So there's a big hockey game today. Two actually.

The Americans lost Owsley midway through the third period when he strayed from the net to play the puck, collided with Spokane's Blake Gal and went down. His status is unknown.  (Herald)

Great.

So the boys are criss-crossing the state once again to face off against the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight.  As usual, T-Birds will play hard, make you earn the win.  They are solid in net with Calvin Pickard, though the Salmon kid has been good in net against the Americans this year too.  Looks like FRWG will be in net for the AMS, hope he plays like he did in Everett Friday night.

Last night was a bad combination of Spokane's hard work and luck and the Americans' extremely porous penalty kill.  AMS have got to stay out of the penalty box. 

Hard to focus on writing a post for today when there's a HUGE GAME approaching in a couple of hours!!  For those of us on the west coast, that means it will be tape delayed.  That's right, biggest hockey game in the history of ever (not really) not being shown live in the time zone in which it is being played.  Way to be awesome NBC.  You've really outdone yourself on these games.  However, if you know your online account login and pw for your cable/satellite provider (the login you would use to pay online or whatnot), you can watch it streaming online here.    

NEVER MIND, IT'S LIVE (about time NBC)

Naturally, we'll be liveblogging the AMS game tonight, remember it's Sunday so early start time, see y'all there (if you survived the gold medal game).

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maps. The WHL needs maps.

Who makes these scheduling decisions? Obviously, people who are not the ones paying the gas bill. Everett to Spokane tonight, back to Seattle. Next weekend it's Chilliwack-Portland-Seattle. Ridiculous. And why should I care? Because that gives the boys excessive bus legs AND the team has to cover that cost of travel, guess who helps pay it? That's right, ticket purchasers. Whatever. I'm still going to buy tickets. Which reminds me, playoff package payments for season ticket holders is due by this Wednesday at 5 pm!!

On to the game tonight. Boys are in Spokanistan to face off against the Chiefs. Chiefs coming off a 5-1 win and have been on quite a roll. Americans coming off a 4-3 shootout win, hopefully they can carry some momentum with them.

"It was like a playoff game out there," Shinnimin told the Everett Herald. "Coming down the stretch, all these points are important. It was back and forth, just a battle between two great teams. It was exciting, nerve-wracking, everything you enjoy playing hockey." (Herald)

Shinny got the "monkey off his back" so to speak by scoring last night, Holland had another beauty.  Kruise's shootout game-winning goal was fantastic.  Welcome back Pokey!

Against the Chiefs tonight might be a great time to bust out the Craig West Drinking Game.  So grab your booze and come on in to the liveblog (after the jump)!  And I think I solved the ad issue that was going on with CoverItLive.  I think.

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Looks like I chose one hell of a game to miss, eh?  Thanks to Spokant for filling in for me, much appreciated!

I will have Olympics stories and pictures for y'all next week, after busy game-filled weekend for the Tri-City Americans.  I will say this, however--if you ever in your life have the chance to go to the Olympics, do it.  Save your pennies but do it.  The experience and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing.

I've seen the video of the three goals in 25 seconds--how awesome.  I've seen the video of the Kennedy hit--not awesome.  Having not seen it in person, I'm not really gonna comment about it.  Though I did find this interesting--from Dylan over at OregonLive:

Annie Fowler on the Tri-City Herald blog, doesn't quite condone the hit, puts it in the category of a 3-year-old breaking a lamp, figures he gets one or two games.

Not sure it matters. If the league really wanted to hurt the Americans, instead of suspending Kennedy they'd force them to play him.

I was looking for a quote from Bob Tory about a player with no future going after a player with a future, but it turns out Don Nachbaur acutally said it, and he doesn't coach the Ams anymore, so it doesn't quite have the bang. (OregonLive)

Not gonna lie, I chuckled at the "play him" part because sadly, I agree with the statement.  I'm just gonna leave it at that.

As for tonight, the AMS are in Everett to take on the Silvertips (included in my Olympics pictures I will be sharing is a pizza place a block up from Comcast Arena in Everett--it's totally 'Tipped out and awesome).

"There is no question his [Reddick's] return helped us," said Americans coach Jim Hiller, whose team was 2-4 with Reddick out of the lineup. "He is a key player for us. He has a relentless work ethic, he's skilled and to have a guy like that back in your lineup can be the difference in the hockey game."

"Every game for the last little while now has been important," said Hiller, whose team is 4-2-0-1 against Everett this season, including a pair of wins at Comcast Arena. "Every game is competitive. It will be an exciting game in their rink, we are going to have to return the favor."

"The margin for error is pretty small," Hiller said. "It's the same for all teams this time of the year. The win Tuesday was good for our frame of mind -- the puck went in and we played a hard physical game."  (Herald)

Liveblog after the jump.

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I need a cigarette.

You know what that was? That was Portland playing the role of a brick wall and the Americans playing the role of the Kool-Aid Man. OH YEAH, BITCHES!

To me that was easily the most satisfying win of the season. The Americans came out blazing which is evidenced by three goals in the first fifty two seconds of the game! Are you kidding me? Portland's coach, Mike Johnston, pulled Carruth after the third goal. Poor kid, I always feel bad for a goalie that gets yanked (unless it's Tokarski). If I were Johnston, I'd be more upset that apparently none of the Hawks let Carruth know that the game had started. Some of my favorites, Feser, Lazo and Mason MF Wilgosh, delivered the goals in the first period and the Ams ultimately outshot the Winterhawks 17-4. Struggling offense? What struggling offense?

The Americans delivered, scoring three goals in the first 52 seconds of the game en route to a physical 6-0 victory over the Winterhawks before a crowd of 3,901 at Toyota Center.

"We haven't had a start like that in a while," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller, whose team is 7-1 against Portland this season. "We found it in a hurry tonight. This is the one to get us back on track. It was a big game for a lot of reasons." (Herald)

Things started to get a tad chippy as the game went on. I have actually started to dread games against the Winterhawks because of the pushing and shoving, cheap shots and stream of verbal diarrhea Ross is constantly spewing. Last night was no exception. As usual, when frustrated, the Hawks start lashing out like toddlers who have been told they can't have a cookie. Halfway through the second, Todd Kennedy delivered a pretty brutal hit on Doyle that sent them both out of the game. Welcome back... I think? This is going to be controversial, but I'm not all that upset with Kennedy. I would almost never condone a dirty hit, but I'm sure he's been as frustrated as we all have, sitting in the stands and watching his team get bullied. He probably decided it was time to push back. Though if it really had to be done, Ross would have been a more deserving recipient. Again, I am not condoning his hit and I certainly hope Doyle is okay, but I have to cut Kennedy a little slack. Frankly, while I don't like seeing kids hurt, I was glad that somebody finally did push back. Before you jump all over me, think back and remember the goonery that has been the Portland Winterhawks this season. Remember the game way back in November when Ross, Jordan and Walker all were tossed out of the game (and no Americans were)? Remember Riley Boychuk jumping one of my favorites, Riley McIntosh? Remember Ross' double minor for spearing earlier this month? Who the heck spears anymore?

