Keyword: Friends

Do you have friends that will drop everything when you have an emergency and help you out and then drag your ass too the hockey game because they know you need to get your mind off things for a bit?  Cuz I do.  Ironically enough, I met them through this blog so I figured I could get a post together about last night--and probably preview tomorrow's game.

Having seen the same teams play two nights in a row, there was some animosity that carried over from Tuesday at the Rose Garden to last night in the Toyota Center.  Portland didn't look as lazy or lost as they did Tuesday, even outshot the Ams 44-33, but Drew MF Owsley was stellar, the Hawks got pissed and gooned it up.  So...business as usual.

Three of the Americans goals were from defensemen last night--Sutherland, Dow, and Yuen.  Know what?  That's hawt.  The defense was outstanding last night, especially after Schmidt left the game (undisclosed upper body injury).  I was saying to the Baum Squad on the way home that I was a little surprised Grist wasn't playing, with the chippy-ness that started Tuesday I thought for sure the Ams would have him in for his size last night.  That being said, Dow was outstanding both games.  Grist has size, but Dow has speed and skill.

Neal got his first goal since returning from broken femur, that had to feel good.

"We weren't sure he would score a goal again in this league after what we saw last spring," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller, who won his 68th game behind the Americans' bench, moving him into fourth place on the all-time wins list, surpassing Don Hay. "No one waited longer than him to see that one go in."

"(Tuesday) was one of those games where you had to stay focused because there were five-minute gaps where you didn't see the puck," Owsley said. "Tonight was the opposite, I faced a lot of shots. Our (defense) did a good job of letting me see the puck and they cleared second chances."

"I thought that was important," Hiller said of his team's defensive play. "When Schmitty went out, the rest of the guys did a good job. They were key to our victory."

"Sometimes you just need a garbage one," said Prokop, who last scored a goal March 19. "It was nice to get that first one. It's been a long nine months."

"Marcus (Messier) one-handed it to me, I just put my head down and fired," Sutherland said.

"They are a good team," Sutherland said. "Anytime you take your foot off the gas they will make you pay. We did a good job holding them off." (Herald)
"The last two games, we've seen that to win, you've got to pay the price," said Tri-City assistant coach Brent Bilodeau on KFLD's postgame show. "Last night, (Portland) had a little bit of a hangover from the break. Tonight, I thought they outplayed us. It was a tougher game."

"Owsley played really well tonight," Bilodeau said. "He stepped up and played a good game."  (Examiner)

Yesterday (in Tuesday's post game analysis) OregonLive Winterhawks blogger Dylan Bumbarger pondered if perhaps the Hawks are overrated?

When these players, highly thought of individually, can as a team be that much worse than Tri-City [who played well, I don't want to deny them their credit, but they shouldn't be this much better], I don't see how you can come to a conclusion other than that some of the players on this team are massively overrated. And if you're trying to win a championship, getting back the three guys at the WJC isn't going to fix that. And getting Craig Cunningham isn't going to fix it.  (OregonLive, emphasis mine)

I thought the whole post was an interesting look at the Winterhawks.  Then I read his post today:

At the higher level, the Winterhawks missing three of their stars and their two excellent rookies. Of course, you wouldn't know that reading the Tri-City point of view of the two games. We can talk about what it says about the players who were here, but there's no doubt it's the first thing you have to talk about when talking about these two games. This guy makes no mention of it, implying to his readers that Tri-City beat a full-strength Portland team. Hilarious.  (OregonLive)

So after shitty game it's not going to matter if their stars are there or not, after a better game--even though they lost--it's all about the missing guys?  Huh.  Whatever.

For their efforts, the Winterhawks got handed a couple suspensions handed down:

• Riley "Quit Chukin' My Wook" Boychuk, two games under supplemental discipline
• Adam Smith, one game for elbow major and game misconduct

It's really too bad for a team that has as much (potential?) talent as Portland that they still have to goon it up.  It may bite them in the ass come playoff time, jussayin'.

Enough about the Hawks, tomorrow night is the annual New Year's Eve game against the Spokane Chiefs.  Which, as friend of the blog Jeremiah informed me, they went into the Christmas break with 666 penalty minutes.  Go figure.  Meanwhile, they've worked their way into 2nd place in the division, and gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and outscored their opponents 48-24*.  They've got a little something called momentum going for them.  And they certainly aren't in bad shape without Cowen.  It's an intensity the Americans have got to be ready for.  They have to play smart, not take penalties because that goddamn Tyler Johnson and Company can be dangerous.  

