell Brown and Paycen Bjorklund, along with affiliated players Tom Cadieux, Booker Daniel, Tyler Jette and Talyn Boyko…Kelowna scratches were Kelvin Hair, Marek Skvrne, Wil Kushniryk, Kyle Pow and Colum McGauley, along with affiliated player Cayde Augustine.

(DUBNetwork thanks Kevin Bain and the Kelowna Rockets for the audio/video.)