Anyway, not only did the Americans push back last night, but for once, FOR ONCE, the officials called everyone out on their crap. I've been critical of Papp many times, but he and Hanson put on a good show, and not just because it went in the Ams' favor. The more the Hawks were called out on their cheap shots, the more frustrated they got. Go here to see the rap sheet. Sugarcoating from Coach Hiller:

"Back to the good old days," Hiller of the game's physical play. "It's always that way with Portland. They are a big, physical team that moves well. They challenge you."

As the Americans' lead grew, so did the rough and tumble play of the Winterhawks, who at one time had four players in the penalty box. Portland had 63 penalty minutes in the third, which led to a pair of power-play goals by the Americans.

Messier and Feser rounded out the scoring on power plays, two for another of my favorites: Jordan! While I know Portland was not really on their game, that doesn't take away from the fact that this was the best game for the Ams in a long time. They showed up from the get go, they finally scored first, they didn't take any crap from the Hawks and most importantly, they played as a team. It was so refreshing to see passes connect, pucks thrown at the net in hopes a teammate would drive the rebound in (instead of looking for the perfect shot), not sitting back on a lead, and guys standing up for themselves and each other. Heart, fire, drive! That paragraph was sort of redundant. Must be because I redundantly love my team.

FRWG got a shutout. He did play well, though he wasn't really challenged to make any big saves. I'm leaving it at that. At least no matter who is in net, there's always a cute face on the bench to enjoy.

I sincerely hope this is a turning point. Please, oh please, let the slump be over! Blowouts can be great for struggling teams, especially right before a road trip, but they can also backfire. Fortunately, I think this one is going to work in the Ams' favor. It should get their confidence back up and set the tone for these final games of the regular season.

In closing, I would just like to point out that since debuting my "I believe in Mason Wilgosh" sign, he has scored three goals, more than any other month this season (and the month isn't over yet). Does it have anything to do with the sign? Probably not. Am I going to take credit for it? Yes. He's my favorite.

Thanks for letting me be your guest poster. I'm sure the seesters are having an amazing time at the Olympics, but they did pick a heck of a game to miss. You know which game they missed last season? The Teddy Bear Toss in which Mitch Fadden scored something like thirteen seconds in. Do I detect a pattern? ;)

-spokant

OLYMPICS OR BUST!

This is Quatchi.  He's one of the Olympic mascots.  I am going to meet him tomorrow,  it's ok if you're jealous. 

It does, however, mean I'm missing the game against Portland tonight, as sister and I make our journey to the Great White North.  Stay tuned Wednesday as Spokant will be guest posting the after-game recap.  I know you're on the edge of your seat with anticipation already. 

As for the game, coach has nothing new to say (at least according to the paper):

After Saturday's game, first-year coach Jim Hiller remained confident that his team will turn things around.
"We are going to have to do this the hard way," he said. "We have to do most of the work on the road. We will get it done."  (Herald)

So here's to hoping the boys continue to play hard as they have been, and maybe they'll get some puck luck that's been missing.

Another frustrating night

"The last four losses, we have outchanced teams, but (the puck) doesn't want to go in for us," said Americans coach Jim Hiller, whose team has lost five of its last seven games. "We played really hard tonight and we just have to stick with that intensity."

"We are going to have to do this the hard way," Hiller said of staying atop the division standings. "We have to do most of the work on the road. We will get it done."  (Herald)

This pretty much sums up what Hiller said on the post-game show on the radio, though the rest of the interview what a lot of him not having ( or not providing?) any answers to what needs to be done to right the ship.  A lot of "verbal shrugging" as sister described it.  Or as Masheen so eloquently said, "the Tri-tanic has hit an iceberg...yet the band plays on as if nothing has changed!"

Actually, they played pretty hard last night, played intense.  It was that minute+ where they let the foot off the gas that two quick ones were scored.  That sucked out most of the momentum they had had throughout the game.    So the loss wasn't particularly for a lack of trying.  But it being the 5th loss in the last 7 makes it so damn frustrating, and makes it difficult to remember and focus on the positives.

From Russia With Glove played alright, though his overall style still makes me incredibly nervous and somehow doesn't give me a lot of confidence.  Oh well, I wanted to be really angry at him last night for the goals that were allowed, even re-tweeted @mommabaum, "Free to a home: One cute Russian goalie. Needs training. Please call ASAP."  But she's also a voice of reason (hours after the game hahaa)--"Remember that it is just a game. Those boys are out there working their asses off, living their dream FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT!"  So true.  We get so upset, have such high expectations, but in the end, it's just a game.

I've held off (for the most part) criticism of Hiller, probably in the hopes that he'd get things figured out.  But my confidence in him is waning.  I'm not giving up or anything drastic, I've just dropped my level of belief in him from "elevated" to "guarded".  Give him credit, I suppose, for trying to fix things by changing up the lines.  Last night it was Shinnimin-Lazo-Reddick (Oh Kruise, I missed you!) and then Wilgosh-Hughesman-Brown (till late in the game).  The awesome checking line of Prokop-Feser-Holland stayed together and worked their hot asses off, as usual.  Neal had a ton of time on the power play, being a huge presence in front of Reid.

Playing Zach Yuen over veteran Riley McIntosh versus Spokane?  Not sure about that decision.  Granted, Yuen played fine, it's no criticism of him at all, but seems sitting a veteran defenseman while your team is struggling seems an odd choice.

I know there's nights were there's no puck luck and last night was one of them.  But again, in combination with the last couple losses, makes it hard to accept that.

Side note to Brendan Shinnimin, thank you for your kindness after the game.  You made one little boy's night.  Or as the mother of that child says, "To Brendan's Mom and Dad: Be proud. You've raised a great kid. Sincerely, A Very Impressed Me".

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I know there are nice Chiefs fans, but the dickhead sitting behind us last night is not one of them.  I've never wanted to actually punch someone as much as that douchebag.  If not punch, I certainly was ready to leave early.  Yes, leave a hockey game.  Because of an asshole fan.  Ugh.

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This team wouldn't be able to operate without the help of countless volunteers, I know that full well.  But even if you're not actually employed (paid) by the team, you are still a representative of the team and your actions (or inactions) are a reflection of the organization.  When you are asked to do something that is part of your volunteer responsibilities, don't publicly roll your eyes in dramatic fashion.  You may think no one is watching, but I've seen it happen, on more than one occasion.  If you don't like your obligations as a volunteer, hand them over to someone willing to do them.  

Or at least be aware that people can see you and your actions reflect poorly on the organization.

broken record----------> where's the 60-minute effort?

"I thought it (offsides) was close, but it happened pretty quickly," said Americans coach Jim Hiller. "It was a really good hockey game and we had enough chances to win. We pushed hard at the end but couldn't get the one to tie."  (Herald)

 "pushed hard at the end" -- what about pushing hard from the beginning?  What about seeing Everett's intensity and possibly trying to match (or exceed) that?

