Kennewick, Wa. Entering Wednesday night’s contest, the Tri-City Americans (30-21-7-1, 68 pts.) were in desperate need of a win. At one point this season, they sat atop of the league’s U.S. Divison. Now, after some ups-and-downs, they find themselves sitting in 4th place. It’s not that this was a must win in terms of the whole season teetering on it, but it would definitely be one they could build some momentum on heading into the final few weeks of the regular season. They were just one point ahead of the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds (28-22-7-2, 65 pts.) entering the contest. Divisional games have been a struggle for the Americans this season, so a win on Wednesday would do a lot to move the needle in the right direction. The Americans did just that, by beating the Thunderbirds 4-2, to open a six game home stand.
A slow start was something Tri-City needed to avoid against the Thunderbirds. Seattle has had good success against the Americans defensively this season by keeping them to the outside and limiting their chances. On this night, the Americans came out firing and kept Seattle on their heels. Seattle goaltender Liam Hughes was a busy man, facing sixteen Tri-City shots in the first. Hughes made some great stops, but the Americans’ barrage was too much and the scoreless tie was broken just past the halfway mark of the opening frame. Tri-City forward Jordan Topping netted his team leading 33rd of the season at the 10:56 mark. A great tic-tac-toe style passing play saw forward Michael Rasmussen and defenseman Jake Bean moving the puck well to confuse the Seattle defense, with Topping finishing it off. The Americans would carry the 1-0 lead intermission after holding Seattle to just four shots.
Seattle’s fifth shot, just eighteen seconds into the second, was the equalizer for the Thunderbirds. Defenseman Austin Strand picked up a loose puck just inside the Tri-City blue line and sniped from the right point that went top corner over Tri-City goaltender Patrick Dea. Despite that goal, the Americans kept the pressure on and retook the lead just over two minutes later. Tri-City made a great play through the neutral zone that led to a 2-on-1 rush. Forward Nolan Yaremko carried the puck in to the Seattle zone with Isaac Johnson to his right. The passing lane was closed off well by the Seattle defender, so Yaremko took the shot. His wrister beat Hughes five-hole for his 18th of the season. Seattle refused to just lay down in this one, and they were able to tie it up once again at the 5:31 mark. Defenseman Jarret Tyszka fired a one-timer from the left circle that beat Dea to the short side. Despite the tie score, the Americans were sorely outshooting and outchancing the Thunderbirds. The Americans pressure paid off at the 9:51 mark as Topping collected his second of the contest and 34th of the season. Topping fired a shot on Hughes that was initially blocked, but the rebound bounced right back to his stick and he made the second shot count. A late hooking penalty to Seattle defenseman Jake Lee gave the Americans a great opportunity to close out the period. With just six seconds remaining in the middle frame, Rasmussen found himself right where he works best, in front of the opposition crease. Rasmussen tipped home a Dylan Coghlan shot for his 23rd of the season. The assist gave Coghlan his 40th of the season, which is the first time he has reached that mark in his four year WHL career. The Americans fired a whopping 22 shots on net to Seattle’s 10 in the second.
Seattle brought the pressure in the third, but Dea stopped all fourteen shots he faced to help secure the 4-2 victory for Tri-City. The win halted a two-game slide for the Americans. Tri-City outshot the Thunderbirds 45-28. The Americans power play went 1-for-3, while their penalty-killing unit stopped all three of Seattle’s chances. The Americans still sit in fourth place in the division, but are now just three points back of Spokane for third place, and now have a bit of a cushion with a three point lead over Seattle. Tri-City will host Kamloops on Friday night, while Seattle will travel to Kelowna.
