KELOWNA, British Columbia -- There aren't many guys on either team who could remember the last time Kelowna beat Tri-City.
The skid hit 10 games when the Rockets dropped a game to the Americans on Nov. 4 at Toyota Center, but Wednesday night, the Rockets beat Tri-City 3-1 at Prospera Place for their first win over the defending U.S. Division champions since Feb. 25, 2006.
Kelowna's Evan Bloodoff scored the game-winning goal with five minutes left to play, and Cody Almond scored a short-handed, empty-net goal from 185 feet to secure the win.
"To finally beat them, it feels really good," Almond told the Daily Courier. "I thought we had a little bit of a slow start, but we kept at it, kept competing and got better as the game went on. We really finished strong."
The Americans (14-7-0-2, 30 points) failed to overtake the Spokane Chiefs in the U.S. Division standings. The Chiefs, who lead Tri-City by one point, dropped a 2-0 game to Regina.
Brendan Shinnimin scored the lone goal for the Americans at 16:29 of the first period. The Rockets (14-10-0-0) tied things up late in the second as Jamie Benn scored his league-leading 21st goal.
Bloodoff's goal came at 14:52 of the third to give Kelowna a
2-1 lead.
After the Rockets' Tyson Barrie was sent to the penalty box for interference with 1:15 to play, the Americans pulled goaltender Chet Pickard for a 6-on-4 advantage, but turned the puck over and Almond sent it the length of the ice for a goal.
Pickard, who needs one win to become the all-time winningest goalie in franchise history, finished with 30 saves.
Kris Lazaruk, 1-2 against Tri-City this season, finished with 25 saves for the Rockets.
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Ams fall on road to Kelowna
Ams fall on road to Kelowna
KELOWNA, British Columbia -- The Tri-City Americans twice rebounded from a three-goal deficit, but in the end, they couldn't catch the Kelowna Rockets.
Colton Sissons scored the game-winner at 12:33 of the second period, and the Rockets held on for a 4-3 victory before an announced sellout crowd of 6,021 at Prospera Place.
Trailing 4-1 entering the third period, Michal Plutnar wasted no time in cutting Kelowna's lead in half, taking a feed from Brendan Shinnimin in the high slot and beating Adam Brown for his second goal of the season at 1:18.
Shinnimin delivers in Ams win over Kelowna
Shinnimin delivers in Ams win over Kelowna
A short-handed goal in hockey is like a pick-six in football. Both can change the game in a hurry and suck the life out of the opposing team.
Brendan Shinnimin had his first career hat trick -- including two short-handed goals in the second period -- to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 5-1 victory Thursday night over the Kelowna Rockets before a crowd of 4,847 at Toyota Center.
"It's the first game back and everyone was kind of scrambly," said Shinnimin, who also had an assist for a four-point night. "We got better as the game went along. Every game we have played them they have give us a tough game. Without the short-handed goals, it could have been a different game. Those took the wind out of their sails."
Ams hand Rockets first loss
Ams hand Rockets first loss
KENNEWICK -- Adam Hughesman can't tell you why he racks up such great statistics against the Kelowna Rockets.
He doesn't think about it. He just does it.
In 15 career games against the Rockets, Hughesman had five goals and eight assists heading into Friday night's matchup at Toyota Center.
Americans hope to keep win streak going vs. Kelowna
Americans hope to keep win streak going vs. Kelowna
KENNEWICK — The last time Tri-City played Kelowna, the Rockets laid a 6-2 hurtin’ on the Americans at Prospera Place.
The next night, Tri-City coach Jim Hiller quipped, “We could have had Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr playing for us, and it wouldn’t have made a difference.”
Since that loss, the Americans (27-7-0-0, 54 points) have won eight in a row and boast the best record in the Western Hockey League.
Rockets blow up Americans 6-2
Rockets blow up Americans 6-2
KELOWNA, British Columbia -- Tri-City let an early lead get away, getting blown out by host Kelowna 6-2 in a Western Hockey League game Wednesday night.
Connor Rankin scored at 17:46 of the first period on assists by Mason Wilgosh and Adam Hughesman.
Two minutes later, Patrick Holland scored on assists by goalie Ty Rimmer and Sam Grist to put the Americans (19-7-0-0, 38 points) on top 2-1 after the first period.
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