WHERE'S THE CONSISTENCY?  They played so hard, so well last couple games, then seemed somewhat complacent again last night.  I think that's the most frustrating part.

I did like the hard work by the Prokop line, of course.  Also saw some more attempts at garbage goals rather than just looking for a pretty goal.  Again, I wasn't happy that it didn't happen until the 3rd period, but still.  I suppose it's a step in the right direction.  Heemskirk is too good a goalie, not gonna get anything too pretty past him.

I lie, the most frustrating part (for me) is that even though the loss wasn't Drew's fault, I'm quite certain From Russia With Glove will get the start tonight against Spokane.  Just hope he's "on".  Or not and Drew can go in :)

So Spokane is in town, maybe those awesome visiting fans will sit behind us again, bitching the whole time about how much they miss the Spokane Arena and blah blah blah.  Don't come then, jeebus.

I'm sure James Reid will be in net for the Chiefs and the Americans have had a tough time trying to solve him.  It's going to have to be those garbage goals to make it happen.  Hope the boys buckle down and get shots on goal, limit the Chiefs' chances, stop giving them (especially Tyler Johnson) breakaways.  Grrrr.  Mitch Wahl and Kyle Beach have both been on fire for the Chiefs so it's gonna be a tough game to make sure none of those guys get too many chances.  And goaltending better be brilliant.  Or I might flip out (shocking, I know).

GO AMS!

Game day vs Everett

The Silvertips are in town tonight, as is the FSN crew--yes, I am one of the ones who had to move my seat to accomodate TV cameras.  Not very happy about it, but I suppose it's a sacrifice I can make, which is good since I don't have much choice.  I just like where I sit and the glass is clean so I can get good photos.  We're one section over, so hopefully there's still good glass there.

The Herald has a nice piece on Neal Prokop and the success he's had in Tri-Cities today.

"Too bad I didn't start my career here," said Prokop on Thursday as he and the rest of the U.S. Division-leading Americans were preparing for home games tonight against Everett and Saturday against rival Spokane. "I love the winning atmosphere -- when you get that going, it carries over to the next season.

"The guys have it really good here compared to some teams out East," Prokop continued. "This is a great organization with great facilities (he's partial to the weight room) and the fans are great. It's always fun to play when the crowd is in it -- it's like having a seventh man."

"I think 10 of his 15 goals have come at the top of the crease," said Americans coach Jim Hiller. "His size adds physical presence up front, he's strong and goes hard to the net. There are times when people are better on certain teams and in certain roles. He's playing with a couple of guys (Justin Feser and Patrick Holland) with offensive skills and he can use his strengths to his advantage."

"That's why this team has been so successful over the last little while," Hiller said of Prokop's line. "He was a key acquisition. He's what we needed and we're probably what Neal needed." (Herald)

The National Science Foundation has put out several Olympics-themed video clips about the science behind many of the sports.  Here is the one about the physics of the slap-shot:

Here's the one about the technology of skates (hockey, speed skating, and figure skating):

Pretty cool stuff.

Drew takes center stage

all due respect to Sportsnet's Patrick King, but I'm gonna cut and paste his whole article on Drew.  Or you can find it here.  Also, I don't know what John Allen does to the color on his photos but take it down a notch, they look cartoonish (in my opinion).

Drew Owsley's success can't be measured by his vitals.

The Tri-City Americans' goaltender is one of the biggest surprises in the Western Hockey League this season. His emergence is even more surprising when you take into account his small stature. At 5-foot-8 and 156 pounds, Owsley doesn't possess the prototypical size, but is an example of how far dedication and perseverance can carry an individual.

"There was always a knock on him that he wasn't big enough to succeed at this level," acknowledged Americans general manager Bob Tory. "I think he's proven through hard work, perseverance and a tremendous attitude that he can get the job done."

The Lethbridge, Alberta, product had a lot to prove this season. Not only had he not been chosen in the WHL bantam draft, he spent last season fighting Brett Martyniuk for backup minutes behind Nashville's first-round pick Chet Pickard.

With Pickard moving on to the professional ranks this season, the starting job was open for the taking. Owsley spent the summer in the gym training with Tri-City's goalie coach Jerry Price, father of Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price.

"We weren't sure who was going to be the guy," Owsley admitted. "(The team) just told me to work hard in the summer and to want the starting job and I kind of took that to heart."

"He's taken the ball and run with it," Tory added.

Owsley forced head coach Jim Hiller's hand in the early going, hardly yielding the crease while establishing himself as one of the league's top goaltenders. Martyniuk was then traded to Regina.

However, despite leading the league in wins and being near the top of every statistical category, Owsley is still fighting for his minutes this season. Russian goaltender Alexander Pechurskiy, a fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, joined the Americans over the Christmas break.

Tri-City drafted Pechurskiy with their first pick in the Canadian Hockey League import draft, 55th overall. Pechurskiy began the season playing for his hometown team in Magnitogorsk in the Kontinental Hockey League, but was made available to the Americans after getting caught up in the numbers game back home.

Pechurskiy gave the Americans another quality goaltender and put Owsley back in the all too familiar position of sharing the crease and earning his ice time.

"I have to play well every night or he's going to get to go in and I think that competition's been good for me," Owsley said.

The team has not named an official starter and Tory says they'll play the hot hand, which has been Owsley of late.

"It's a results-oriented position," Tory said. "The guy who's going (well) is the guy who's going to get the majority of the starts."

While it's not uncommon for goaltenders to feud over ice time, that's never been the case in Tri-City. Owsley maintains a healthy mindset over the new-found competition with his Russian teammate.

Among the many lessons Owsley learned from Pickard last season was to foster a healthy relationship with his goaltending partner. Pickard served as a mentor for Owsley, just as Price had served as his mentor when he was a young goaltender in the WHL.

It's a situation that enables the Americans to remain competitive on an annual basis and Tory is looking forward to his young goaltender returning the favour.

"We'll probably have another young goalie here next year that Drew will have to mentor as well to take his job one day when he moves on to the pro ranks," Tory said.

While Pickard has moved on to the American Hockey League this season, Owsley maintains contact with his mentor through Facebook. He credits part of his success to the lessons learned from Pickard.

"It was an honour to skate by his side out there," Owsley said.

Not surprisingly, given his lack of ice time, the 18-year-old Owsley was passed over by National Hockey League teams in last summer's draft. He aspires to earn an invitation to an NHL training camp or, better yet, get drafted this time around.

As for the criticism towards his size, Owsley uses that as motivation to earn a living. Owsley's advice for smaller hockey players in similar situations is not to give up.

"People are going to tell you you're too small and all that, but just keep working hard and have faith in yourself," he said.

"Size is only a factor if you allow it to be a factor," Tory said. "If you fight through that and determine your play is going to determine your results, not the size, that's the most important thing."

In measuring Owsley's success, the most important thing is his stats, not his stature.

Two tired teams

When Drew Owsley gets in a zone, he's hard to beat.

The Tri-City goaltender turned in another stellar performance Tuesday night, stopping 34 of 35 shots, and Johnny Lazo led the offensive charge with a goal and an assist as the Americans beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 3-1 before a crowd of 4,092 at Toyota Center.

