CHILLIWACK, British Columbia -- When it came to the B.C. Division this season, the Tri-City Americans ran the table, with the exception of Chilliwack.
Lucas Gore finished with 31 saves as the Bruins (30-31-1-5, 66 points) handed the Americans a 4-1 loss Friday night and won the four-game season series 3-1 at Prospera Centre.
The loss, coupled with Everett's win over Prince George, leaves the Americans (45-19-1-2, 93 points) with a slim two-point lead over the Silvertips in the race for the U.S. Division title.
Tri-City got off to a rocky start, giving up a power-play goal to Chilliwack's Roman Horak just 1:06 into the game. The Bruins extended their lead to 3-0 by the end of the second period with goals by Jamie Crooks and Dylan McKinlay.
Johnny Lazo finally figured out Gore late in the third with power-play goal at 13:38, but that's all the Americans would be able to get past the Chilliwack goalie, who improved to 3-0 against Tri-City.
The Americans pulled goaltender Alex Pechurskiy for an extra attacker, but the move resulted in an empty-net goal for Chilliwack's Colton Grant. Pechurskiy finished with 16 saves.
The Americans are 3-2 on their seven-game road trip, which continues today at Portland and Sunday at Seattle.
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Ams head to Vancouver Island for 2
Ams head to Vancouver Island for 2
The last time the Tri-City Americans played a Western Hockey League game in Victoria, British Columbia, was March 19, 1993.
The Americans beat the Victoria Cougars 6-3 at the now demolished Victoria Memorial Arena.
After the season was over, the Cougars headed north to Prince George, and Victoria was left without a WHL team for 17 years until the Chilliwack Bruins were sold to Graham Lee this past spring and headed to the island.
Ams run out of steam in Spokane
Ams run out of steam in Spokane
SPOKANE -- Playing their third road game in four days, the Tri-City Americans finally ran out of gas Saturday night.
Dominik Uher had two goals and one assist to lead Spokane to a 5-3 win over the Americans before a crowd of 9,667 at Spokane Arena.
Tri-City (33-9-0-0, 66 points), which has lost two of its last three games, saw its lead in the Western Hockey League trimmed to one point with the loss.
Rankin helps Ams win in Victoria 5-3
Rankin helps Ams win in Victoria 5-3
VICTORIA, British Columbia — The Tri-City Americans finished their back-to-back Western Hockey League series against the Victoria Royals with a 5-3 victory Wednesday night at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, British Columbia.
At 7:59 of the third period, Connor Rankin scored his second goal of the game to break a 3-3 tie and give the Americans (23-7-0-0, 46 points) the lead for good.
Marcus Messier added an insurance goal less than 2 minutes later, and Eric Comrie totaled 15 saves against the Royals (12-18-1-1, 26 points).
Feser sparks Ams in preseason win over Portland
Feser sparks Ams in preseason win over Portland
EVERETT -- Justin Feser had a three-point night and Brendan Shinnimin scored the game-winner in the shootout, as the Tri-City Americans slipped past the Portland Winterhawks 5-4 on Saturday at the Everett Tournament.
Tri-City's Olli Dickson got the ball rolling just 4:54 into the first period. Portland responded with two goals in a 3 1/2-minute span to take a 2-1 lead at the first period.
Rookie Brian Williams tied the game at 2 in the second, but the Winterhawks scored two goals late in the period for a 4-2 lead.
Comrie, Ams shut out Prince George
Comrie, Ams shut out Prince George
As the final horn sounded, Eric Comrie picked up the puck and skated off the ice.
The Tri-City Americans rookie goalie wanted the souvenir from his first WHL shutout, coming in a 1-0 victory over the Prince George Cougars on Friday night at CN Centre.
Comrie finished with 17 saves, and Adam Hughesman scored the game's only goal late in the second period as the Americans improved to 9-4-0-0 and remained atop the Western Conference with 18 points.
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