I hope to see as great a performance from the defense (if not better) as last night, same goes for Owsley.  I want to continue to see sustained pressure by all the forwards, from the Shinny-Hughey-Milkshake line down to the Conrad-Lil Mess-Rankin line.  BTW, I love that combo, Lil Mess is a sparkplug and it works with the steady, reliability of Conrad and the pure skill of Rankin.

Do you ever watch the guys when they come out on the ice?  Then you've seen the "elbow hugs".  WTF is an elbow hug you might ask and why am I mentioning it here?  Because the Canadian World Junior team is bringing in the new tradition:

Canada’s junior players often eschew the high fives at the bench in favour of elbow hugs, knocking elbows together instead of gloves after a goal. They are the only team at any level to do this.

“It started last year,” said captain Ryan Ellis, a member of the team in 2010. “Some of the western boys started doing it, and we’ve been doing it this year as well.”

Brayden Schenn, a Saskatoon native and the scoring star for Canada the last two games, shed further light on the ritual. “It started with a group of Brandon boys called The Wagons, a group that played in the summer. We just adopted it last year and kept it going this year.”  (IIHF)

Know the connection to the Americans?  Brock Sutherland and Kruise Reddick played for the Wagons.

To bring the post fill circle (and to make the title make sense) tomorrow night, for me at least, will be about my dearest friends and hockey--in that order.  I cannot wait!!

*I think, there's math involved there.

Big Intentions

I intended to leave the Rose Garden last night and drive the 4 hours home before the snow hit (which I did).

I intended to get back to blogging today after a week of dial-up and inaccessible computer...that has yet to be seen.  Because when I arrived home at like 2 a.m. after a wonderful week with my family and friends for the holidays, I came home to discover that some person(s) who should die a slow, miserable death broke into my house while I was gone.  So yeah, the desire to blog about hockey seems so...unimportant.

But I'll give it a shot.

Last night's game was great.  Ams came out of the gate ready to go, from the top of the lineup to the bottom.  Notch another goal for Lil Mess and David Conrad.  Both of them were sweet goals, David's was right in front of me, just picked up the rebound out in the slot and made no mistake about it.  Spencer Humphries had a great shot from the point for his first WHL goal.  It was pretty sick.  All told, the Americans peppered Mac Carruth with 52 shots.

The Winterhawks fans in front of us were saying the score was indicative of them not having several of their top guys (at World Juniors) which yes, that's going to have a big impact, but they looked slow and disinterested for most of the game.  Even if you're down guys, you gotta put in some effort.  Allowing 52 shots to get through?  Meh, whatever, worked out for me and my team.

The same two teams face off tonight at Toyota Center, should be a good one.

Meanwhile, from the Americans' Facebook page:

Bittersweet emotions for Americans' goaltender, Chris Driedger. Driedger got the start in Team West's exhibition game vs. Team USA at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, playing 29:41 and stopping all 21 shots he faced. However, Team USA downed Team West 4-0. Tournament starts tomorrow with Team West taking on Team Pacific.

The real tournament play starts today, Driedger is hoping good exhibition play will carry over:

Driedger got the start in goal for the West and was perfect. He stopped all 21 shots he faced in a period and a half of play.

“I felt pretty good in there,” he said. “I was pretty pumped, the adrenalin was going and I just felt good between the pipes.”

“I think our team fell apart in the second half,” Driedger said. “I’m not sure why. We just lost a bit of heart.”

Driedger plans on carrying his strong play into from the exhibition game into the tournament.

“I think I can build on it and get better every game,” he said. I definitely want to carry my play from this game to the next and hopefully play well throughout the tournament.”  (Winnipeg Sun)

Game day at Portland

I've managed to wrestle away this slower-than-hell computer with dial-up internet to try to get a post together.  Just don't expect much, I just don't have the patience.  (#firstworldproblems)


Anywhoooo, the boys are back and in the Rose Garden tonight.  I'm gonna be there so I wasn't planning on a liveblog, but the masses have spoken, Spokant will be running the liveblogging goodness this evening.  Rene Ferran has a good bit on the Ams getting back to work here.  The Herald's piece right here. 