"On a night when you aren't clicking making plays and passes, those are the nights you need your goaltender to be good," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "(Owsley) backboned us tonight."

The win was Owsley's league-leading 33rd of the season, complemented by a .919 save percentage and a 2.47 goals against average.

"My D-men did a great job clearing the net, and we didn't give them too many second opportunities," Owsley said. "They are a pretty skilled team offensively, and for the most part we limited their chances."  (Herald)

I don't think it was particularly a great game (except the end result), both teams were obviously tired.  That being said, the Americans played a more solid game than I expected, honestly.  I figured the fatigue of six games in eight days would really catch up to them, which it did, but they still played pretty hard.

I don't know what spark was lit under Hughey's ass, but it's working.  He's been playing much better lately, less lazy, more involved in the play.  It's paid off for his linemates as well, Johnny having another great night.

Brooks Macek got himself another goal, after missing several opportunities throughout the game.  He's always SO CLOSE and so it's great to see him not giving up and still trying, it's been working well.  Patrick Holland continues his push to be Rookie of the Year for the Americans with his solid play and offensive output.

I'm not sure what else needs to be said about Drew Owsley.  Clearly, he wants his starter position back and with his play, he's totally earned it.  He made just some brilliant saves last night.  Kudos to the Warriors goalie, Bosch, he was pretty outstanding at the other end.  Robbed several quality chances by the Americans.

The boys are off till Friday night when the Everett Silvertips are in town.  I hope they are getting lots of rest and eating Costco pallets full of food to get strength and nourishment back up.

Moose Jaw is in town

Warriors coming off a 7-6 victory over Portland yesterday, Americans will be playing their 6th game in 8 days.  The guys had the day off yesterday to get some rest, which they needed I'm sure.  They played very aggressive against Spokane and Kamloops (huzzah!) so hope they have some good gas left in the tank.

"It has been a tough grind the last couple of weeks," said Americans goaltender Drew Owsley, who leads the WHL with 32 wins. "We need to give the legs a rest. It's hard on your body to play that much. We have a tough bunch of guys, but it's nice to have a day off."

Forward Brooks Macek agreed.

"The legs get heavy and you have to rest," Macek said.

"Cheese (trainer Brian Cheeseman) keeps us stretched out and makes sure we drink lots of water. We'll be ready for (today)."  (Herald)

Doesn't look like Kruise will be back quite yet, which sucks but at the same time, need him to heal up properly and get ready for playoffs.  

Who will be in net?  Who knows.  Drew's been playing brilliantly, but I'm sure Bob wants to see From Russia With No Rebound Control get back to form (or just to form, really). 
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The New York Times has an article about the large number of Canadian hockey players that shoot left-handed (even though a majority are right-handed individuals).  It's sortof funny that this came up because Scotty Wazz and I were just discussing this the other day after he'd been out stick shopping.  The article doesn't state it, but Wazz says that a lot of that is due to the fact that many young Canadian players are coached to put their dominant hand on the top of the stick for control.  Now, I've haven't spent a lot of time with a hockey stick in my hand, but I used to golf and I am right handed, I cannot even imagine how awkward it would be to have my right hand at the top of the golf grip and swing with my left hand.  Anyways, it's an interesting article and just funny since we were just talking about it.  Have a read here.

According to sales figures from stick manufacturers, a majority of Canadian hockey players shoot left-handed, and a majority of American players shoot right-handed. No reason is known for this disparity, which cuts across all age groups and has persisted for decades.

Most Canadians, like most Americans, are naturally right-handed, so the discrepancy has nothing to do with national brain-wiring. And how you hold a pencil, say, has little or no bearing on how you hold a stick. A left-handed shooter puts his right hand on top; a right-hander puts the left hand there.

Kudos

"This effort started last night and carried over," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller, whose team lost 3-2 in overtime Saturday in Spokane. "The third period -- our 15th period of the week -- was the best we played. We were determined tonight. Ows made important saves in the second, and we had a lot of chances that didn't go in, but we stuck with it."

Now THAT was my team!  Played hard all 60 minutes, even with a 2 goal lead.  Forwards were forechecking, defense was solid, and Drew mothereffing Owsley is so badass.   And I'm not alone in this thinking.  Asspat to Ams1fan for that.

"Last few games we gave up a couple (goals) early and it's hard to come back from that," said Owsley, who picked up his league-leading 32nd win. "The last two games (he came on in relief in Spokane on Saturday) I just wanted to give us a chance to win."

"Since he went in (against Spokane), he's made save after save when we needed him to," Hiller said.

Yuen's looking better and better each game he plays, more confident.  I don't particularly like seeing Riley sitting in the stands, but I don't get to make those decisions.  Dow didn't play much, but played good when he was in.

Hiller lit into Schmidt for embellishing and Tyler spent more time on the bench after that, hope he learns his lesson.  Again, when he focuses on playing, he's a good defenseman, he even had a great goal tonight.   I don't particularly like seeing one of the team's top D sitting on the bench, but if it will teach him to shuddup, then do it.

It was great for Macek to get a goal, he was LONG overdue.  I can only hope that will jumpstart he and his linemates, get them to shoot the damn puck!  Good things happen when you shoot.  Coach  must have apparently given Hughesman a little talking-to at some point, because he was playing great.  

"It's been awhile," said Macek, who leads the team with 47 assists. "It was a good forecheck by Jordan and he made a nice pass. I just finished it off."

Oh heavens, Mason Wilgosh.  How great is this kid, eh?  He never ever quits.  Never.  Know what, neither does Sergei.  He's not flashy or anything, but just good.  Same with Holly and Feser.  Man, it's so easy to love this team when they play like that.  I mentioned to the girls that I'm even ok with the loss Saturday night because they played hard. 

"We were in a rut and he was the spark that got us going against Spokane," Hiller said of Wilgosh. "He carried it over to tonight." (Herald)

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I had the honor and the pleasure of meeting Drew Owsley's family last night, his sister recognized me in the Owsley jersey and whispered to his mom, "that's the blogger!"  Absolutely the nicest people I've ever met, so kind.  I was so flabbergasted I forgot to mention to them (as if I needed to) that they should be so proud of Drew and what he's accomplished this season.  Again, I probably wouldn't need to tell them, but it was really great to meet them, really wonderful people, it's no wonder he turned out to be such a fantastic kid!

I also got to meet Neal Prokop's dad, another very kind man that I am honored to have met.  There were other player parents at the skate, but I feel awkward introducing myself, so I don't.  I'm just so honored that the parents of these boys read my drivel!  So thank you parents!  Thank you for sending your boys away from home to live the dream.  Thank you for putting up with my nonsense and ranting :)

Best of the West

No fans, no media, no scouts. The Best of the West voting is done by the insiders -- players, management and broadcasters from the 10 clubs in the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League.

To prevent ballot-box stuffing, voters were not permitted to select anyone from their own organization. Teams with key players moved at the trade deadline were asked to vote on rosters as of mid-January. Votes ranked the Top 4 in each category, resulting in a 4-3-2-1 point system. The figures listed are the percentage of points possible.

