Shots from the Point-Happy Wednesday Edition

More on the size differential:

"We aren't intimidated by size at all. We've faced it all year. We'll be all right."  (Lazo)

"I think that's the great thing about this team," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "People thought that was the secret to success against us -- to bang us around and make us go away. No one is going away. We are getting up and pushing back."

"I watched Kelowna play Calgary in the finals last year and the atmosphere (at the Saddledome) was awesome," said Tri-City forward Jordan Messier. "I'm excited to be part of it this year. Hopefully we'll get the same thrill. We may not have the biggest rink or the most fans, but we have one of the loudest rinks in the league. It will be awesome to play at home."

"It's a lot of fun. That's one of my strengths is being tenacious on the puck, getting in there on the forecheck and finishing checks," Lazo said. "I'm not the biggest guy and I don't hit the hardest, but I hit effectively."

"You can't hit what you can't catch," Lazo said. "If we are faster than they are, they can't do much about that."

"Johnny has never taken a backward step," Messier said. "He's always first on the puck; he's always in there. He may not be the biggest guy, but I wouldn't want to play against him. He makes it tough on other guys."

"I think we have been put in that underdog spot all year," Messier said. "We don't have the big name guys or anything, but I think people are starting to realize we mean business. It's an exciting time and we are going to relish the opportunity against Calgary."

"We have small guys, but we hit back just as much as any other team does," Brown said. "I love going out there and getting a hit or anything to create some energy and get the guys all fired up on the bench. You can't have everyone being the skilled guy going out there and scoring the goals, you need guys to play all the roles -- that's what a team is and that's what works for us."  (Tri-City Herald)

I love seeing the guys so excited to be this far in the post-season.  I mean I know they're tired, they haven't been home in a long time, and it's been hockey hockey hockey for seven months.  But it seems they have new life knowing they're going to the WHL Finals.  And that's just freakin' awesome.  Even if they are out-sized or the underdog or whatever, they've got some huge momentum working in their favor.  The one thing I worry about, especially since they're starting in Calgary, is they'll be intimidated, not by the size of the Hitmen, but just about being that far in the post-season.  No Americans' team has made it to the Finals, as exciting as it is, it's got to be daunting.  I didn't want to say it before, but I think that pressure and nerves is part of the reason for the game 3 loss against Vancouver.  Being in the Giants' building, in front of their crowd, battling for the Western Conference title--yeah, no pressure!

Seems the Hitmen aren't concerned about the difference in size or that the Americans are considered the underdog:

“There’s absolutely no reason to take them lightly if they’re smaller,” barked Brandon Kozun, the diminutive forward who stands five-foot-nine and weighs 164 pounds. “Size has nothing to do with it.
“They’re a good team, they proved it all year long and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go for them.”

“We know they’re a good team over there, we’re not taking anyone lightly,” said Kozun. “We’re not saying we’re the favourite, we’re not saying we’re the underdog, we’re just going to go out there and play our game and hopefully it goes well.”

“We definitely got the bigger team and if we can intimidate them with our size and our physical play, that only works to our favour,” said Shattock. “But I have a feeling they’re not going to be intimated by much. They got this far for a reason and they’ll be ready to play on Friday.”

“We feel like we’re a little bit bigger, so we might intimidate them a little bit, but we don’t want to take anything for granted, we don’t want to give them anything they can use for an advantage,” said Hitmen co-captain Ian Schultz. “You want to keep your emotions in check and I think we were a little excited (against the Warriors), just too gung ho on finishing everything that moved, and the puck ended up in our net because we’d take ourselves out of the play to make a hit. We want to be controlled, but we want to make them pay a price. It’s all about keeping your emotions in check.”  (Calgary Herald)

----------------------------

Also from the Calgary Herald, a piece on Alberta boy, Jordan Messier:

After nearly six weeks of growing his playoff scruff, Jordan Messier finally has a beard worth bragging about.

“Last year, the boys were really bugging me,” Messier says, rubbing the fuzz on his face with pride. “This time, I’ve got a little bit on my chin instead of just the sideburns.

“It’s really coming in.”

Chin?  It's become a full-on neck beard.  Oh well, adore the kid.  But of course, he's got the famous last name.

The series marks a homecoming of sorts for the Canmore-born Messier, who has a natural hockey pedigree thanks to his bloodlines.

The scrappy winger is a second cousin of Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier.

“I get quite a few questions about whether I’m related to Mark,” Jordan says, politely responding to yet another query about the man they call Mess. “I hear about it a lot, but it never gets old.”

“I think I met him once when I was young,” says Jordan, 18. “He talks to my dad, but I don’t remember him a whole lot.”

“He was tougher than I am,” Jordan says. “But he played a big guy’s game, and I try to do that too.”

