Game Day!

Tonight we take on Kelowna who we all but owned last year going 4-0 in the reg season and knocking them out of the second round 4-1. Obviously its a new year, teams are different and you never know.

Pre Game notes:

 Kelowna Fights Breast Cancer:


"The Kelowna Rockets will add some pink to their lines tonight in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure.

The Rockets will sport pink jerseys, pink skate laces and pink hockey tape as they take on the Tri-City Americans for their first ever Pink Power Play night. The Rockets are inviting their fans to wear pink in support of breast cancer and also take part in an auction. The pink jerseys and hockey sticks will be auctioned off after the game, with proceeds going toward the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation."

-Tyson Barrie has been scratched from tonight's game for a hammy injury


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CHL Mastercard Rankings Week 2

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 2

Rank    Team (Record)    Last Week Rank    Number of Weeks Ranked
1    Drummondville Voltigeurs (6-0-0-0)    -    1
2    Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (1-0-0-0)    1    2
3    Tri-City Americans (2-0-0-0)    6    2
4    Quebec Remparts (5-0-0-1)    -    1
5    Kitchener Rangers (2-0-0-0)    4    2
6    London Knights (2-0-0-0)    5    2
7    Saskatoon Blades (2-0-0-0)    8    2
8    Saint John Sea Dogs (4-1-0-1)    2    2
9    Red Deer Rebels (2-0-0-0)    10    2
10    Acadie-Bathurst Titan (5-2-0-0)    -    1 

Well jeez...win two games and jump 3 spots. Still early to get too excited.  

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Looking forward to catching the game at Kimos tonight, Jessica and I will be there shortly after 7!  

Hard to root against Vancouver

Here's a great story from the WHL about Vancouver Giants forward Brendan Gallagher.

"Even at 18 years of age, Vancouver Giants forward Brendan Gallagher understands the value of family, whether it’s his own or his extended family of teammates and coaches. The unconditional love and support he has received over his lifetime is a big reason why he has had so much success on and off the ice at such a young age.

Unfortunately one of Brendan’s biggest supporters, his grandfather Matt, won’t be around much longer to cheer on his grandson. The 74-year old is losing his battle with prostate cancer and currently is in the palliative care unit of an Edmonton hospital. However, just because there isn’t anything the doctors can do for his grandfather, doesn’t mean Brendan can’t try and do his part. This season he will donate $20 for every win the Vancouver Giants earn to prostate cancer research.

“My grandpa is and always will be an important part of my life,” said Brendan.” He has taught me a lot and I want to show everybody just how much he means to me. Not only do I want to do it for him, but for my Dad as well.”

Brendan’s father and Matt’s son, Ian, is also a member of the Giants organization. He is the team’s strength and conditioning coach. He said the decision to do this was a family idea. “Team sports is all about working with others”, said Ian. “What better way to show your support, then to align with a philosophy about everybody. If the team wins, then prostate research wins.” Ian and the rest of his family are no strangers to cancer. His mother Anne died 10 years ago, at the age of 61, after battling lung cancer.

With this initiative Brendan combines the two great loves in his life, the game of hockey and most importantly, family. A gesture of support that will honour his grandfather and the memories they have shared together. A gesture that will make the family patriarch will be proud."

 Tough to root against a team with a goal like this. I'd be willing to just donate $20 everytime the Ams play Vancouver so we can beat them and I wont have to feel bad.

Chetter is better...well...

Chet Pickard, former Ams goalie who was drafted by Nashville with the 18th overall pick in 2008, has been sent back to the AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals.

Why does this suck?? Read on:

From ingoalmag.com:
"Once again Daveart has delivered another great new mask. This time Chet Pickard is the recipient with this great lid. Chet played 49 games with Nashville’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee last season and with Dan Ellis off to Tampa he has a real shot at an NHL job this season."

here's a link for the pictures:
http://ingoalmag.com/masks/chet-pickards-2010-2011-nashville-predators-mask/

And here's the latest news: 

The Nashville Predators announced more cuts today as they trim their roster down to 31, with names including defenseman Teemu Laakso and forward Andreas Thuresson (both cleared waivers earlier today), and 2008 1st-round draft pick Chet Pickard. This comes via Josh Cooper at The Tennessean. Defensemen Brett Palin, Grant Lewis, and forward Kelsey Wilson are also headed to Milwaukee.