For example, Seattle's Calvin Pickard received 32 of a possible 41 first-place votes in the Best Goaltender  category.  (Herald)

Sure enough Everett wins "Best Fans" yet again.  What exactly determines best fans?  Loudness of cowbells?  Overall attendance?  Some explanation would be nice on that one.

Jim Hiller received the 3rd most votes for Top Coach, behind Don Hay and Marc Habscheid, Bob Tory also 3rd for Top Executive.

2nd most votes for Best Stay-at-Home Defenseman went to Tyler Schmidt, 3rd most votes to Shinnimin for Best Faceoff Man.  Johnny Lazo got the 2nd most votes for Best Overager, Kruise Reddick was 4th on the list for Best Defensive Forward. 

Johnny takes 2nd most votes for both Best Skater and Most Underrated Player.  Drew Owsley received 2nd most votes for Best Goaltender, behind only Calvin Pickard. 

The only category where an Americans player received the most votes was for Most Improved Player and that honor goes to Brendan Shinnimin.

What I don't understand is how the percentages work.  I mean I know the explanation is there, that it's a percentage of the total points, but it makes it confusing because percentages are way over 100%.  If it's scored by points, show the totals in points.  That would make sense to me, but what do I know?  We've established I'm no GM, no coach, and I am not a reporter OR a mathematician.  So there ya have it.

Boys back home for their 5th game in 6 nights against the Kamloops Blazers.  Not an easy opponent (not that any of them are, really).  Blazers are a good team, and very hard working.  Just gotta hope the fatigue, mental and physical, isn't a huge factor, but that's probably a pipe dream.

And who will be in net?  Red-hot Owsley or From Russia With Guhhh?  Doesn't sound like Kruise will be back, they don't want to rush him back, especially at this time of the season.  Need him completely healed for playoffs.  Not sure if Mike Brown will be back from suspension, not sure if it matters.

Yes, last night was a loss, but they did get a loser point.  Also, it was a great game, they showed a ton of heart and even that hunger that seems to have been missing.  Mason Wilgosh was balls-to-the-wall outstanding, Owsley was brilliant.  I hope that heart, hunger, and all-out play extends into tonight's game.

On a final note, it's February 14th so I just wanted to wish my sweet Scotty Wazz a very Happy Valentine's Day, I love you so much!

My running commentary of the game

What coach said in pre-game:

Spokane's coming of big win against Everett, on a hot streak right now.  Mitch Wahl has been outstanding which makes them dangerous.  Haven't lost 3 in a row, successful teams stay out of a skid.  Takes your veteran players to be confident and lead the team.  Would like more out of defense and more out of net.  Gotta play better in front of goalies, but gotta get big saves.  Coach says Plouffe playing his best hockey of the season.  Losing him in the game last night with fight made it tough.  Other guys filling in for Kruise, haven't seen anyone really grab the reigns and take charge though.

Riley a scratch again, Mike Brown suspended tonight for boarding last night, Kennedy and Reddick out.

So going with 7 D?

Feser-Holland-Prokop starting line.

"Pechurskiy off on his angle" and Tyler Johnson scores 48 seconds into the game.

Wilgosh-Moser-Macek combo.  Wilgs hittin' posts.  At least he's shooting?  Interesting line combination though.  "Gaping net, should be 1-1"  ugh.  More posts. 

But now he scores!  Nice job for Willy "finally gets a stinker that bounces in the net".  I'll take it.

AMS outshooting 10-1 so far in the 1st, about 6 minutes in.

I wasn't going to keep a running commentary, I was just going to take some notes, but I'm in such a habit of typing while listening, so I'll put that "Read More" function to good use, I'll go on with my rambling after the jump.

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IDEK

"We made so many horrendous individual errors," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller, whose team has been outscored 29-12 in its six home losses. "This was one of our worst games. It's in the books and there's no way to change it. I thought their goalie played well, but we are in a rut and the only way out is to put our nose to the grindstone and get ugly."  (Herald)

I dunno, I'd have to say that was pretty ugly.  I think he's meaning a different ugly.

Also, I should have written this last night when my list of annoyances and opinions was fresh.  Because I have plenty of both, in case you were unsure.  

The line shuffling seemed to be sort of working in the first period, the only good decent period the AMS had.  Mike Brown was indeed, as Mr. Spokant called it, between Shinny and Lazo.  Adam Hughesman was down on the line with Moser and Holland.  But as the game progressed, Moser got much less ice time (shoulda kept playing him, not like he was going to worse than anyone else out there), Holly got more, and by 3rd period, Brown was nowhere to be found.  Well, until he took that goddamn 5-minute major.  Way to help your team when they're already behind.  I want to like Mike Brown.  He did well enough at the start of the game, but to end the game like that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The only lines that stayed consistently together were the Feser-Prokop-Wilgosh line and for the most part Macek-Messier-Drozd.  Macek is almost there every night.  Needs to stop trying to be fancy and look for the perfect play and just shoot the damn puck.  Sergei had a good game, worked his ass off.

Speaking of working his ass off, Eric Mestery was nails last night.

At what point does a coach bench Tyler Schmidt to send a message?  Yes, he's one of the top 3 defenseman on this team, I get that.  I personally think he's a great D-man.  That is, when he's concentrating on playing, not the incessant bitching to the refs and linesmen.  Guy in my section said "he'll shut up when they start doing their job".  No, no he won't.  We all know the refs in this league are imperfect and horribly inconsistent, but he is drawing so much negative attention to himself and to the team.  I can only imagine being a ref having to listen to that bullshit, you can be damn sure I'm gonna pay closer attention to the team whining to me and call every little offense I can.  Which is obviously a shitty move, but you'd be delusional to think it happens any other way.  Maybe coach feels they can't sit Schmidt, perhaps he doesn't have faith that whomever replaces him will step up and fill his skates effectively.  But at what point is Schmidt's bitching as much, if not more, of a liability than a 5th or 6th D-man stepping in to fill that top D role while Tyler sits?

Which brings me to leadership.  I don't know what is going on with this team.  I was recapping the game for Scotty Wazz and he said "it's just a lull that all teams go through."   It's not a lull.  A lull was November.  This is derailing.  Mr. RL said about the line shuffling "this is the time of year to be fine-tuning that kind of stuff, not totally overhauling it".  I have held back on solely blaming coach, since it's a team game.  Some of the responsibility of leading the team rests on the shoulders of the Captain and his Alternates.  I'm not necessarily questioning Toll, I don't know what does or doesn't get said on the bench, in the locker room, or during practice.   I don't know how vocal Tollsy is, perhaps he's more of the lead-by-example type Captain, which is fine, but being vocal still needs to be a part of that.  I have to think the boys respect him enough to listen to him, but if he's not talking enough....

I was shocked coach left From Russia With Glove in after the third goal went in.  Clearly he's had better games.  I have nothing else to add to that.