The Winterhawks acquired Craig Cunningham this morning from Vancouver "in exchange for forwards Spencer Bennett, Teal Burns, a first round pick in the 2011 Bantam Draft and a second round pick in the 2012 Bantam Draft."  (WHL)  As if the 'Hawks needed more depth.  They might actually be unstoppable at this point.  And no, I don't believe Carter Ashton is going to save the day.  Yes, he's great acquisition, but hooooooboy is Portland good.  Sure makes for some hockey though, eh?  It's going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out, that's for sure.


Click on the "Read More" to join in the liveblogging goodness.  I'll be tweeting from the game, I've added that into the liveblog.  GO AMS!

Read more »

Christmas presents and mid-season grades

Apologies for lack of posting around here.  First off, there's not a lot going on since the WHL is on Christmas break.  Secondly, I'm visiting family for the holidays and that means one computer (a desktop) and three people who want to use it, no wireless so I can't use my laptop even if I wanted to, and an internet connection that's essentially dial-up.  Yay family living in the boondocks.


Because of the above mentioned hurdles, I have decided to combine two posts into one--my Christmas presents to the boys and the mid-season grades that I always do.  Rene Ferran handed out mid-season awards, an excellent bit you can check out here.  I agree with all his assessments in there, good stuff.


So let's get started on mine.  Ass-pats to Wazz and Spokant for help with some of the presents.  Srsly, at this point I'm like groping Spokant's ass for all the great ideas she supplied.


Sam Grist—Sam came into camp as a giant (still is). As such, he had some trouble adjusting to the speed of the WHL. He seems sometimes to be unsure how to use his big size smartly. The first quarter of the season he was a penalty-taking machine and it got difficult to defend his potential against what people were seeing being executed on the ice. But he’s turned it around for the most part. He’s been playing much smarter, using his skill and skating ability to his advantage. Grist is still a rookie who is unsure how to use that size smartly all the time so there will still be mistakes and penalties. His potential is exciting though. I, for one, am excited to see him develop over the next couple seasons. Grade: C


Christmas present for Sam—shopping spree at Costco. A huge growing teenager like that must go through pallets of food at a time. So really, it’s a gift for his billets.


Drydn Dow—I stated last week what a difference maker I think Dow is (ass-pat to Sister). He then promptly sat the next game out. Sure, he’s not the biggest defenseman on the team, but he’s very solid, reliable. He’s not afraid to do the gritty work to clear the puck, he’s a very fluid skater. Dow’s never going to be the big body, punishing-type defenseman, but I think if he’s molded right, he could be put into an offensive-defenseman role since he is a little guy who can weasel his way in from the blueline. Grade: A


Christmas present for Drydn—playing time. I know, then who do you sit? There’s suddenly a lot of depth in defense. But this kid is good and deserves to play more.  As for something I can put under the tree for him, this Westerner hat so he can wear it with pride at the Calgary Stampede.


Spencer Humphries—I was surprised when he was sent down last season so I was sure he’d stick around this year. He got a free-agent invite to San Jose Sharks camp this fall which is great for him. That being said, he’s basically a rookie and makes some rookie mistakes. I’ve been surprised he’s played nearly every game while Grist and Dow have rotated into the 7th spot. But he does have the size, and it’s not like he’s bad or anything. Humps skates well and is, like Sam, playing smarter, not trying to do too much. He’s a decent defenceman who just has to gain some experience. Grade: B


Christmas present for Spencer—I will provide a photo shoot to get his modeling career started if hockey doesn’t work out. Or for a career on the side of hockey. Or for my personal collection…


Zachary Yuen—I saw him change last season from nervous rookie to solid defenseman. And he’s continued to be good. He is a great skater and he’s not afraid to use his size to do work. I saw him beat the shit out of a Giant’s player right in front of me. He always seems like a calm, cool, collected player, but he’ll throw some punches if he needs to defend himself of his teammates. He’s become offensive minded, leading the rush, sometimes going in and crashing the net. I can see him becoming a TJ Fast-type player. One downfall is the excessive penalties. That stuff needs to stop ASAP. Grade: A-


Christmas present for Yuen—Casio keyboard to entertain/annoy teammates on the long bus rides.