So Chet has a new mask painted specific to the Preds, then gets cut...

ruh-roh. Hopefully he gets a chance to come up again soon.

The Toyota Zone

The Seattle Thunderbirds are still winless in their last 13 games in Kennewick. I'd like to say its because of our raucous electric energy in building...but lets not kid ourselves. The same arena that saw nearly 6,000 the night before saw what looked like half that for the second game of opening weekend. It is what it is...

Another good looking win for the Ams though, 4-1. The game saw two more 1st goal scorers on the season (Reddick, Hughesman) and Messier scored two, boosting the season total to 3.

Reddicks goal in the first period was impressive, a shot from the top of the blue line that found its way in stick side at the top.
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Game Numbers:
0- shots on goal during a 5-3 advantage for the t-birds. PK showed strong tonight when we needed it

2- shots on goal for the T-Birds..THE WHOLE FIRST PERIOD.and it never got rolling: 6 in the second,8 in   the third

3- Messiers' goal total after the game. Mess had a goal on a fortunate rebound given up by Pickard that showed some heads up play.

5- ...as in 5'7"...as in Tanner Olstad's listed height...Late in the third Austin Baecker pushed Rankin to the ground off the wall...Olstad literally goes up to him to push him, with his eyes at chest level. Baecker is list at 6'6" almost a foot taller than Tanner. Lets say the fight didn't work out so well for Olstad but he managed to stay on his feet until the refs parted them. Big ups to TO for that one.

16- Number of shots Pechurskiy had to face. he stopped 15 and has this to say about the one that got by:
    

"That's my fault," Pechurskiy said. "I'd only seen a few shots before that. It's tough to watch at the other end. I worked in just the third period and had a big save one-on-one (with Colin Jacobs)."

         

18- Penalty minutes the AMS had. 6 infractions were half of what we took the night before against Spokane. Sam grist went from spending most of the night in the box Saturday to 0 time spent on Sunday. (good work big guy)            

So here's to 2-0! GO AMS

Three Stars:

1. T.C - 19 Jordan Messier
2. T.C - 24 Brendan Shinnimin
3. T.C - 11 Kruise Reddick

AMS Win Opener 6-3 against Spokane

HELL YES

Saturdays game vs. the Chiefs saw a few trends:

  - Just about anyone on this team can score (6 goals scored by five different players)
  - Young players looking to step up with a veteran team
  - Young defense taking lead from Schmidt and proving strong.
  - Fighting in early games is a joke.

That last one...seriously...Messier and Kuhn (who had a -5 night...ouch) squared of with 8 sec left in the game. 

           -They dance around the blue line and take hold,
           - Messier takes off his helmet,
           - Kuhn picks it up and hands it BACK to him
           -More Dancing
           -Kuhn *cutely* takes  off Messiers' helmet for him
           -Messier returns the favor
           -Fight lasts three maybe 5 seconds....Messier falls.

   -So to me whats the point in that fight? Fights should only be used in retaliation for dirty hits, misc goalie crowding, etc. But not just because there's 8 sec left in a blowout...and you're bored. To me that takes any emotion out of a fight esp with the Chiefs. And to not know whether you take your helmet off or not...I don't know, it was just lame is what it was.

Either way, we left with a win and Nachbaur was pissed: 

     "Our veterans weren't good enough tonight. Our young guys learned as the game went on but the young guys can't win unless the old guys show them the way. I thought too many guys who played on this team last year took a back seat. If they keep that up they'll have a seat in the stands."

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/09/26/1184090/americans-hit-ground-running.html#ixzz10lRqqgj2

   ...Yikes...I hope that one of the goals for our team this year is to keep Nachbaur from winning in the Toyota Center. That would make me happy, and it would also mean we're beating the Chiefs.

Three Stars

 1. T.C - 24 Brendan Shinnimin

2. T.C - 41 Patrick Holland
3. SPO - 25 Levko Koper