You know that saying "you never know what you got till it's gone"?  I've been a harsh critic of Kruise Reddick in the past but holy crap I miss him out on the ice.  I'll take his inconsistency over him not playing at all any day.

Here's the thing, this team is still in 1st place in the division and the conference.  That's something to be quite proud of.  But from a fan standpoint, it's frustrating because we know (ok, I know, since I can only speak for myself here) that Bob has built a very talented team.  I know Jim is a decent coach, Bob wouldn't have hired him if he didn't believe in him.  Virch is a good coach.  To see them struggle is much harder when expectations are so high.  There has been an atmosphere of winning that has been built over the last 4+ years and so the expectation level is ridiculously high.  That why every loss, every play that happened during a losing game, is so scrutinized by the fans.

Alright, I think I'm done with last night.  On to tonight.  Boys are in Spokane to take on the Chiefs.  The Maple Leaf Mafia will be there (minus the Don).  As a result, I will not be running a liveblog tonight.  Sorry all other regulars.  I have nice long weekend and have some projects going on at mi casa and am just gonna sit back and enjoy the away game.  Maybe that will bring them some luck, I have no idea.

Bottom line, something I want to make explicitly clear, I love this team, win or lose.  The losses are frustrating, sure, but I still adore this team 1000%. 

SAVE THE HOOTERS

Breast cancer awareness night, here's to hoping for SUBTLE pink ice so it's doesn't burn the retinas like last year.

"It goes without saying, I think this is a special night," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "It humbles everyone in the rink -- on both sides. I think everyone has been affected one way or another. Everyone gets to step back and realize how fortunate they are."

Tonight, the ice will be pink, the Tri-City players will wear commemorative pink jerseys and there will be pink T-shirt sales, silent auctions and donation jars at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center booths around the arena. The jerseys will be auctioned off during the game. All proceeds will benefit the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation.

Mr. Spokant nailed it in yesterdays' comments, the boys seem to be lacking hunger.  That's the word I'd been trying to come up with when talking about heart and passion and whatnot, it's hunger.  They have heart and passion, but there's not enough hunger on some nights.

The area that Hiller has some concern with is his top line of Brendan Shinnimin, Adam Hughesman and Johnny Lazo. The trio has combine for just three goals and seven assists in the last seven games. Shinnimin has dropped from the top 10 scoring list down to 14th.

"I don't think there is any way to sugarcoat it, they are in a rut," Hiller said. "They haven't had a game in awhile where all three have been on on the same night. We have been giving them that rope -- sooner or later we may gave to give them fresh linemates or something."  (Herald)

Sooner or later is right.  Try sooner.  Like tonight.  Because in theory, this is a game the AMS should be able to win, even if Bruins had the last week off.  I don't know if Kruise will be back or not, but tonight's good a time as any to try new linemates.  Why not?  Where's the spark Adam had at the beginning of the season??  I mean, they work their butts off for the most part, but like coach said, not all together on the same night or even on the same shift.

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The Winter Olympics start tonight, I'm so excited!!  No lie, I'm more than a little upset I'll be missing the opening ceremonies, but oh well.  The Herald has a nice bit on Shannon Szabados, first female goalie in the WHL (with the Americans) and starting goalie for Canada's women's hockey team.

Ass-pat to Spokant (yet again.  I think she likes me patting her ass) for sending link to an interview from Capitals Sport Report with Mike Brown.  An excerpt: 

・ getting traded to the Tri-City Americans last month

MB: “It has been a good change for me. I talked to the coach and decided that I would like to move on to Tri-City. I'm really happy and I'm honored to put on the Tri-City Americans jersey.”

・ no points since becoming a member of the Americans

MB: “It really hasn't worked for me. But that's not really my main area. I'm more of a role player.”

・ playing in his 150th game on January 31st against the Calgary Hitmen, the team he played in his very first game

MB: “I wasn't even aware of that. That feels good. I've been lucky to stay in this game and stay around for that many games.”

You can read the rest here.

Watch out, Pessimistic Patty's here

Ok, not really.  Well, maybe a little.

From listening to Westy call the game, it sounded like the Americans dominated the game.  Shots were 41-26 in favor of the AMS.  That's nothing to be pessimistic about, though how many of those were quality shot, I have no idea.  They just didn't get the bounces, and the 'Hawks did.  Or something besides bounces.  They got good goaltending and the best tandem in the league was less than brilliant (as was the support in front of them).

From Oregonlive blogger Dylan Bumbarger:

Tri-City was the slightly better team in the first half of the game, and the significantly better team in the second half of the game. At least three and maybe four Winterhawk goals came against the run of play. They may have done well to keep the Americans from getting a lot of 'A' chances, but they gave up a ton of 'B' chances.

Yes, there were stretches where they played well, especially the Johansen line, but as the game went on the Winterhawks gradually went back to the trading-chances style of play which had them 0-6 versus the Americans coming in. The goals just didn't go in for TC. Which you'd expect--the Winterhawks shouldn't lose every run-and-gun game with these guys.

It's a win on the scoreboard, and maybe that in itself is a good first step. But if this is considered a good game versus Tri-City, we've got no chance against them in the playoffs.

There have been some (myself included) that say the team is missing some passion, some heart.  I don't know if that is an entirely accurate statement.  Seriously, they controlled the game.  The come-from-behind game in Vancouver, that showed heart.  I just wonder if it's enough.

Some have said this team isn't built for the playoffs and I'm beginning to wonder.  No, I'm not jumping off any bandwagon or anything like that, and it's nothing I can put my finger on per se.  It's not just one thing--it's inconsistency, it's lazy play, it's stupid penalties, it's a sometimes ineffective power play, it's lack of passion and heart, it's a lack of goalie support, it's coaching--it's all these little things that add up to give me a sense of nervous time (DRINK!) when it comes to a.) the rest of the season and b.) the playoffs.

It sucks having to see them come-from-behind so often, but at the same time, they rarely quit completely.  There's usually at least some semblance of passion there when fighting to get back into the game.  But momentum is a tricky thing, and so is luck.  Look at last night, they had the momentum, they had the shots, but no luck.  

While we're talking about heart, let's look at the Feser-Prokop-Wilgosh line.  This is a line that never quits, never takes even a shift off, works their asses off.  They don't always get rewarded in the goal department for their work, though they did last night with four points between them.

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In other news, Friday is Breast Cancer Awareness night and if you were at Tuesday's game you saw a preview of the jerseys.  The AMS also now have a preview available on their site, here's a screen cap:

They're pretty snazzy and I like the use of the navy blue so the pants don't look so ridiculous.  It's one of the better designs they've had.  

I just hope the ice isn't Pepto-Bismol pink.  Try subtle, subtle is ok.  There will also be shirts for sale (they were available at Tuesday's game also).  Speaking of shirts, huge thanks to all who purchased their BCA shirts from my Zazzle site.  As mentioned, since I have to go through Zazzle the proceeds don't amount to much, however every little bit helps and the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation will be receiving at least $25 from me for the shirt sales.  I'll keep the BCA designs up there and whenever any of them sell the profits will go to the Foundation.

