KENNEWICK — Adam Hughesman has played his entire career for the Tri-City Americans, and as his WHL career winds down, he still has a few items on his bucket list to cross off.
One of those can be taken care of Saturday night in Lethbridge, Alberta.
As it turns out, Hughesman has won a regular-season game in every barn in the WHL and scored a point in all but three.
Lethbridge's Enmax Centre is one of those barns. Calgary's Saddledome is another (Tri-City plays there Jan. 29), as is Swift Current's Credit Union iPlex, which will end up being the only blemish on Hughesman's otherwise brilliant career, as the Americans have no games there this season.
"I didn't know that," said Hughesman, who has scored a goal in 15 of the WHL's 22 rinks. "Personal goals are nice, but it's more important that we get the three wins on the road."
The odds are on Hughesman's side to get a point in Lethbridge. Of his 104 career goals, 46 have come on the road, as have 62 of his 162 assists.
"Adam has been very consistent since he was 16 right through now," Tri-City general manager Bob Tory said. "He has had a tremendous career. He probably doesn't get the recognition in the league he truly deserves. He does a lot in the community and he cares about his teammates, which is a special quality."
The Western Conference-leading Americans (13-5-0-0) will play at Eastern Conference-leading Medicine Hat (14-5-1-0, 29 points) tonight in the second of three games in the Central Division.
Tri-City has won three straight going into tonight's game, and has matched the second-best start in franchise history. The best start was in 2009-10 when they opened the season 15-3-0-0.
The Tigers have won four of their last five games and are led by Emerson Etem (25) and Hunter Shinkaruk (20), who have combined for 45 of the team's 83 goals.
The Americans are down a man after sending forward Mackenzie Royer home.
Royer, who suffered a concussion Sept. 30 against Portland, skated in practice Monday, but on Tuesday, he was sent home to Spruce Grove, Alberta, to further recuperate. He has been removed from the team's roster and placed on the long-term injured list.
"He suffered a setback after practice," Tory said. "Once he got his heart rate elevated and got going he was OK. Once he stopped, the headaches came back. It's like starting all over again from when it happened. We can't clear him medically to play. We have to do what's right for him. We can't put him in a high-risk situation."
With 14 forwards, the Americans won't be bringing in any additional players.
Also, forward Nate MacMaster suffered lower body injury against Spokane last Saturday and was held out of Wednesday's 5-4 win over Kootenay.
"It's a minor injury," Tory said. "He skated pregame Wednesday and he could have played, but we were being cautious. We'll see if he can go (today) or Saturday. If not, we have a week until we play again."
NOTE: Americans radio man Craig West will call his 1,000th game with the team Saturday at Lethbridge.