Kruise Reddick—I realized Pokey’s value last season when he got hurt. So did Coach apparently as he was named Captain just a week after the 09-10 season ended. A well earned honor. He’s never going to be a super sniper scoring machine, I’ve accepted that. His role is one of quarterbacking the power play, doing some dirty work in the corners to win battles for the puck. Kruise is never afraid to get right into the mix, which always worries me with his concussion history. But that’s the way he works. I didn’t think I liked him on the point on the power play until he got hurt this season and sure enough, I missed him like hell. Grade: A


Christmas present for Reddick—restraining order against Thumper.


Paul Sohor—Paul is new so I don’t have a whole lot to say except I’m glad he’s on the team. He is a solid defenseman. I didn’t like him when he played for Everett and that’s usually a compliment. He skates fluidly and plays his position well. It helps that he knows most of the other Winnipeggers on the team, made it an easy transition for him to come to Tri-Cities. Chemistry is a good thing and he’s got it with the guys. Grade: B


Christmas present for Sohor—I think Paul deserves some great Gongshow Hockey slippers.  I say this because I really want a pair too, so this way I'm at least buying them for someone.  Or pretending to buy.  Oh hell, whatever, these slippers are hawt.
Brooks Macek—ok Mr. Macek, your good looks that have carried you this far just aren’t good enough any more. I don’t know what the problem is. Yes, expectations were high coming into the season, but c’mon. I thought it was NHL camp hangover, that should have worn off by now. It’s like a sophomore slump except it’s his junior year (playing off the metaphor), his sophomore year were much better. This is a guy who is supposed to be scoring goals left and right and it’s not happening. He was supposed to be working on the defensive part of his game and coach had him out on the penalty kill early in the season, but that’s not really working either. I know I’m not the only one frustrated, I know coach is (he’s said so on post-game shows), and I’m sure Brooks is. I can only hope he turns his season around, quickly. His -11 just isn’t cutting it. Like most times I’m frustrated with someone on this team, it’s because I’ve seen them play better and so I know it can be done. Same goes for Brooks “That Would Have Been Awesome” Macek. I know he can do it, just needs to figure out whatever it is that’s missing and get it in gear.


Christmas present for Macek—a time machine so he can go back to the time when he was scoring goals. Or “Sally” cuz she’s hot, maybe she’ll help him.


Adam Hughesman—Well, huh. For the third season in a row, Adam came out of the gate on fire. However, unlike the past two seasons, he hasn’t let up. He continues to be a great playmaker. Coach said he came into camp ready to work, and boy has he done work. At the same time I find myself staying cautious. Which is a shame. It’s like I’m waiting for him to start slacking since that’s what he’s done in the past. Obviously, I hope that doesn’t happen, and it doesn’t appear he’s headed in that direction. Anyways, Adam’s been terrific. His skating has improved, I no longer refer to him as “Cement Skates”. I look forward to a great second half of the season from Adam. Grade: A


Christmas present for Hughesman—restraining order against Spokant LOL j/k But I will offer him a photo shoot for his modeling career as well. Even if he thinks he isn’t tall enough to be a model.


Mason Wilgosh—holy hell. He’s gone from being “the next Drew Hoff” to being “Mason MF Wilgosh”. Is there anything this guy can’t do? He kills penalties (like a boss), scores goals, gets in the middle of any skirmish or even potential skirmish. I’ve seen firsthand the shittalking he can do. He is a classic pest but one with some good hockey sense too. It’s been fun watching him mature from a doughy sixteen-year-old to a gritty, hard-working veteran on this team. He’s got an “A” on his sweater because of his leadership and is obviously well-respected by teammates. Also, he is completely ridiculous, I adore this kid. Grade: A+


Christmas present for Wilgosh—a wafflemaker so he can make his own damn waffles.


Big Mess—Would you have guessed that Jordan Messier would be leading the team in goals at this point in the season? I wouldn’t have. But that’s the case. And it’s damn sexy. Last season Coach was frustrated that Mess wasn’t using his big body to crash the net and get some garbage goals. Well, that’s exactly what he’s been doing this season. He has had all the basics in place since last season—skating, skill, playing time—he just needed to get himself into the right place at the right time. Now he’s got that part down too and it’s paying off. Grade: A+


Christmas present for Jordan Messier—this “Sick Celies” shirt from Gongshow hockey in honor of his goal celebrations that he may or may not do extra big so I can get pictures of them.