Game day at Portland

The win gives Owsley 38 for his career, surpassing Kolzig (37), the team's owner and former NHL star, to move into sixth place on the Americans' career list.

"It's pretty cool to pass a guy like him," said Owsley, who won his league-leading 31st game. "It's an honor to be mentioned with him."

Drew had a terrific game, I think both of the T-Birds goals are ones he'd like back (but aren't they all, really?).  He looked confident and stood tall--well, as tall as the kid can stand.  And speaking of kids who had a great game, that Jordan Messier is awesome.  Terry Virtue was on the post-game show with Westy and said that Jordan (and Brooks too) need to play like that more, go to the net hard and shoot more.

"We weren't great, but we had enough guys who were good and carried the load," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "Give Seattle credit, they played us really well. We were in the penalty box too much tonight and that gave them momentum."

Oh let's not talk about the penalties.  How does Thiessen still have a job in this league?  You know it's not a good night for the ref when Jarrett Toll, the peaceful warrior, is in the box 3 times in one night.  I know it's not much use complaining about the reffing in this league, so I won't.  I leave that to the people who sit near me and all they do (it seems) is bitch about the reffing.  Oh well.

"Killing that 5-on-3 was the key to the game," Hiller said."

Yes.  Seattle was like a dog on a bone all night (DRINK!  It's a Westy-ism) clogging up the neutral zone, not allowing a lot of space.  It's what they do best.

Americans forward Kruise Reddick left the game in the first period after taking a puck to the foot and did not return. He had X-rays after the game. His status for tonight is unknown.  (Herald)

Is it good or bad that I didn't even notice Kruise was gone till towards the end of the 3rd period?  Ooof.  And I evidently missed him taking a puck off the foot.  Problem with having to photograph the game is missing stuff that actually happens because my eye is behind the lens.  Just gotta hope Pokey's ok.

It was nice to see Moser out there, even though it was only for maybe 3 shifts.  I don't believe that's any more or any less than what Mike Brown or even Todd Kennedy would have gotten.  Drydn Dow didn't log a ton of time, but played well when he was in.

Tonight the boys are in the City of Roses to take on those pesky Winterhawks.  So far this season the AMS have had their number, I just hope there's not a level of complacency in thinking they'll just get handed another win in Portland.  There's some passion missing that I hope gets in place before playoffs.  Virtue on post-game show said that now the 'Hawks have Luca Sbisa, they have a bit different game because of the skill set that he provides, especially on the power play with hard shots up high.  Like Seattle, they play hard and don't give a lot of room, especially in the small rink of the Memorial Coliseum.  

Liveblog after the jump, come on in and say hi.

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Game Day vs. Seattle

First of six games in eight days.  It's going to be a rough stretch but could be quite character-revealing.

"This is where the depth of the team comes in," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "Everyone is important. By the time the season is over, everyone will have played an important role and gotten their minutes."

In other words, haters stop whining about guys sitting in the stands.  The depth this team has is a good problem to have.  And it's going to pay off with all these games bunched into a tight amount of time.  At least, in theory.  Then again, Communism worked in theory, so we'll see.

The Americans have relied on balanced scoring during their rise to the top of the standings, with nine players scoring 11 goals or more and 15 players with 12 or more points.

Among that group is rookie Patrick Holland, who has 11 goals and 14 assists in 40 games -- but he's really come alive since the Christmas break with six goals and eight assists in 16 games.

"We made note of him real early," Hiller said. "The biggest thing for him is that he's a good player, he just needed to work on his assertiveness and confidence. We knew he had it in him. When TK (Todd Kennedy) got hurt, that spread minutes around and he has shown consistent play." (Herald)

From Russia With Glove got himself some new equipment, including fancy new helmet. Click here for some fancy photos, not sure who took them though, no credit is given.  I was going to insert them into this post, but blogger is a dirty whore.

So tonight the boys face off against Seattle.  They are a tough opponent, make you really work for the win.  Then there's Calvin Pickard.  AMS have had a difficult time trying to solve him.  Lord (and Bob) only knows who will be in net for the Americans.  If going with real tandem, it's Drew's turn to start since FRWG started last game.  If playing the hot goalie, it's Drew's start.  If wanting to piss me off, it'll be FRWG (kidding, geez, lighten up).  Course, Seattle might be a good opponent to get his game back on track after less-than-stellar outing in Vancouver.

Personally, this is a game I'd like to see Nils Moser in, he's got the size and moxie to battle against the T-Birds.  Actually, I think he's got more of a finish-his-checks type style than Mike Brown who was brought in to fill that role.  But whatever, I'm no GM.  But my 2 cents is that the team would be better served giving 16-year-old Moser some ice time (granted, it's not much) than a 19-year-old.  Neither of them get more than a couple shifts a night, so give the kid some chance to develop a little.  It's not that Brown is a bad player or anything, I just personally haven't seen much of him to say he should get more ice time than Moser.

I just hope it's a good game.  I'm bringing a couple friends who have never been to a game but love my obsession for it.  Hopefully AMS can convert them to being full-time fans.

Rally time

Patrick Holland scored the game-winner in the shootout and Drew Owsley finished with 30 saves to become the league's first 30-game winner as Tri-City Americans rallied to beat the Vancouver Giants 5-4 on Saturday night.  (Herald)

The Western Hockey League website unintentionally cheated Americans defenseman Brock Sutherland of his goal late in the third period against the Vancouver Giants on Saturday.

When Brock scored the goal, Craig West made the call on the radio, but the goal, when announced, was given to Tyler Schmidt. Westy said they'd have to change that. It just took a day. (Fowler's blog)

Drew Owsley is my hero.

3rd in the league in goals against (6th in the whole CHL), 3rd in save percentage (8th in the CHL), 1st in wins (3rd in the CHL), 5th in overall saves, and 7th in total minutes played.  (WHL)

As I've mentioned before, my admiration of Owsley does not mean I think From Russia With Glove is a bad goalie, I don't think that at all.  But to have this boner over this guy just because he's been drafted (even played in one NHL game) and to toss Drew aside after carrying this team to first place in the first half of the season is just a slap in the face.  Keep them as a tandem, alternating.  I'm grateful for the depth (that's what she said).

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice that for whatever reason the boys seem to play better in front of Drew.  Granted, they've left him hanging out to dry a couple of times, but still.  He's been with these guys since last year, and of course gave them confidence in him based on his performance this season.  FRWG is a good goalie, it's true.  But there's almost like some tentativeness there.  I don't know if it's language barrier or just a lack of chemistry because he has only been here a month.  Or both.  I don't know if the guys feel they don't need to play the same because he's played one NHL game, I don't know.  

I do know it's a business and Bob has done an excellent job building this team.  I also know he wanted FRWG here from the start and it just didn't work out that way.  During that time Owsley proved that he belongs here and played his ass off.  To say that Pechurskiy's has played against tougher opponents is bullshit, Drew played in what, like 30-plus games out of 34 going into the Christmas break, to say those opponents were easier is dumb--easier than what?  Than Calgary?  Hrm, I remember Brandon being quite the formidable opponent.  And Portland has been, same with Everett and Vancouver.  

