New Years Eve

Raise your hand if you're ready for one of the biggest, most attended games of the year? (raises hand) Yeah, its NYE and tonight marks the 21st time the Spokane Chiefs have met the Ams at the Toyota Center for some throw down, beat down hockey. Americans are 13-5-0-1 in the series. This is one of the best games of the year and the game is already sold out:

Tickets to tonight's Tri-City Americans game with the Spokane Chiefs were gone three days ago. As of Thursday morning, there were around 150 standing-room only tickets available in the Sunset Room and Lounge, where a $15 ticket will get you a view of the game on TV. (herald)

Tha'ts right, so if you procrastinated you're dumb. But if you're someone who is reading this blog chances are you bought your ticket a long time ago.

BTW:
 Ams beat P-town 5-1 again on Wednesday night at Toyota, a much different game that saw the same result. We weren't there but the gist is this:

Americans scored early > Owsley took lots of shots (and stopped all but one) > DEFENSE came up big with 3 goals. 

Told you the defense would have to step up in that game. BOOSH!

Everybody pleeeeeeaaaaassseeeeee drive safe tonight, don't be stupid and watch out for the other stupids. If you are inclined to drink at the game, make sure someone can drive your ass home. Watch out for dumb spokane fans too, they like to bring their own goon squad to TC for the game.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Drew Owsley: Is going to face a lot of shots tonight. Spokane has 50 more goals than what theyve given up this year, and with Tyler Johnson being the goal scoring machine he is Ows can expect an s-ton of shots his way.

Defense: They did it wednesday, came up big in front of drew and on the offensive blue line as well. they'll have to sacrifice their bodies, something they've done so much better during the teams recent success.

Coaching: Don Nachbaur is a damn good coach. There's a reason we've won three straight US Division titles, and its because of the groundwork Don laid before leaving prior to the 2009-2010 season. He's got this Spokane team working well now and it will be up to TC coach Jim Hiller to outsmart Nachbaur. Getting the right lines on at the right time is going to be key.

Sam Grist: I have a feeling this guy is going to have a big game. He has matured so much this year and on a night like tonight, where tempers always flare he will be in the middle of it. Chiefs are without big guy Jared Cowen and they will miss his toughness when Grist is throwing his weight around tonight. One fight and 10 PIM im assuming for the guy tonight. (hopefully well earned)

--------------------------------------------------------
US DIVISION STANDINGS

Rank	U.S. Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	P10	PIM
1	Portland Winterhawks	39	25	11	0	3	53	0.679	147	122	0-3-0-0	4-6-0-0	792
2	Spokane Chiefs	36	21	10	3	2	47	0.653	149	99	3-0-0-0	8-1-1-0	698
3	Tri-City Americans	34	21	11	1	1	44	0.647	130	102	2-0-0-0	8-2-0-0	560
4	Seattle Thunderbirds	35	15	13	3	4	37	0.529	98	115	0-2-0-0	4-6-0-0	652
5	Everett Silvertips	37	16	16	2	3	37	0.500	92	107	0-1-0-0	5-4-1-0	559

Americans Win 1st of Home and Home

The Americans continued their recent success last night in Portland winning 5-1. 50+ shots came in on Caruth with goals from Shinnimin, Conrad, Humphries and both Messier brothers. Marcus and Jordans goals came 45 seconds apart in the first period.

"We started out really well," said Ams coach Jim Hiller. "We had a lot of pressure on them early. We did what we wanted to do. We got on them early, and things went according to plan tonight." (examiner)


Spencer Humphries tallied his first WHL goal late in the third to drop the dagger in the Winterhawks. Kudos to him, im sure hes stoked.

But it was a player who didn't figure in the scoring whom Hiller credited with getting the Americans on track.
"Kruise (Reddick) was physical early and set the tone for us," Hiller said. "He wasn't on the scoresheet, but he was a real important player for us tonight." (examiner)


Thats how this season is going to be. Kruise isnt a high scoring kind of guy. He's a leader on the team, and thats what he should be focused on. There are plenty of guys who can bury the puck on this team, I dont think he feels pressure to score and thats a good thing.


