Red-hot Americans take on Moose Jaw

The Tri-City Americans are the hottest team right now in the Western Hockey League.

They have won a league-best five games in a row, and are a perfect 4-0 on home ice heading into Wednesday’s home game against Moose Jaw.

“Since that Victoria game where we got embarrassed a bit (8-2 loss), our work ethic has been better,” Tri-City coach Mike Williamson said. “I think we are still looking for 60 minutes a night and better starts. We have had that some nights, but others we have relied on a push in the last half of the game, or a come-from-behind win. We are getting closer. To win in this league, you have to work hard and be good every night.”

The Americans (8-4-0-0, 16 points) are coming off a 6-3 home win over Kamloops last Saturday, a game in which veteran forward Jordan Topping had his fourth career hat trick. Topping leads Tri-City with nine goals and 16 points.

“It has been good,” Topping said of the season. “We got off to a bit of a rocky start, but we have been able to string together some games. When guys come back (from NHL camps), you have to develop chemistry and get into a groove. We have a good team.”

The Americans have the sixth-best record in the league, despite scoring just 42 goals. They have given up 43, but over the past five games, play at both ends of the ice have shown improvement.

They have outscored opponents 16-12, and handed the Victoria Royals their first loss of the season to start the five-game win streak.

“It’s definitely a huge factor when you have to score four, five or six goals every night,” Williamson said. “I think we have been better without the puck and our goalies (Beck Warm and Patrick Dea) have played exceptionally well. They have had to play better than what I would like to have them play. It’s another situation where we have gotten better, but we still have a lot of improvements to make in our defensive zone coverage.”

Moose Jaw (9-3-0-0, 18 points) comes in having won its past two games over Everett and Seattle. The Warriors played at Portland on Tuesday.

“Moose Jaw is going to be a good matchup for us,” Topping said. “When you get to play an Eastern Conference team that is a contender, it’s a chance to to see how you measure up. I think it will be a good test for us.”

Mutala, Bouchard headed to U-17 Hockey Challenge

Tri-City rookie forwards Sasha Mutala and Connor Bouchard have been selected to play in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge from Nov. 5-11 in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, British Columbia.

Three Team Canada teams will face competition from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States in their quest for a gold medal.

Mutala will play for Canada Black, the 2016 silver medalist, while Bouchard will suit up for Canada White.

“It’s a great experience,” Williamson said. “Both Bouch and Sasha have played extremely well for us. We have enough veteran guys and we are deep enough that we will have guys to fill in while they are gone. It’s a good opportunity for them to play with their peers, and hopefully they come back with more confidence and that translates into success for us.”

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 8:14 PM with the headline "Red-hot Americans take on Moose Jaw."