My point is (I think I have one, probably not since I've just rambled on) that the Americans have two very talented goalies and they should be splitting the time.  Drew's earned that, he has earned the right to be respected for his play and his work ethic.  Don't make him a backup.  /rant.

So I'm a day late in saying what a ballsy comeback it was the other night in Vancouver.  My dad was in town visiting so we were busy working on home improvement projects.  Though the big improvements were done by Thumper and Co. for which I am so grateful I can't even express myself.  But I digress, this is a hockey blog.

I don't know what coach told them going into the 3rd period, but it worked.  It was so great to see them not give up after quickly getting down by 3.  It's only one game, but hopefully they're getting the message that they have to keep fighting, play all 60 minutes with passion and with heart.  It was the hard work of Neal Prokop and Justin Feser once again leading the way.  And for Sutherland to get a goal is just fantastic, he's earned it with his stellar play.  But this Patrick Holland.  Holy shit this kid continues to impress me.  Works hard and it's paying off with increased ice time and on the score sheet.  I'm still saying Holly for Rookie of the Year.  Your argument is invalid.

Game day is finally here

The Tri-City Americans became the first team in the Western Hockey League to make the playoffs Friday night, and they didn't even have to lace up their skates.

woooohooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!  But now they have to go and prove they belong by lacing up those skates and winning some games here in the final stretch.

Tri-City is coming off a three-game trip through the Central Division, where it earned three of a possible six points. The Americans have lost three of their last four games after winning six in a row.  (Herald)

Don't ever be comfortable with that first in division and first in the conference stuff boys, teams are gunning for you, go show them you have earned that top spot.  None of this bullshit sitting back on a lead or relying solely on your goaltender to save your butts.

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Remember to order your breast cancer awareness shirts to have them in time for the February 12th game!  This weekend Zazzle has 50% of two-day shipping if you enter promo code: WELOVETWODAY now thru Monday.  All proceeds from shirts will be donated to the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation.  I would say Monday would be pushing it as far as it arriving on time, they have to process order, print the shirt, then ship.  My hoodie took a week, but I opted for regular shipping.  SO ORDER TODAY PEOPLE.

LIVEBLOG AFTER THE JUMP...

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Happy Birthday Jordan Messier!!

Yes, the cake says "Jakob" and has a 6 on it, but just imagine it saying "Jordan" and "18".  w00t.

I also meant to post this like 8 hours ago.  YAY ME!

Two days till there's a game?  UGH.

Note I had no snarky comment about the Detroit Tigers.  No need to pour salt in the wound of them trading Curtis Granderson.  Oof.

Bish needs a new banner I think.  I should do that.

"Career Outlook: Backup Goaltender American Hockey League"

Ass-pat to Spokant for sending this my way.  Evidently, there's a goaltender training school somewhere up north, it appears that it's perhaps in Calgary, based on the phone number.  The website doesn't list a location--but they want you to go to their training school.  I'm no marketing expert, but...

Anyways, the "we" who run or write for the website obviously took in the Calgary/Americans game on Sunday and wrote up their evaluations of goaltenders Martin Jones and our Alexander Pechurskiy.  They (he?) sound like they know what they're talking about, like knowledgeable and whatnot, but they don't speak especially highly of From Russia With Glove.

Click HERE for the .pdf of their "report".  The scoring/rating criteria at the end of the report is not explained at all, best I can tell it's a 1-10 scale, 10 being "Excellent", 1 being a "P" which I would guess indicates "Proficient".  I'm gonna also guess "A" = "Average", "G" = "Good", and "VG" = "Very Good".

Author of the report says there's three areas in which Alex needs to be stronger:

• Rebound control
• Active hands
• Awareness of players away from the puck
• Focus/emotional control

I am admittedly no expert on anything, let alone goaltending, and who knows if this guy is either.  However, some of his analysis was spot on (well, spot on for matching my opinion).

"As a goaltender, Pechurskiy can make his job much easier by practicing solid rebound control.  By putting the pucks in the corners or cradling the puck for a whistle he will eliminate the second, third and so on attempts that Pechurskiy faced during this game.  Many of his rebounds were placed directly back up the slot where they were banged away at again."

"The changes that have been made to today's games and the adaptations that shooters have made everywhere has resulted in goaltenders needing to be more active with their hands.  Pechurskiy showed a lot of blocking throughout this game and had very locked elbows on shots.  With active hands he will be pushing the puck or catching the puck and eliminating a lot of work that he currently needs to complete."

"Alexander Pechurskiy ['s] game was missing an active head or searching for players away from the puck.  Instead Pechurskiy was too focused on the puck carrier and was trying to guess where the pass was being made instead of following the puck to where the puck carrier was located."

"There was multiple instances during this game where Alexander was distracted by people in the stands, cleaning the ice or by the jumbotron.  He was constantly focused on the wrong stimuli even when the play was going on and looked to be in threat of a quick shot many times during the game."

"After watching him come into a Pens game earlier in this year I expected Alexander to dominate the game.  Instead what I saw was a goalie who was unfocused and unable to read the play.  Currently, Pechurskiy is slow coming across (laterally) and opens his five-hole too much.  Pechurskiy was too non-shalant (sic) when handling the puck which will result in a goal or two against because of his inability to focus solely on what he is doing."

When supposed "experts" use and misspell words like nonchalant,they lose some credibility in my book.  If you want to be taken seriously, learn to spell and use grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary correctly.  One more reason to stay away from the message boards, your head will explode.  But I digress...

I've never hidden my bias when it comes to my goalies.  If you've been reading this blog at all you know I didn't particularly want FRWG to be here because I believed Drew earned the starting spot with his hard work and didn't want that taken away from him.  That being said, he's here, he's part of my team so I support him 1000%.  In addition, can't really complain about the depth in net that Bob has acquired.

I have noticed FRWG does have difficulty with rebound control.  Often goals that are scored on him are 2nd or 3rd chances.  Is that his responsibility or should the defence help clear those out?  Both, obviously.  I haven't noticed a lack of focus this evaluator talks about, but I also tend to watch the rest of the game, not just the goalie.  Evaluator noticed one play where "he lost his cool completely on a harmless play".  He is feisty, that is true.  He doesn't like guys in his crease and will push and shove them out of his way.  The evaluator feels that this kind of activity affects his play, and I'm sure it does.  To what extent I have no idea.

This evaluator took in only one game of Pechurskiy's and it's unfair (stomps feet in mild tantrum) to say his career outlook will be "Backup goaltender in the American Hockey League" based solely on that game.  Ok, one game and his NHL debut.  Still not fair.  Pens scouts were at that game and at the Edmonton game as well to take in his performance.  Too bad they don't publish their findings (do they?) to compare.  I would love to see what they have to say and how it compares to the author of this evaluation.  I'm guessing they can at least spell nonchalant (spell-check man, it's automatic).