Topping keeps Americans in the thick of things
Jordan Topping scored two goals to help the Tri-City Americans pick up two much-needed points Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds at Toyota Center.
The Americans (30-21-7-1, 68 points) opened up a three-point lead over Seattle (28-22-7-2) in the U.S. Division standings. Tri-City trails third-place Spokane by three points and second-place Portland by six.
In the Western Conference, only Everett has secured a playoff spot, while in the East, Moose Jaw and Swift Current have clinched.
Tri-City will host Kamloops on Friday, and Prince George Saturday in the team’s annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game.
Against Seattle, Topping scored his first goal midway through the first period, and his second at 9:51 of the second to give him a team-high 34 goals on the season.
Nolan Yaremko and Michael Rasmussen also scored for the Americans, while Rasmussen also had an assist.
Patrick Dea finished with 26 saves for Tri-City, while Liam Hughes had 41 saves for Seattle.
Austin Strand and Jarret Tyszka scored for Seattle, which will play at Kelowna on Friday.
Americans 4, Thunderbirds 2
Seattle | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 |
Tri-City | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 |
First — 1, TC, Topping 33 (Rasmussen, Bean), 10:56.
Second — 2, Sea, Strand 20, :18. 3, TC, Yaremko 18 (Johnson, AuCoin), 2:29. 4, Sea, Tyszka 8 (Volcan), 5:31. 5, TC, Topping 34 (Sawchuk, Välimäki), 9:51. 6, TC, Rasmussen 23 (Coghlan), 19:54 (pp).
Third — No scoring.
Shots — Sea 4-10-14 — 28. TC 16-22-7 — 45. Power plays — Sea 0-3. TC 1-3. Goalies — Sea, Hughes 10-9-4-1 (45 shots-41 saves). TC Dea 16-12-6-0 (28-26). Referees — Duncan Brow and Troy Paterson. A — 2,547.
This story was originally published February 21, 2018 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Topping keeps Americans in the thick of things."