OPENING NIGHT!!!!1

This is it, the day we've been waiting for for months.  New US Division banner.  Western Conference banner.  Facing the Spokane Chiefs.  Tell me, please, how could it get better than this?  Alright, a win, obviously.  

When the Tri-City Americans open their season tonight, all eyes will be on goaltender Drew Owsley.

"I knew I had it in me," Owsley said of last season, when he posted a 33-11-1-1 record with a sterling .918 save percentage, a 2.51 goals against average and four shutouts. "But I did surprise myself at the start with the great record we had."

Tri-City plays host to former coach Don Nachbaur and the Spokane Chiefs tonight and will entertain the Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday. Owsley will get the start tonight.

"I'm excited for another home opener," said Owsley, who has won the last two -- both against Kelowna. "It's a fresh start to the season and I think the whole team is excited to get things going. It is a little weird seeing Don over there in Spokane colors."

"He had a lot of success at the midget AAA level in Lethbridge, and goaltending history tends to repeat itself," Tory said. "When you scout goalies, you look for guys who win. It's almost more important than goals against or save percentage. This is not a developmental position -- in goal there is no place to hide. You either succeed or fail."

"There's an uncertainty until you see what they can do, but we couldn't get Brett in the lineup, and that's a credit to Drew," Tory said. "Not only did he have a good season, but an outstanding playoffs. He didn't have a problem until we ran into Calgary."

"They were a good team," Owsley said of Calgary. "I think we were overwhelmed. We had never played on a stage like that in front of 15,000 people. I don't think we played our best -- me or the team."  (Herald)

I sent Rene Ferran an email yesterday telling him how appreciative I am for great the work he's doing covering the Ams for the Examiner.  As long as I've been watching this team, I've never been overall impressed with the Herald's coverage, though I know they get more than some other teams, especially small market ones.  But Ferran's work is fresh and interesting and it's just nice to have another resource reporting on the team.  From his Western Conference preview/prediction piece:

Call it the Craig West method of predicting.

The veteran voice of the Tri-City Americans on the radio divulged his method of picking how the final standings will shake out during the second period of a recent preseason game.

Figure out the goals scored of the returning players of each team, then put the teams in order.

More often than you'd guess, West said, when you get to season's end, the standings will look eerily similar.

So for fun, doing some rough estimates from last year's statistics, here's the Craig West-metric final standings for the upcoming season:

U.S. Division
Portland Winterhawks (208 goals back)
Tri-City Americans (182)
Everett Silvertips (176)
Spokane Chiefs (144)
Seattle Thunderbirds (113)

Not as fun as the Craig West Drinking Game because you have to wait the whole season to see how it shakes out, but looks like solid predicting to me.
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I'm going to let everyone know right here and right now that if they lose tonight I take partial responsibility.  I'm going to be at the rink early.  Every time I'm there early, they lose.  I'm hoping to be far enough away to not be a jinx.  I've warned some of the boys so they know they have to overcome opening night jitters and my potential jinxing.
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Just a reminder for new readers, I'm just a fan.