Great job to the guys going out on the road after a long time off and competing against the best team in the league. they get to rewind and do it all over again tonight at toyota. We won;t be there, we're finally celebrating xmas with my family now that my sister and bro-in law is back from LA. I guess the Winter Classic jersey will have to wait until friday night...Awesome.

-----------------------------------------------------

Keys to the Game: 


Momentum: Is on our side right now. dont let one game slip away. that starts again by scoring early and frustrating a portland team that is aft to taking lots of "frustration" type of penalties. you want 4 points in two nights....good job getting half so far. Dont give anything Back.

Feser: one of two that didnt snag a + last night on the scoresheet. Him and Holland posted 0's while everyone else was either +1 or +2. I bet Feser wants some pointage and needs to get his season rolling. Look for a big night from him.

Defense: End of the game got chippy. We've seen what this team does when they get picked on (look at the Vancouver game) Paul Sohor was big about stepping up. Also Yuen sacrificed like a man that night. They'll have to be on their toes to protect their team tonight.

Welcome back

Welcome to the second half of the season everyone, and hopefully this week starts to calm down. Everyone has had a chance to open up their Christmas Kindles, and call Amazon about it because their grandchildren thought they could use this deg-um technology crap we use today but were solely wrong about it.

But...its back to hockey. And lets just wrap up a few things from the most recent hockey action a couple of weeks ago. That game with Vancouver was silly. Silly in so many ways. I never would have expected a Don Hay coached team to act that way. Sure - you're team is down, you're goalie is a leaky sieve and yo ustart taking stupid penalties. Take a minute, clear your head. Instead, the Giants decided to just turn into a bunch of idiots and started fighting their way through the game...literally. It was just stupid, basically all you need to know about that game is the Americans whooped Vancouvers asses. Our guys stood up for each other through several line brawls and drop-o-the puck melees.

I'd like to point out that Paul Sohor scored his first WHL goal in that game, an hour after I wrote that we should look for him to tally in this game. I love being right :)

-------------------------------------------------

The night after the team played up in Everett. Fortunes were not in our favor as the guys gave up the lead and lost 4-2. it happens....not the way they wanted to go into the break but hey its hockey, and theres a lot left to play.

Here are the standings as of today:

US DIVISION STANDINGS:

Rank	U.S. Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	P10	PIM
1	Portland Winterhawks	37	25	9	0	3	53	0.716	145	112	0-1-0-0	4-4-0-2	752
2	Spokane Chiefs	34	19	10	3	2	43	0.632	139	97	1-0-0-0	7-1-2-0	666
3	Tri-City Americans	32	19	11	1	1	40	0.625	120	100	0-1-0-0	7-3-0-0	519
4	Seattle Thunderbirds	33	15	11	3	4	37	0.561	96	105	2-0-0-0	4-6-0-0	610
5	Everett Silvertips	36	16	15	2	3	37	0.514	92	103	2-0-0-0	5-4-1-0	528

---------------------------------------------------

face palm

GAAAAAHHHHHHH I JUST WANT HOCKEY!

NO MORE YELLING CUSTOMERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I WANT LIFE TO RETURN TO NORMAL


:: end midweek meltdown ::

Vaaaaaancouver.

Rematch of the Conference Finals tonight at Toyota

Notes on the acquisition of Paul Sohor:

"When the overage thing unfolded, the bigger picture was to acquire a defenseman," Tory said. "It was a good fit. He knows a number of guys, and we felt it wouldn't affect the chemistry of the team.

"Zak was bigger and more experienced, but Paul has a little sandpaper to his game, which we can use a bit more of. If we wouldn't have been able to get Paul, we would have had to keep Zak."

"Everett developed me real well," Sohor said, "but I think a change in scenery was in order. Coming here was a real bonus. It's nice to get a reunion with the guys I've known my whole life and get to know the new faces. We have good chemistry out there.

"I was super relieved and happy to come to a winning organization and a team that wants to win. I like playing with these guys more than I liked playing against them."