Lil Mess—little sparkplug. He’s still a behbeh but I see the potential. He’s bided his time and taken advantage of the ice time he’s been given. When he’s out there you notice him. Marcus is buzzing around the opposition like an annoying mosquito in your ear in the summer. He can skate fast and being a little guy he can turn quick so he’s good at skating circles around the other guys. Do I think it’s a bit disadvantageous for him to be sitting in the stands when he could be sent down and playing on a consistent basis? A little. At the same time, he’s getting experience with the club and building rapport with teammates. Besides, with the kids and schooling, it’s harder to move them. I like watching Marcus play, he’s fun and again, I see a ton of potential. He’s gonna be fun to watch for a while I think. Grade: C


Christmas present for Marcus Messier—fine Egyptian cotton bedding since he’s no longer sleeping on an air mattress on his big brother’s floor. And a haircut.


Justin Feser—this is a tough one. On one hand, Feser’s experiencing a junior slump like Macek. On the other hand, it’s not as noticeable because…well, I don’t know why. I guess because I don’t expect him to be a sniper, he’s more of a lunch-pail kind of player who works hard—offensively and defensively—and does all the little things he needs to do. He and Holland’s chemistry picked up right where it left off from last season. They’ve become the classic kind of 3rd-line kind of guys—gritty, tough, able to score. He’s not afraid to fight battles in the corner for the puck or use his size to do create room. He has managed to quietly get himself into 4th on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 19 helpers.  Grade: B


Christmas present for Feser—Great Elvis impersonator costume. Because seriously, the kid looks like Elvis. He could make a killing in Vegas if hockey doesn’t work out. I mean, maybe. I don’t know, I haven’t heard him sing.


Tyler Schmidt—He’s another one that’s been kinda fun to watch develop from a doughy sixteen-year-old to a veteran on this team. Over that time he’s become a solid and reliable defenseman in the league. Heck, his skating’s even gotten better, after all these years of being another cement skates player. The one downfall to Schmidt, in my opinion, is his inability to shut the hell up. He feels the need to argue and blabber on about everything that it, at times, distracts him from the game. It also draws negative attention to him and his teammates. No one likes a whiner. Grade A-


Christmas present for Tyler Schmidt—law school so he can learn how to win an argument.


Brendan Shinnimin—Shinny’s overall stats took a hit (no pun intended) when he had was suspended for 12 games, but he’s still having a great season. He’s so competitive, sometimes selfishly so. There was one game not that long ago that I swore if he banged his stick on the ice one more time I was going to bang that stick over his heads. Trust in your teammates, they know you’re there. He’s not afraid to stir the pot, and he’s well known around the league for doing so. It might be annoying, but he draws penalties so he’s doing his job. He’s got an insane work ethic he brings to the ice every night. Grade: A


Christmas present for Shinnimin—gift card to Target. (Get it, Target??)


Neal Prokop—Be still my heart. When my hockey boyfriend broke his femur last spring I didn’t think I’d see him back in an Americans jersey. But here he is. And playing like nothing ever happened. His a big kid who plays smart and creates room for his linemates. Prokes is a huge leader for this team (had he not broken the leg I thought he’d be in the running for Captain) on and off the ice. He plays his heart out every shift of every game. That dedication and commitment he made to healing his leg continues with his work on the ice. He’s such a competitor and he uses his size quite well. Grade: A


Christmas present for Prokop—a pet lemur. So he has a lemur for his femur.


Connor Rankin—wait, this kid’s only 16?? That’s awesome. That means we get to watch him grow and develop and get even better. Connor is sure a treat to watch—he skates well, reads plays, and just has IT. He has that hockey sense and talent that is just spectacular. There’s been a couple times he’s still been adjusting to the league, but definitely has the hang of playing in the WHL. He’s a rookie but doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, doesn’t take a lot of penalties. Grade: B


Christmas present for Rankin—Gongshow's "Bench Warmer" hat even though Rankin is anything but.


