Americans top Thunderbirds 4-2

Parker Bowles scored two goals, and Beau McCue added two assists to lift the Tri-City Americans to a 4-2 Western Hockey League win over the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday at ShoWare Center in Seattle.

Despite being outshot 29-22, the Americans (15-20-2-0, 32 points) never trailed, scoring two first-period goals to gain an early cushion.

Bowles scored the first, his 23rd of the season, on an unassisted shot 12:05 into the first period. Austin Playfair netted his first goal of the year just 1 minute, 29 seconds later, off assists from McCue and Nolan Yaremko.

Tri-City goaltender Evan Sarthou stopped 27 of 29 shots.

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: The United States beat the Czech Republic 7-0 at the WJC tournament in Helsinki, Finland, earning the U.S. a spot in the semifinals against Russia.

Brandon Carlo, a defenseman for the Tri-City Americans, recorded an assist plus a shot on goal and finished with a plus-1 rating.

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Americans top Thunderbirds 4-2."