Keyes to the game against Vancouver:

Paul Sohor:
   Look for Paul to get a point tonight. Im sure he's much more comfortable in the system now with a weeks worth of practice. I'm sure he wants to prove to his new team and fans that he can contribute.
 
Offense:
  Top lines are going to need to score, like last week scoring early will be huge. Vancouver goalie Segal has been solid recently recording 3 shutouts in his last ten, while the team has gone 7-3 over that period. Make a mess in front of the net and bang the loose change home.

Busy week Update

GIANTS BLANK SILVERTIPS –


Mark Segal turned in a 36-save performance to record his third shutout in his last 10 appearances as the visiting Vancouver Giants blanked the Everett Silvertips 3-0 in Western Hockey League action on Wednesday.
Mark Reners tallied his first goal as a member of the Giants (16-12-1-4), who scored all three of their goals in the second period as they snap a two-game losing skid.  Craig Cunningham and Matt MacKay also scored and Brendan Gallagher chipped in two assists in the win.
Kent Simpson turned aside 26 of 29 shots he faced in a losing cause for the Silvertips (14-15-2-3), who suffer their third straight setback and fall below the .500 mark.

------------------------------

Vancouver rolls into to town on friday night. Segal seems to have found a groove with the 3 shutouts in 10 games.  ... Super busy week at work, thus the lack of updates. Sorry folks

Also....Carter Ashton made team Canada so we wont see him until early January.

-------------------------

THUNDERBIRDS 5, CHIEFS 4  O/T

Travis Toomey scored 4:16 into overtime to lift the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds to a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in the back half of a home-and-home series between the teams on Wednesday night.
Burke Gallimore scored three goals and assisted Toomey’s overtime winner while Brendan Rouse also scored for the Thunderbirds (14-11-3-4), who rallied from a 3-0 deficit early in the second period to earn the split in the home-and-home series.  Calvin Pickard turned in a 40-save performance to record the win in his return to the T-Birds’ line-up after being released from Canada’s national junior team selection camp Wednesday morning.
Brenden Kichton scored twice while Mitch Holmberg – with a goal and two assists – and Dominik Uher also counted for the Chiefs (18-9-3-2), who see a six-game win streak come to an end but claim at least one point for the 10^th straight game.  James Reid made 30 saves in the loss.

------------------------------

^^ Thanks Seattle  O_o

-------------------------------
 US DIVISION STANDINGS

Rank	U.S. Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	P10	PIM
1	Portland Winterhawks	36	25	8	0	3	53	0.736	143	108	3-0-0-0	4-4-0-2	740
2	Spokane Chiefs	32	18	9	3	2	41	0.641	135	95	8-0-2-1	7-0-2-1	627
3	Tri-City Americans	30	18	10	1	1	38	0.633	109	95	2-0-0-0	7-3-0-0	450
4	Seattle Thunderbirds	32	14	11	3	4	35	0.547	92	103	1-0-0-0	4-6-0-0	592
5	Everett Silvertips	34	14	15	2	3	33	0.485	86	101	0-2-1-0	3-6-1-0	505

2 Days = 2 Wins

The Americans went 2 for 2 on the weekend in a home and home weekend series with the Seattle Thunderbirds. First up was Friday night at Toyota center for teddy bear toss night. If you recall I mentioned that the first key to the game was going to be to score early. Shinnimin took care of that check mark by netting one past Pickard on a 2 on 1 less than two minutes in. Over 2,800 stuffed animals came over the glass. A dejected Pickard made his way back to the bench during the near 10 minute clean up time:


"Everyone before the game wanted that goal," said Shinnimin, who also had two assists. "It feels good to get it going and get the team going. When it goes to a good cause, it makes it that much better." (herald)

 The rest of the night went really well. It's amazing what an early goal can do for you and there were a lot of chances around Pickard. Seattle managed to do a decent job of clogging shooting lanes, seems like we could've had 70 shots on goal. 

The Americans took a 2-0 lead at 5:06 of the second period as Brooks Macek -- using a screen by Neal Prokop -- beat Pickard from the top of the right circle on the power play for his eighth goal of the season. (herald) 

Thats right Brooks Macek actually found the score sheet!! Hopefully that will continue because he needs to be more of an offensive contributor. 