Max Moline—Max has struggled to get playing time but when he gets it, does well. He’s tall and lanky but skates good. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes which is very good for a gangly rookie. He’s not afraid to use his size to push bodies around some. Max is the kind of player you almost don’t notice. He doesn’t do anything flashy or brilliant, but he’s not taking a lot of skates to the penalty box. At this point, form what I’ve seen, I don’t predict Max to be a big-time sniper or anything, but if he can get some consistent playing time—which will be tough—I can see him developing into a play-maker type role player. Grade: C


Christmas present for Moline—cheeseburgers. Lots and lots and lots of them so he can fill out that frame a little bit.


Drew Owsley—whoo whoo whoo’s awesome? Drew got off to a great start, just where he left off. Then came November. Things weren’t really going the team’s way and it really seemed to show, like it tends to do in hockey, in goaltending. But Owsley’s gotten back on track, I think it helped to have more games in a row (rather than a week off between games like in November) and he plays better the more games in a row he plays. I would also like to think it’s because the “I Believe in Drew Owsley” sign came out of retirement. No, he’s not the biggest goalie, but he’s technically sound and is very quick. Srsly, he’s quick. Sometimes I can’t believe he makes some of the saves he does. Grade: B


Christmas present for Owsley—“The Tender” hat cuz it’s awesome, just like him. Or a pair of binoculars so he can really get a good look at the trestle bridge in Lethbridge.


David Conrad—ooooo my other hockey boyfriend (sorry Neal, I didn’t think you were coming back). Best acquisition of the off-season. He is solid, reliable and can win faceoffs. He’s not a sniper, he’s a gritty, lunch-pail kind of guy who has been providing veteran leadership on a line with Lil Mess and Moline (or Olstad and Moser when they were here). When the team was trying to find their identity in October and November he seemed to play on every line and he found chemistry with everyone. He’s another Winnipegger so he’s played with many of the guys before. Grade: A


Christmas present for Conrad—Well, I sent my real boyfriend nearly 5 pounds of homemade cookies for Christmas so for my hockey boyfriend I will get him Cookie of the Month Club.  Through David's Cookies of all places.  So it's like destiny or something.
Chris Driedger—not sure what to say. I’ve seen him play, what, half a game? I think that’s about what he got in against Vancouver. That being said, he played well. In a couple of the road games where he’s got some time he’s done real good too. I don’t envy the coaches (or Tory) who have to decide when this kid’s gonna play. The division is so tough, as is the conference. There’s no “easy” games where the backup goalie traditionally gets some time in. To stay competitive with the other teams the Ams have had to play their #1 goalie every night. I’m hoping with Ashton on board the offensive firepower will be there that will ease up some of the work for the goalies and Chris will get in some quality time. I’m also concerned about Drew burning out if he continues to try to play every game. I’m not saying it’ll happen, but I don’t want to get to the playoffs and find out. Grade: Incomplete? I dunno, a solid B I guess.


Christmas present for Driedger—Gretzky’s Slap Shot so he can actually get some playing time in.


Brock Sutherland—I was so mad at Suds last spring. So frustrated. I knew he could play better but he wasn’t doing it. This season, so far, he is. He’s currently one who is in the running for my year-end award for Most Improved. Maybe because he’s 19 and expected to provide veteran leadership on the blueline, maybe he just needed that boost, I don’t know. But it’s working, whatever it is. He’s big and uses that size well. He is a fluid skater and is playing smart with the puck. There’s still times he seems asleep at the wheel, but not as often as last spring so I’m hoping that’s a step in the right direction. Grade: B


Christmas present for Brock—a fancy puck drink coozie for his beverages.


Patrick Holland—what happened to Hattrick Polland? Holly’s not the goal-scoring machine he was last season but like Feser, it’s not as noticeable. He’s doing more of the little things, play away from the puck. He’s got size that he’s not afraid to use and he skates well. Patrick has natural talent and he’s good at playing calm. The chemistry he and Feser developed last season has carried over wonderfully into this year. Holland was drafted by the Calgary Flames and had a good development camp with them this summer and main camp this fall. I would like to see more from him, goals-wise, but he’s been able to rack up 26 points (11G 15A).  Grade: B+


Christmas present for Holland—he totally needs some 1970s muscle car to go with that 70s car-chase hair style he’s got going on. He could go out and burn rubber in the desert around Tri-Cities.

