Americans look to keep streak alive on home ice
Last week, Toyota Center went from a hockey rink to a volleyball court to a basketball court.
Hockey fans will be happy to know the Tri-City Americans will take their rightful place on the ice for a seven-game homestand that begins Friday and runs through Dec. 2.
The Americans, who played five of their past six on the road, will host Prince Albert from the East Division on Friday.
The Raiders (9-8-3-0, 21 points) were shut out at Everett 2-0 on Wednesday, and are 1-2 against the U.S. Division with a loss to Portland and a win over Seattle.
“They will have some extra motivation,” Tri-City coach Mike Williamson said. “They have a couple of our former players (Brett Leason and Sergei Sapego), and I’m sure they’d like to do well against us. We will have to be sharp.”
The Americans (12-5-2-0, 26 points), who had recorded points in 11 consecutive games before a loss to Portland last Saturday, are second in the U.S. Division, two points back of the Winterhawks.
“We have had a lot of road games, and now we get a chance to get back on home ice,” Williamson said. “Our guys have played well at home and have had some exciting games. We hope to continue that.”
Played well is putting it mildly. The Americans are 6-0 on home ice and are the only team in the WHL still undefeated at home.
“We have talked about how important these games are at home,” Williamson said. “It resonates with the guys that we can’t sit back and relax. We have to come out and assert ourselves in these home games.”
The Americans are almost back to full strength. Max James has returned from an upper-body injury, and rookies Connor Bouchard and Sasha Mutala have returned from the U17 Hockey Challenge. The only missing piece is Parker AuCoin, who stopped one too many pucks with his foot and will miss a couple of weeks.
“I don’t think it will be a long-term thing,” Williamson said. “He has been playing sore for a while. He has been an absolute warrior for us.”
Annie Fowler: 509-582-1574, @TCHIceQueen
WHL
Western Conference
U.S. | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts |
Portland | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
Tri-City | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
Spokane | 20 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
Seattle | 19 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
Everett | 21 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
B.C. | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts |
Victoria | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 29 |
Kelowna | 20 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 25 |
Vancouver | 21 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 22 |
Prince George | 20 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
Kamloops | 20 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Eastern Conference
East | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts |
Moose Jaw | 21 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
Swift Current | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 27 |
Regina | 22 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
Brandon | 19 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
Prince Albert | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
Saskatoon | 19 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
Central | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts |
Medicine Hat | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
Red Deer | 22 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
Kootenay | 21 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
Lethbridge | 18 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
Calgary | 21 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
Edmonton | 20 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
Wednesday
Regina 4, Calgary 3
Saskatoon 5, Moose Jaw 4
Vancouver 4, Red Deer 2
Prince George 5, Kamloops 4
Everett 2, Prince Albert 0
Thursday
No games scheduled
Friday
Calgary at Moose Jaw
Brandon at Saskatoon
Red Deer at Kootenay
Swift Current at Medicine Hat
Edmonton at Prince George
Vancouver at Kamloops
Lethbridge at Kelowna
Prince Albert at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
Victoria at Spokane
Seattle at Everett
This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Americans look to keep streak alive on home ice."