"Ten power plays to three. They are a good offensive team, you can't put them on the power play that many times," said Seattle coach Rob Sumner, whose team is 0-4 against Tri-City this season. "In the first, we were outshot -- we turned down some shots and missed some. In the second, there was a stretch where we started to get in a rhythm, then we gave up a simple goal (Hughesman's) at a critical time. That was a big goal to give up." (herald) 

That trend would continue for the T-Birds as they gave up another 14 penalties en route to a 5-1 victory for the Ams on Saturday night. Jordan Messier scored twice in 15 seconds as part of a 4 goal 1st and cruised to victory. Really just a normal game for Seattle, just undisciplined and piss-poor defense is their demise. 

Ams back in action against Vancouver on friday at home. That will be a rematch of the western conference finals that the Ams won last year.

Another big trade

From the Americans website:

Tri-City Americans Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team has acquired 19-year-old forward Carter Ashton and a 3rd round pick in the 2012 Bantam Draft from the Regina Pats in exchange for 18-year-old forward Tanner Olstad, 17-year-old forward Nils Moser, a 1st round pick in this year’s bantam draft as well as 2nd and 5th round picks in the 2012 draft.

Obviously big news picking up a first round draft pick, one who can score goals. But the departure of Tanner Olstad sucks a little. Okay, sucks a lot. Moser's a good one too. Wish the boys a bunch of luck in Regina.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keys to the game tonight:

Score early!! The Americans have not scored in the first period since November 20th against Spokane. That was six games ago. Not sure whos in net, whether its Pickard (who may be gone for team Canada) or Salmon, either way scoring early gets you going. 

Is Schmidt out tonight? We'll see, went down to practice today and Schmidt was not suited, talking on his cell phone lol. Injury? i dunno we'll see. 

Win in regulation: The Seattle Thunderbirds have the most Shootout losses in the league right now with 4. pair that with 3 OT losses. We want a full two points tonight without giving one up, as the bottom four teams are separated by 2 points total.  

Deal is done

The deadline to get to three 20 year olds is today, but GM Bob Tory has made up his mind and the deal has been made. Defenseman Zak Stebner has been traded to Kelowna for  a 4th round pick in the 2011 Bantam Draft and a 8th round pick in the 2012 Bantam draft. The Americans also gave up a 7th round pick in the 2011draft. 

Now I'd like to point out that I had mentioned I didnt think Bob would trade Stebner because we had gotten him for a reason. The reason being to bolster a defensive unit with some talent and experience. 


So what did Bob do prior to trading Stebner? Traded for another defenceman:

""Tri-City Americans Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team acquired 19-year-old defenseman Paul Sohor from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for 17-year-old forward prospect Zach McPhee." (americans)

 Initial reaction is that this is a good thing, definitely covered our bases.Got an experienced D-man while retaining a big forward in Prokop. 

still busy, Ill try and provide mopre details later. 

If you hadnt heard already, the Americans forgot to show up in Portland. Maybe thats why I forgot to update the blog for a few days...


but seriously, its because when you work in e-commerce this time of year it gets pretty busy. We've had very little time to do anything so when getting off work the last thing I want to be in front of is a computer.

Overager deadline is tomorrow. There have been no updates on the Americans website since Saturday, nothing, nothing at all.

If we have any time to write anything we will...but gotta tell ya, this time of year is pretty rough lol.

Here's something because I've got nothing today:

-------------------------------------------------------
US DIVISION STANDINGS

Rank	U.S. Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	P10	PIM
1	Portland Winterhawks	32	22	7	0	3	47	0.734	124	90	0-1-0-0	4-4-0-2	669
2	Tri-City Americans	28	16	10	1	1	34	0.607	100	93	0-1-0-0	5-5-0-0	420
3	Seattle Thunderbirds	28	13	8	3	4	33	0.589	83	82	2-0-0-0	4-4-1-1	500
4	Spokane Chiefs	27	14	9	2	2	32	0.593	101	78	4-0-1-1	6-1-1-2	524
5	Everett Silvertips	29	12	13	1	3	28	0.483	74	83	0-1-0-0	4-6-0-0	446

Game Day

Ams got on the bus this morning to head down to Portland. Since its less than an hour to game time, Im just going to cover the keys to the game.

