Tri-City Americans fall to Silvertips a second time this season

The Tri-City Americans lost to the Everett Silvertips again, this time Wednesday night on the road, 3-0.

It was the second consecutive game that the Silvertips had shut out the Ams.

Dustin Wolf, Everett’s all-star goalie, now has three shutouts this season, which is just a week old.

In Wednesday’s game, Tri-City outshot Everett 30-21, which makes Wolf’s performance that much more impressive.

Sasha Mutala had five shots for the Ams, while Mitchell Brown added four.

The Ams next play host to the Spokane Chiefs at 6:05 p.m. Saturday.

▪ Former Tri-City American center Krystof Hrabik has been well-traveled this season.

Hrabik, who is under contract with the San Jose Barracuda — the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL San Jose Sharks — was loaned to two Czech league teams in the fall, where he scored 7 goals and 8 assists in 29 games.

On Jan. 19, the Barracuda recalled him, and he got one game in before being sent to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears for a game, and then for six more games with the Allen Americans in Texas (where he scored two goals in six games).

Finally, on Monday, he was called back by the Barracuda.

Hrabik played 105 games in 2018-19 and 2019-20 for the Tri-City Americans, where he scored 35 goals and 47 assists.

MCC volleyball

Richland swept Hanford 3-0 on Wednesday night to complete an unbeaten season in the Mid-Columbia Conference volleyball season.

The Bombers went 7-0, and it’s the third straight season they’ve gone unbeaten in MCC play — Richland went 16-0 in both 2018 and 2019.

The two regular-season games that remain were on March 25: Kamiakin at Southridge and Walla Walla at Pasco.

Here are the standings beofre the final night of MCC regular-season play: Richland 7-0, Chiawana 6-1, Walla Walla 4-2, Kennewick 4-3, Kamiakin 2-4, Southridge 2-4, Hanford 1-6, Pasco 0-6.

Unfortunately, the Bombers and head coach Bob Raidl have no state tournament to look forward to.

But the MCC will hold one final day of district play March 27, with the top four teams at Richland High, and the bottom four teams at Hanford High.

At Richland, Kennewick plays Richland, and Walla Walla takes on Chiawana — both at 11 a.m. The winners meet at 2 p.m., and the losers meet at the same time.

Over at Hanford on Saturday, whoever finishes fifth — the winner of March 25’s Kamiakin-Southridge game — will take on the eighth-place team.

The Kamiakin-Southridge loser will play the seventh-place team. Both of these games are at 11 a.m.

Winners and losers will play each other at 2 p.m., and MCC volleyball season will be done.

MCC girls soccer

The MCC also will hold a season-ending district tournament March 27-28.

The tournament is divided into two parts — the top four teams in the final standings, and the bottom four teams in the standings.

On Friday, top-seeded Richland plays host to No. 4-seed Kamiakin at 7 p.m., while No. 2-seed Southridge plays host to No. 3 Chiawana, also at 7 p.m.

Winners meet for the district title Saturday, while losers play for third on Saturday.

In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 8 Kennewick will travel to play No. 5 Walla Walla at 4 p.m. Friday, while No. 7 Hanford heads to No. 6 Pasco at 7 p.m. Friday at Edgar Brown Stadium.

Winners will play each other, while losers meet, both games on Saturday to finish the girls soccer season.

More prep notes

▪ While most area high school football teams were either playing Thursday night or already done with their season, there are four area games scheduled for Friday night (all at 7 p.m.): Cascade-Leavenworth at Warden, North Central at Othello, Sunnyside at West Valley-Yakima, and Wahluke at Royal.

▪ The MCC district cross country meet will be Saturday at the Big River Golf Course near Umatilla, with the girls race starting at 3 p.m., and the boys following at 4 p.m.

While fall sports are finishing up, some of our region’s schools are beginning to have spring sports competitions:

Grandview girls golf held an invitational tournament at Black Rock Creek Golf Course in Sunnyside.

• Boys and girls track meets scheduled Friday (4:30 p.m.) include Selah at Grandview, and East Valley at Prosser.
• 2A CWAC baseball Saturday includes East Valley at Grandview, and Prosser at Ellensburg. Both are twinbills that begin at 11 a.m.
• CWAC softball Saturday: Grandview at East Valley, and Ellensburg at Prosser. Both are twinbills and 11 a.m. starts.
• CWAC boys soccer games: East Valley at Prosser, 6 p.m. Thursday; Prosser at Selah, noon, Saturday; and Ellensburg at Grandview, noon, Saturday.
• DeSales baseball and softball will host Colton in 11 a.m. doubleheaders on Saturday.

College notes

The Oregon State women’s basketball team ran into a buzzsaw in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, falling to No. 1-seeded South Carolina 59-42 in the Alamodome in San Antonio.

A 16-5 second quarter for South Carolina gave the Gamecocks control of the contest and they never looked back.

Chiawana grad Talia von Oelhoffen came off of the bench to score 3 points, grab 5 rebounds and dish off an assist.

The Beavers ended up with a 12-8 record, and it turned out to be a great opportunity for von Oelhoffen.

She officially signed with the Beavers back in November, and decided to graduate early from Chiawana, then join the OSU team in January.

She immediately became an integral part of the team, playing in the final 13 games.

She averaged 24 minutes of playing time a contest, averaged 11.3 points and 3.8 rebounds.

Pretty impressive for an athlete who normally would be getting ready next month for a shorted high school season.

The best part for von Oelhoffen is this season does not count toward her four years of eligibility with the Beavers. She comes into the 2021-22 season this coming fall as a true freshman.

▪ Eastern Oregon University sent two Mid-Columbia wrestlers to the NAIA National Invitational tournament for women March 12-13 at Jamestown, N.D.

Senior Dempsi Talkington (River View) competed at 155 pounds, while freshman Nayeli Flores (Walla Walla) was at 109.

Flores went 0-2, but Talkington was 3-3, finished eighth, and qualified as an NAIA All-American.

▪ Outfielder Preston Vine-Close, a Chiawana grad who plays at Grays Harbor Community College, will spend his summer playing in the Cascade Collegiate League, a summer college baseball league based in the Northwest.