Dea getting the job done in net for Americans

Patrick Dea has been on both ends of the ice at Toyota Center, but he prefers the side where the fans love him, not hate him.

Picked up in the offseason from the Edmonton Oil Kings, Dea is 6-2-2-0 this season for the Tri-City Americans with a 3.31 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

With Beck Warm suffering a minor lower-body injury Oct. 25 against Moose Jaw, the Americans have relied on Dea to get the job done in net the past four games, and he has not disappointed. He is 2-0-2-0 with wins over Kelowna and Spokane.

“The schedule was favorable in that time,” Tri-City coach Mike Williamson said of his goalies. “It was good to get the young guys (Xavier Cannon and Talyn Boyko) up. Patrick did a good job of holding down the fort, but we want to get back to getting both guys in the action. They were both playing really well before Beck got hurt. Patrick did a great job going in and winning games. We expect both to get time this weekend.”

The Americans will play in Seattle on Friday and at Portland on Saturday. They return home Nov. 17 for the start of a seven-game homestand.

Dea, a native of St. Albert, Alberta, said he has felt at home since he first arrived in the Tri-Cities for training camp.

“The guys were really welcoming right away,” the overage goalie said. “I think being an older guy, being able to step in and help the team win is important. Beck is back and we will push each other for starts. It’s a healthy competition. Everything is better when you are winning.”

Dea paid tribute to his new home with his newly painted goalie mask. The mask, painted by Alberta artist Jason Bartziokas, has a depiction of the blue bridge on the left side of the helmet.

Dea said he loves the weather in the Tri-Cities (it was 21 degrees in Edmonton on Thursday, with wind gusts up to 22 mph), the Western Conference fans, and the competition.

“The Western Conference is a lot tougher,” Dea said. “The U.S. Division the past couple of years has been tough. You have to be prepared to play every night. The fans in the U.S. Division are passionate. There are in the East, but not as cutthroat. We (Edmonton) won here in overtime last year (5-4), and the fans behind me were giving me dirty looks. It’s good to be on the other side of that.”

Even though he is the new guy, there is one thing Dea wishes the Americans would bring back.

“Every time you would come here and they scored, you would hear the Vengabus (by the Vengaboys),” Dea said. “It was distinctive. With that gone, Tri-City has lost its “thing.”

The Americans (11-4-2-0, 24 points), who are ranked No. 10 in this week’s CHL poll, have points in their past 10 games (8-0-2-0) and are tied atop the U.S. Division with Portland with 24 points.

“The players have done a good job of finding ways to be in games and get points,” Williamson said. “We’ve had a lot of road games, one-goal games, overtime, shootout, a lot of different things every night. I think we’ve got a lot of room to grow and get better. One of the signs of a good hockey team is finding a way to get points and wins, and our guys have done a good job with that.”

The Americans will welcome Michael Rasmussen back tonight in Seattle. Tri-City’s team captain played with Team WHL for two games in the Canada Russia Series. He did not miss any games.

“It’s great thing for him to get that experience and get on the ice in that atmosphere with players at that level,” Williamson said. “Our under-17 players (Sasha Mutala and Connor Bouchard) will join us again next week.”

This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Dea getting the job done in net for Americans."