More for Tuesday

from the WHL's Championship Series preview, here's the Americans' part:

2010 Playoffs top scorers:

Brendan Shinnimin         17gp-8g-14a-22pts

Kruise Reddick              17gp-9g-12a-21pts

Brooks Macek               17gp-6g-11a-17pts

Justin Feser                     17gp-3g-14a-17pts

 

How They Got Here…

-Defeated the Chilliwack Bruins 4-2 in 1^st round.

-Defeated the Kelowna Rockets 4-1 in 2^nd round.

-Defeated the Vancouver Giants 4-2 in Kal Tire Western Conference Championship series.

 

The Americans are making their first-ever appearance in the WHL Championship series after winning the Western Conference Championship for the first time in their 22-year history. 

 

Their most recent lengthy playoff run saw the team lose the 2008 Western Conference Championship series to the eventual WHL and Memorial Cup Champion Spokane Chiefs.

 

The Americans have proved to be a team without any glaring weaknesses or holes.  Boasting a deep and talented group of forwards and a strong, if unheralded, group of defensemen, and an outstanding goaltender, the Americans have been the most consistent team throughout the 2010 WHL playoffs.

 

Up front, the Ams boast plenty of speed, skill and offensive depth, with eight forwards having topped the 10-point mark, and seven players with five or more goals in the post-season.  Kruise Reddick has made a habit of scoring big goals at key times in the playoffs, while sophomores Brendan Shinnimin, Justin Feser and Brooks Macek have carried their strong regular-season play right through the playoffs.  Perhaps the Ams’ biggest offensive weapon is their power play, which torched the Giants for 10 goals in 32 chances in the Western Conference finals.

 

Defensively, the Americans have surrendered the fewest goals of the remaining two teams.  The team has given up just 39 goals in 17 games, and has surrendered more than three goals in a game just three times.  Boasting a combined +30 rating in the playoffs, Tri-Cities’ defense corps may lack marquee names, but has done a stellar job in shutting down some of the WHL’s top offensive threats through the first three rounds.

 

In net, Drew Owsley has continued to build on an already outstanding sophomore season, showing he can fill the shoes left by two-time WHL Goaltender of the Year Chet Pickard.  Owsley leads all WHL goaltenders with a 2.14 GAA and a terrific .931 save percentage through the playoffs, and has not lost back-to-back playoff games.  Owsley shut the door on the Giants in the Conference Championship series, allowing just five goals on 105 shots over the last three games of the series while earning 1^st Star honors in all three games.

 

Keys To Success:

 

-Speed Kills.  Not the biggest team, in terms of physical stature, the Americans do possess plenty of speed.  They have used their team speed to their advantage all season, and will need to continue to do so versus a much bigger, physical Hitmen team.  Players like Johnny Lazo, Brendan Shinnimin and Jordan Messier will need to turn on the jets to expose Calgary’s defense.

 

-Road Warriors.  With Calgary having home ice advantage, the Ams know they will need to win at least once on Hitmen turf if they want to win the series.  Boasting a solid 6-2 record on the road in the post-season, the Ams have proven they can win in tough buildings.  Yet, the Ams failed to score in their only visit to Calgary this season.

 

-In Owsley We Trust.  Drew Owsley has been one of the big reasons the Americans have reached the WHL Final.  The MVP of the Kal Tire WHL Western Conference Championship series, no goalie has better numbers or has been more consistent than Owsley in the post-season.  Now, Owsley will need to out-duel an equally strong goaltender in Martin Jones and keep the high-scoring Hitmen at bay.

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Speaking of Drew Owsley, he was named CHL goaltender of the week as well:

The Canadian Hockey League today announced that Drew Owsley of the Tri-City Americans is the CHL Goaltender of the Week for the second time this post-season.  For the week ending April 25, Owsley won three games with just one loss posting a goals-against-average of 1.97 and save percentage of .939 backstopping the Americans to a six game series win over the Vancouver Giants in the WHL’s Western Conference Finals. 

Owsley was named the WHL Western Conference Championship Series MVP with three consecutive victories and first star performances to close out the series.  After dropping a 3-2 overtime decision in Game 3 with 24 saves on Tuesday, he made 30 saves as part of a 5-2 win in Game 4 on Thursday to tie the series 2-2.  He continued his strong play with 40 saves on Friday in the 4-1 win in Game 5, and made another 30 saves in the Game 6 finale to preserve a 5-2 win for the Americans who captured their first ever Western Conference Championship title and will now face the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL Finals. 

Owsley, a 19-year-old from Lethbridge, AB, is competing in his second WHL season with the Americans.  Named to the WHL’s Western Conference second All-Star team, Owsley finished the regular season with a goals-against-average of 2.51 and an impressive record of 33-11-1-1.