“Jordan’s just a special young guy,” says Tri-City general manager Bob Tory. “His dad and his mom and his grandfather Denny have done a tremendous job.”  (Calgary Herald)

And you should click the link to the article to see the awesomely amazing photo with the article, jussayin.  :)

-------------------------
Sure there's many Winnipeggers on the Americans team, there's also a Brandon, Manitoba product--Brock Sutherland.  Bruce Luebke, play-by-play guy for the Brandon Wheatkings reports:

"We all want to be there," says Sutherland, who has one goal and four points in 17 playoff games, "We only get a chance to play there once every two years so to go and play there and play in the Memorial Cup, that's something that doesn't come around...ever for guys like us! It's definitely some extra incentive."

"We're not a big team but when we've had our success is when we play physical," says Sutherland, "When we play physical and use our speed...speed is a big key for our forwards up front. We're small but with the new game, speed kills so we're just going to keep up with that."  (Luber's Lounge) 

--------------------------
Did you know Yahoo! has a junior hockey section?  I sorta did, but didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it.  The boy pointed out that there was a liveblog goin on over there earlier today discussing the junior teams left competing for the chance to go to the Memorial Cup.  The panelists and commenters over there generally went with Calgary coming out as victors out west here, though several said they wouldn't be surprised if Tri-Cities took it.  So that's good.  Most also agreed that it will be size vs. speed, and Jones vs. Owsley.

You can re-read the discussion here.

I did some more digging on the Yahoo! site and found a piece on Olie Kolzig and the success of the Americans:

"The city’s back on board, the passion is back, and it’s the passion we, Stu and myself, saw as players the first couple years (1988-89, 1989-90) when the team moved down from New Westminster (B.C.)," the man who was universally known as Olie the Goalie across his 16-season NHL career, mostly with the Washington Capitals, said on Tuesday.

"It’s gone from an attitude of, ‘we don’t care about you guys anymore’ to ‘we couldn’t be happier you’re here.’ "

"I don’t think there’s really a magic potion or a hidden secret when you’re trying to make a winning franchise," Kolzig adds. "For teams that have been in an area for a while, it just comes down to treating people right. Our GM, Bob (Tory), does a fantastic job, our marketing crew works hard. As owners, we’re just trying to provide professional atmosphere and the team has responded beyond what we thought was possible."

"I’m a big believer in a destiny," Kolzig says. "Half our team (nine players) is from Winnipeg and the Memorial Cup is is Brandon, a couple hours east of Winnipeg, so they have a chance to be playing in front of friends and family."  (Yahoo!) 

My digging also uncovered yet another story of the large number of Winnipeggers on the team:

"It used to be where WHL teams were wary of drafting kids from Manitoba, because there was a fear they wouldn’t report, because it was so far away," says Americans scout Kim Ridd, Tri-City’s man on the ground in Manitoba. "What happened is they started to have some success and just kind of snowballed.
"People used to see me in my Americans jacket and say, ‘Tri-City, where is that?’ " Ridd adds. "They don’t say that anymore."

"The kids, their parents became the best ambassadors we could have had, telling people, ‘hey, it’s a pretty good place to play,’ " Ridd says. "Now everybody knows about the the team. When I go to interview a prospect (before the bantam draft), I always hear, oh, so-and-so is my neighbour."

Kolzig says he occasionally zings Tory, an Edmontonian, for the plethora of ‘Peggers.
"I kind of joke with him, you must have something on the side, because you’re in Winnipeg so often," he says.  (Yahoo!)

----------------------------
You guys, our team is amazing AND smart.  Today they were named Scholastic Team of the Year.  That's sexy.  Damn sexy.

The Tri-City Americans are pleased to announce that the Western Hockey League selected the 2009-10 Americans as this year's Scholastic Team of the Year during the 2010 WHL Awards luncheon today at the Fantasyland Hotel in Edmonton, Alberta. Accepting the award on behalf of the Americans was Governor/General Manager Bob Tory and the team's Education Advisor, Kirsten Kramer.

"This truly is a team award and the organization couldn't be more please with their success both on the ice and in the classroom," Tory said. "It is a great honor and something the players should take a great deal of pride in as nothing is more important than their education."

Tri-City had 17 of their 24 players that were involved in scholastic activities, either attending Kamiakin High School, ESL tutoring or other post-secondary class work. Additionally, a remarkable 14 of those 17 student athletes were featured on their respective honor rolls.  (amshockey.com)

--------------------------

If you're planning on making the trip to Calgary, you can use special code to get discounted tickets through Ticketmaster:

$14 / ticket

(Adult Lower Bowl Door Price is $25, that's up to a 45% savings)

To order tickets you will need my exclusive password

HIT95

Click Here to order tickets

--------------------------
I'm sure there will be more stuff later today, if I find more tidbits I'll add to this post so be sure to check back for updates.  Or not, it's your call.