Kennewick, Wa. The Tri-City Americans (14-7-2-0, 30 pts.) were once again playing without some big names tonight. Michael Rasmussen, Juuso Valimaki, and Isaac Johnson were all scratches. Add Dylan Coghlan serving a 2-game suspension for a cross-check major against Everett, and you had what could turn out to be an interesting situation. One would think that the Regina Pats (13-11-2-0, 28 pts.) would look to take advantage of that situation.
The storyline during the first period was a lack of discipline. Within the first four minutes, Regina had already taken two penalties. Being on the road, it helps to establish a flow early. Killing penalties does not help that cause. The Pats were able to kill those first two, but at the 9:16 mark a series of unfortunate events unfolded for Regina. Matt Bradley was sent to the box for a hooking double minor. Regina was able to kill the first one, but early in the second half of the 4-minute penalty, defenseman Josh Mahura took a high sticking penalty, giving Tri-City a long 5-on-3. The Americans power play was quiet early, but suddenly came alive. Americans forward Carson Focht was the first American of the period to find the back of the net. Just thirteen seconds later, while still on a 5-on-4 power play, forward Morgan Geekie gave the Americans the 2-0 lead on a tip-in off a Focht shot from the point. At 18:10 the Americans would extend the lead to three off of forward Jordan Topping’s team-leading twelfth goal of the season. Things got real chippy after that as both teams ended the period with full penalty boxes. Regina would have carryover penalty time into the second after the dust had settled. Tri-City outshot Regina 10-5 in the opening frame
Intermission is a time for a team to rest and reflect. It’s a time for coaches to make adjustments. Tonight it just seemed like a water break as the second period emulated the first almost identically. Regina continued to play undisciplined hockey, and the Americans continued to score. Tri-City defenseman Mitchell Brown will undoubtedly remember his first WHL goal, and so will the fans. Just as Brown exited the penalty box after serving a cross-checking penalty, forward Connor Bouchard hit Brown with a perfect pass behind the Regina defense. Brown skated in all alone and lifted a beautiful backhand top shelf. 4-0 Americans. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Focht netted his second of the contest on an Americans’ power play. Topping rounded out the Americans’ 3-goal second period with his second of the night. At the end of two periods, Tri-City had been the recipients of eight power play opportunities, two of which were long 5-on-3’s. They scored on three of those opportunities. 6-0 Tri-City after two periods. Regina outshot Tri-City 10-9 in the middle frame.
Comparatively speaking, the third period was slow. The Americans seemed happy to limit Regina’s chances and give goaltender Patrick Dea the opportunity to earn his first shutout of the season. Regina outshot the Americans 15-5 in the final frame, but Dea indeed was able to get the goose egg. Tri-City went 3-for-9 on the power play while Regina was 0-for-5. The Americans will play Saskatoon at home on Tuesday. Regina will travel to Spokane on Saturday to wrap up their bi-annual U.S. division road trip. The Pats are now 1-3 on the trip.
