Tri-City Americans finally get chance to play a WHL regular-season game this week
It’s been 375 days since the Tri-City Americans played a game during the Western Hockey League regular season.
On March 8, 2020, the Ams lost 6-1 to the visiting Kamloops Blazers in front of 2,758 fans in the Toyota Center.
A few days later — like every other sports league around North America — the WHL shut down league play because of the pandemic.
But, finally, the young Tri-City players get to compete back on the ice March 18 when WHL U.S. Division play begins at the Toyota Center.
The puck drops at 7:05 p.m., for the game against the Portland Winterhawks.
Because of the pandemic, most fans won’t be allowed to watch in person. The team has reached out to some long-time season ticket holders through a lottery to be able to watch some games in person.
However, all 12 Americans home games — including the one March 18 — will be televised live on SWX.
All teams in the U.S. Division — the Americans, Winterhawks, Everett Silvertips, Seattle Thunderbirds and Spokane Chiefs – will each play 24 games, all against each other.
Because the Canadian border is still closed, there will be no contests against any Canadian teams.
Bob Tory — the team’s general manager, governor and part owner — said it’s great to have the players back on the ice.
“The kids are really excited to get back on the ice,” Tory said. “The tempo at practice has been really high.”
Tory said if you’re a new fan, here are three players to keep an eye on for Tri-Cities:
▪ Right winger Sasha Mutala. A 19-year-old who was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, Mutala scored 28 goals and 39 assists for a team-best 67 points last season.
Recently, Mutala made his professional debut with the Colorado Eagles, the Avalanche’s American Hockey League affiliate.
▪ Defenseman Marc Lajoie, a 17-year-old who plays with plenty of grit, and last season as a 16-year-old he led the Ams in penalty minutes with 68. He also scored 13 points (8 goals, 5 assists).
▪ Defenseman Luke Zazula, a 20-year-old who was just recently named the team’s captain for the coming season.
Zazula was acquired in a mid-season trade last season with the Kamloops Blazers, and fans could immediately marvel at his speed and agility skating.
He finished last season with 21 points (5 goals, 16 assists).
Notes: Connor Bouchard, Mitchell Brown and Mutala will be the team’s assistant captains. … The Ams will also play at home Sunday, at 4:05 p.m., against Everett. … Tory believes the team to beat in the U.S. Division is going to Portland.
Cross country
The Mid-Columbia Conference held its third meet of the season Saturday at Lawrence Scott Park in Kennewick, and Kamiakin’s Isaac Teeples and Kennewick’s Macy Marquardt — both juniors — had the top times among boys and girls competitors, respectively.
As has been the common practice, all nine MCC schools were at the meet. But each race is divided up with just three schools competing at once to keep everything safe.
On the boys’ side, Kamiakin scored just 17 points in its meet with Richland and Kennewick. A perfect score is 15.
Teeples covered the 5,000 meters in 14 minutes, 39.46 seconds. Teammate Grayson Wilcott was second at 15:42.04, and Chiawana’s Owen Stegge placed third at 15:56.21.
On the girls’ side, Richland had four of the fastest times among the top 10, which is why the Bombers only scored 20 points in their race.
Marquardt covered the course in 17:42.64, while Walla Walla’s Ella Nelson — a senior who is committed to Oregon to run cross country and track and field — made her prep cross country debut with a second-place finish time of 17:51.28. Nelson had been out nursing a slightly sore hip.
Richland’s Natalie Ruzauskas, who finished second in the 4A state meet in 2019, placed third in 18:06.52.
The next MCC meet will be Saturday at Richland.
▪ BOYS TEAM SCORES — Kamiakin 17, Richland 41; Southridge 18, Hermiston 56, Pasco 56; Chiawana 26, Hanford 48, Walla Walla 57.
TOP 10 BOYS – 1. Isaac Teeples, Kamiakin, 14:39.46; 2. Grayson Wilcott, Kamiakin, 15:42.04; 3. Owen Stegge, Chiawana, 15:56.21; 4. Brody Hartley, Walla Walla, 15:58.03; 5. Miles Sumner, Southridge, 16:12.10; 6. Ehzoc Chavez, Chiawana, 16:14.46; 7. Jordan Sanguino, Kamiakin, 16:18.20; 8. Ethan Stout, Hanford, 16:18.50; 9. Joel Martinez, Richland, 16:25.40; 10. Micah McCollum, Southridge, 16:28.37.
▪ GIRLS TEAM SCORES — Richland 20, Kennewick 43, Kamiakin 63; Hermiston 24, Southridge 33, Pasco 65; Hanford 33, Walla Walla 46, Chiawana 49.
▪ TOP 10 GIRLS — 1. Macy Marquardt, Kennewick, 17:42.64; 2. Ella Nelson, Walla Walla, 17:51.28; 3. Natalie Ruzauskas, Richland, 18:06.52; 4. Andrijana Fundak, Richland, 18:33.51; 5. Sariah Hepworth, Walla Walla, 18:58.84; 6. Madilynn Carr, Richland, 19:04.04; 7. Emma Summers, Richland, 19:12.85; 8. Brooklin Seadore, Southridge, 19:23.37; 9. Amanda Nygard, Hermiston, 19:40.94; 10. Alexia Serna, Hermiston, 19:45.36.
Girls soccer
Big win Tuesday night for Chiawana, which beat Kamiakin 1-0 at Lampson Stadium to hand the Braves their first loss of the season.
Jackie Castellanos took a pass from Delaney Pink to score the game’s only goal.
Richland remained unbeaten in MCC play with a 4-1 win over Hanford; Southridge went to 4-1 in MCC play with a 2-0 victory over Walla Walla; and Pasco picked up its first win, beating Kennewick 4-0.
So here are the MCC standings after five of the seven rounds of MCC play: Richland 5-0, Kamiakin 4-1, Southridge 4-1, Chiawana 3-2, Walla Walla 2-3, Hanford 1-4, Pasco 1-4, Kennewick 0-5.
Volleyball
After Tuesday night’s fourth round (out of seven) of MCC play, there still are three unbeaten teams in the conference: Chiawana, Kennewick and Richland.
Chiawana beat Pasco, Kennewick topped Kamiakin, and Richland beat Southridge — all matches were 3-0 sweeps.
In the other MCC match, Walla Walla beat Hanford 3-1.
So here are the standings through Tuesday’s matches: Chiawana 4-0, Kennewick 4-0, Richland 4-0, Walla Walla 2-2, Kamiakin 1-3, Southridge 1-3, Hanford 0-4, Pasco 0-4.