Chet Pickard is humble. The Americans veteran goalie won his 87th game Saturday in a 5-3 win over Vancouver and is the winningest goalie in franchise history.

When the glass separated from the brackets near the home penalty box Sunday, the crack maintenance staff at Toyota Center fixed the problem with strapping tape.

With Americans newcomer Mitch Fadden asking to wear No. 13, it left me wondering who else in the franchise had chosen to wear the seemingly unlucky number.

Holding a game on Halloween night, you are bound to find a few strange faces in the crowd. On Friday at Toyota Center, there were blind referees, witches, Winnie the Pooh, Spidermen, doctors, bees, skeletons, creepy monsters, Raggedy Ann and a dead ringer for Steve Urkel -- right down to the high-water pants and suspenders.

Windsor, Moncton, Calgary and Vancouver all won three games last week and their prowess is reflected in the poll. Note that Spokane took a dive from fourth to eighth after splitting two games last week.

The Western Hockey League on Tuesday confirmed the sale of the Portland Winter Hawks has concluded, and control of the franchise has been transferred to its new owner, William M. (Bill) Gallacher of Avenir Capital Corporation.

Former Tri-City Americans forward Blair Macaulay, who was the odd man out at the overage deadline Oct. 16, opted not to report to the Portland Winter Hawks, who picked him up in the cutdown draft. Instead, he chose to return home and is playing with his younger brother Scott for the Winnipeg Saints of the MJHL.

Chet Pickard has a hard time rolling a bowling ball with one hand, so he uses both. He could have had three hands Sunday when the Americans players took the lanes with members of the booster club for their annual bowling outing and it might not have made a difference.

The Americans loaded up their gear bags and grabbed their sticks for a trip across the parking lot from the Toyota Center to Toyota Arena for practice Thursday, having been displaced by the children's show Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights.

The NHL scouts have spoken and the Windsor Spitfires are again ranked No. 1 in the weekly CHL poll.

Chet Pickard has no trouble beating his little brother at hockey.

ANNIE FOWLER

It didn't take long for the Memorial Cup champion Spokane Chiefs to fall from grace in the CHL poll. The Chiefs are ranked 10th this week, dropping from sixth. The Swift Current Broncos are ranked fourth, but look for them to fall after suffering a 2-1 home loss to the Tri-City Americans.

When I heard Craig West announce that Kyle Birch was starting in goal for the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday against his former team -- the Tri-City Americans -- I knew the kid was in for a long night.

Forward Joel Broda of the Moose Jaw Warriors was named WHL player of the week.

The CHL poll is in its third week and still no Tri-City Americans.

High above center ice at Spokane Arena hung the Memorial Cup. The thousands of fans who worked their away around the arena and crammed themselves into their seats were unaware of the trophy until it began its 20-second decent from the rafters amidst fireworks.

I’ve heard of coaches walking along the top of boards -- which is roughly the width of the balance beam in women’s gymnastics -- in front of the team bench, but Friday night was the first time I’ve actually ever seen one of them do it.

I was pleased to see the Americans’ U.S. Division and regular-season banners proudly displayed at center ice.

Mark Dawkins once protected the net for the Tri-City Americans, and even now that he's an accountant in Spokane, married to a Spokane girl (Shari) and working as an off-ice official for the Chiefs, his loyalties still lie with the Americans.

At 6-foot-5, Eric Mestery doesn’t look up to many people, but at the Washington Capitals camp this past week, the Tri-City Americans defenseman was the little man on campus.

Jamie Tucker of the Vancouver Giants was named CHL goaltender of the week after posting a shutout in his WHL debut on Saturday.

When Kyle Birch didn’t get the start in goal for the Americans’ home opener Saturday, I knew he wasn’t long for the warm autumn afternoons in the Tri-Cities.

The Tri-City Americans, who started the season with a 5-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets, were unable to crack the CHL top 10 poll.

Couple of quick notes:

Speaking of mascots, when Winger takes the ice Saturday, he’ll sport a new look courtesy of Global Credit Union.

There will be three new restaurants open on the concourse. I’m keeping you in suspense — just follow your nose to the new delights (there is BBQ sauce involved). Also, there will be cotton candy available at select concessions, and Toyota Center now serves Coke products instead of Pepsi.

I have seen them and they are beautiful.

An interesting note on the Americans website:

The Americans did a nice job of signing draft picks and prospects during the offseason, but one name that did not go on the dotted line was coach Don Nachbaur.

Kevin Meunch, the WHL’s director of officiating, told me there will be six new referees this season, and that "fan favorite" Andy Thiessen will be working in another league and will call just 20 WHL games this season.

Before the whining about the refs gets out of hand, there are a couple of new rules to be aware of this season in the WHL that pertain to the location of faceoffs.

The Best of the West poll will have a new look come February.

Wonder who leads the WHL in goals? Assists? Penalties? Looking for the most up-to-date WHL news? Check out the WHL’s website.

News out of the Americans office is that they have sold nearly 250 new season tickets for the 2008-09 season.