-Much like last week holding the big names in check is going to be crucial. Neiderreter, Johansen, Rattie, and Batrschi are al reeming as they sit in a four game losing streak. Expect them to come out hot on their home ice.

-Keeping space clear in front of Drew will be crucial. He;s been seeing the puck better of late, but if too much traffic gets in front its hard for any goalie to keep it out.

Possess the puck! Portland will probably go to the defensive strategy they went to in the third period of last weeks tilt, when they held the Americans in check to tie up the game. They played the forecheck really well and clogged the neutral zone making it difficult for the Ams to gain any offensive footing

It really should be a great game tonight. Hope the guys are ready to continue playing great hockey and can hopefully take a full two points from the game. That'll put us back to within 9 of the the lead in the US division.
-------------------------------------

Pre game Hiller says: "Portland is waiting for us, first time in their building"

"Its always great when you have something to prove. Changes the mentality when you are the hunted or the chaser."

New Poll Question:

Take a look over to the right, there's a new poll question on which overager you believe will be released or traded. More info on the situation can be found below. Tell us what you think in the comments.

If you were Bob Tory, what would you do? Who would you release?

Ams run streak to 4 games

Maybe now we should get used to this. Used to a team that plays hard and matches physical play. A team that is so deep that two 16 year olds can score in one night. Last night was a good game, sadly we couldnt be at the game last night because Jessica has a nasty head cold thingy. We also got in a wreck yesterday (everyones okay, including the car) someone was just in a super hurry to get some cheezeburgers from McDonalds.

SLOW THE EFF DOWN PEOPLE!

Anywho, we spent most of the day in doctors offices and retired home to listen to the game on the radio. Gotta tell ya, all these wins against the leagues best teams have been awesome. 

"We wanted to approach this game like a playoff game," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "It's Wednesday, so the crowd isn't as big as it is Friday or Saturday. We had to challenge ourselves to play a solid hockey game and that's what we saw. 

"Over the last 10 days, we have started to make a statement as to who we are and what we want to accomplish." (herald)


The team is just playing better overall. The defense (most notably Sam Grist) is staying out of the penalty box and giving up less chances. Offense is carrying the puck well into the zone instead of relying to heavily on the 'dump and chase'.

Three Stars:
1. T.C - 30 Drew Owsley
2. T.C - 18 Mason Wilgosh
3. T.C - 15 Brooks Macek 
 
It's been a great homestand and the boys are going to take their talents to South Beach...errrr Portland on friday for a rematch of last weeks shootout thriller at Toyota. The Ams won 3-2 in a shootout after giving up control in the game. Portland has yet to win since then as part of their 4 game losing streak. They only lost 5 of their first 26 games. ouch.


Still no word on overage situation. Captain Kruise sat out last night in the rotating cycle, each player has gotten a chance at a night off while Tory decides what to do.I believe that means Schmidt will be sitting out Fridays game.

--------------------------------------------------------------
US DIVISION UPDATE:

Portland and Seattle both lost last night, the Americans keep picking up points and have cut Portlands lead to 11 after being back 26 points just a week ago. WINNING IS AWESOME!

Rank	U.S. Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	P10	PIM
1	Portland Winterhawks	30	21	6	0	3	45	0.750	116	85	0-2-0-2	5-3-0-2	627
2	Tri-City Americans	27	16	9	1	1	34	0.630	99	88	4-0-0-0	5-5-0-0	401
3	Seattle Thunderbirds	26	11	8	3	4	29	0.558	73	74	0-3-0-0	4-4-1-1	469
4	Spokane Chiefs	25	12	9	2	2	28	0.560	94	73	2-0-1-1	5-1-2-2	498
5	Everett Silvertips	27	11	12	1	3	26	0.481	68	79	0-4-0-0	5-5-0-0	400