CRANBROOK, British Columbia -- In a matter of minutes, bad went to worse and worse to downright ugly for the Tri-City Americans.
The Kootenay Ice scored just 14 seconds into the game, led 2-0 at 8:30 of the first and cruised to a 7-1 WHL victory Saturday over the Americans, who finished their three-game trip through the Central Division 1-2.
Despite the loss, Tri-City (16-5-0-0, 32 points) remains atop the U.S. Division, two points ahead of Portland.
Brett Martyniuk, getting his second start of the season, allowed three goals on 14 shots by 6:16 of the second period and was pulled from the crease.
Drew Owsley fared no better, giving up four goals on 23 shots as the Americans suffered their worst loss of the season.
Dominik Pacovsky, Cason Machacek, Joey Leach and Brendan Hurley all scored to give the Ice (9-12-1-0, 19 points) a 4-0 lead at 10:32 of the second period.
Brett Plouffe put the Americans on the board at 13:23 of the second as his shot from the point glanced off a defender's stick, popped up in the air and landed behind Kootenay goalie Todd Mathews before sliding into the net.
The Ice, which had goals by seven different players, closed out the game with third-period goals by Steele Boomer, Kevin King and Max Reinhart.
Mathews finished with 30 saves to earn his fifth win of the season.
After playing 14 of their first 21 games on the road, the Americans begin a six-game homestand Tuesday against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Tri-City will host Everett on Friday and the Regina Pats on Saturday.
During Thanksgiving week, the Americans will have a trio of games, starting Nov. 25 against Portland.
Following the holiday, Tri-City will host Spokane on Nov. 27 and Everett on Nov. 28.
Similar stories:
Ams beat T-birds for 12th straight win
Ams beat T-birds for 12th straight win
KENNEWICK -- Toyota Center has become a house of horrors for the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Not only have the Thunderbirds lost 19 consecutive games in Kennewick, they had two goals disallowed Friday night in a 7-3 loss to the Tri-City Americans before an announced crowd of 6,064.
Adam Hughesman and Patrick Holland each had two goals to lead the Americans to their 12th consecutive win, as well as their 12th win in a row on home ice.
Rankin, Hughesman key Ams win
Rankin, Hughesman key Ams win
KENNEWICK -- It was a Wild West shootout Sunday night at Toyota Center. The only thing missing were the cowboys.
Connor Rankin scored a natural hat trick in the second period and Adam Hughesman had four assists on the night as the Tri-City Americans held off a Portland rally for a 6-5 WHL victory before 3,575 fans.
"It's always entertaining. The fans get their money's worth," said Americans coach Jim Hiller, whose team opened its season 2-0-0-0. "What you saw, clearly, was we get a couple of goals -- bang-bang -- and thought it was over. They got a couple short-handed, and we had to scratch and claw at the end. We shouldn't have expected anything less."
Ams finish monster road trip with another loss
Ams finish monster road trip with another loss
PORTLAND -- For just the second time this season, the Tri-City Americans dropped two games in a row.
Oliver Gabriel had three goals to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 5-1 win Monday over the Americans at the Rose Garden.
Tri-City (33-10-0-0, 66 points), which hadn't lost back-to-back games since Oct. 1 at Spokane and Oct. 5 at Kelowna, saw its lead in the U.S. Division shrink to three points over Portland (30-12-2-1, 63 points).
Ams knock off Winterhawks 7-6, remain in first place
Ams knock off Winterhawks 7-6, remain in first place
KENNEWICK -- In a wild west shootout for the top spot in the U.S. Division, the Tri-City Americans held off the Portland Winterhawks on Wednesday night to remain in the driver's seat.
Mitch Topping scored the game winner with 2:19 left in regulation, and Adam Hughesman had a five-point night with a goal and four assists in a 7-6 victory before an announced crowd of 4,229 at Toyota Center.
"A wild night, without a doubt," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller, whose team is 4-0 against Portland this season. "Not the finest display of tactical hockey, but (Portland) is an excellent team."
Kamloops hammers Americans 5-1
Kamloops hammers Americans 5-1
KAMLOOPS, British Columbia -- The Tri-City Americans lost ground in the race for the Scotty Munro trophy Wednesday after dropping a 5-1 game to the Kamloops Blazers at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers (38-12-1-3) lead the Western Hockey League with 80 points, two ahead of the Edmonton Oil Kings (36-12-2-4, 78 points) and four in front of Tri-City, though the Americans (37-13-1-1) have two games in hand on both teams.
Kamloops won this season's four-game series 3-1.
Print
Email Story
