Rasmussen still on the DL as Tri-City hosts Kelowna

The Tri-City Americans find themselves atop the U.S. Division a month into the season, but if they would like to stay there, they need to play more consistent and stay healthy.

The Americans (9-4-2-0, 20 points) dropped overtime games at Kelowna and Kamloops last weekend, and though they came away with one point each night, coach Mike Williamson knew two were within their grasp.

“Points on the road are always valuable,” Williamson said. “I like how we played against Kelowna (on Friday). I thought we could easily have had a better fate there. It would have been nice to close the game out with the lead in the third or on the power play in overtime, but we let that one slip away. Against Kamloops, I don’t think we played as well as we needed to. We had some good goaltending from Patrick (Dea) to keep us in the game. It’s one of those games I think either team could have won.”

The Americans and Rockets will be back at it Wednesday night at Toyota Center. It’s the third game between the teams in 16 days. They have split their games so far in the four-game series.

“We have had a couple of quick games against Kelowna,” Williamson said. “A couple of tight games. We expect the same thing tomorrow.”

Tri-City again will play without forward Michael Rasmussen, who has missed the past two games with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Goalie Beck Warm has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury.

“Michael is unlikely for tomorrow, but we will probably have him for Saturday,” Williamson said. “It’s more of a precautionary, short-term thing. Beck is day-to-day. He got bumped up a little bit the other night (against Moose Jaw). We just want to be careful we don’t turn something small into something bigger. Patrick has played well and makes it so we don’t have to rush back Beck. He is unlikely for tomorrow, but we are hoping to have him available for the weekend.”

The Americans brought in list player Xavier Cannon to back up Dea in Kelowna and Kamloops last weekend, while Talyn Boyko has been with the team this week, and will be on the bench Wednesday against the Rockets.

“It’s good for them to be around the team,” Williamson said of the young goalies. “Especially for Boyko to get on the ice and practice, be here for game prep and get a feel for the day-to-day thing. It’s a good experience for him.”

PARTY LIKE IT’S 1988: Fans can buy tickets for Wednesday’s game for $7 at the box office.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Rasmussen still on the DL as Tri-City hosts Kelowna."