So there you have it.  Merry Christmas to all the boys and their families, to Bob Tory and the coaching staff, to the billets, my dear readers, and all the Americans fans.

"I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out"

There was a little hockey being played in between the 277 penalty minutes handed out in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday. Well, it was all from one team, as the Americans hammered the Vancouver Giants 9-1. Hughesman, 19, had two goals and an assist in the game's first 22 minutes to help Tri-City put away the Giants early. Then it just got silly.  (Buzzing the Net)

Silly is right.  I don't mind a fight here or there, even a line brawl now and again, but last night was ridiculous.  Vancouver completely lost their shit in a way I have never seen a Don Hay team do before.

So yeah, that happened.  Notice not one single instigator to the Americans.  Pretty much all this madness was Ams defending themselves and their teammates.  It's probably childish to say "they started it", but it's also true.  What a mess.  It was a pretty sad move on Vancouver's part, they ended up looking like sore losers.

After the first four goals I felt bad for Giant's goalie Brendan Jensen, even with his ridiculous gorilla dancing moves.  Why Hay didn't pull the poor kid, I have no idea.  Maybe he figured the shellacking was going to happen, might as well save Segal for tonight against Spokane, maybe Segal injured, I have no idea.  I almost wanted Jensen to earn a star for sticking it out the whole game.  But then I saw him talking shit and pushing guys around and realized no.  Besides, a goalie in a 9-1 loss would never earn a star.

The score (and all the penalties) gave the kids lots of ice time, great games for Lil Mess, Max Moline, and David Conrad--not a kid, but he plays on that 4th line.  It was great to see Chris Driedger in net at home for the first time too, he was very solid.  Coach mentioned on the post-game show the Ams let their foot off the gas a little bit and Chris got a little more work than they wanted, but figured Chris was just fine with the work he got.  And it's good for him to have that time as he heads off to U-17 tournament.  Sam Grist continued to play smart, solid hockey.  He's really improved his game since the start of the season and that's fun to watch.

Big Mess got two more goals for a team-leading 20.  The WHL site doesn't list even-strength goals but I thought Westie said something about Jordan leading the league in even-strength goals and his power-play goal last night was his first of the season.  Hughie also notched 2 goals putting him at the top of the points list for the Americans.  Shinny got 1 and two assists for 2nd star honors which personally I thought should have gone to Jordan, not that Shinny didn't deserve it, but maybe there should be four stars LOL.

If we're going to talk stats, it should be noted Zachary Yuen is a team-leading +13.  That's hot.  Also, he beat the shit out of the Giant kid last night.  Like Spokant said, "Yuen and Prokop's dance partners make poor life decisions."

Paul Sohor's goal last night was absolutely gorgeous.  Nothing I love more than a sexy defenseman scoring goals on slapshots from the blueline.  Srsly, that was hot.  Not only that?  It was his first WHL goal.  Thank you Brendan Jensen and the Giants defense!

"It's hockey, anything can happen," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller, who won't know until today whether he will be able to coach tonight's game in Everett. "There a lot of passion on the ice -- that's why people come to watch."

"We went toe-to-toe with them," said Sohor, who has played just three games for Tri-City after being acquired in a trade from Everett last week. "We threw pucks on net and stuck to the game plan, which is important. I'm proud of the way the guys stood up for each other. That's a big step for this team."

"Over the years, we always seem have a game like this," said Vancouver captain Craig Cunningham. "We got frustrated, and we took out those frustrations on them. It's an emotional game. We have a rule around here -- 2 hours and let it go."

"It was a good game for our team," Hughesman said. "We scored goals and stood up for each other. We made a statement to the league tonight." (Herald)

I don't really get Cunnington's rule--2 hours and let it go.  They let it go after the first period.

As Brendan Shinnimin summarized the proceedings, "We got up early on them, and when you get up on a team like that, sometimes things get out of hand as they try to find something to turn the game around. But after that first fight, things just started getting stupid."

"We started out the game right, and that was the most important thing for us," said Hiller, who earned a game misconduct with 3 1/2 minutes to play (his status for Saturday night's game at Everett was unknown after the game).

"I was happy with how we came out of the gate. We continue to build up some positive things. With the exception of the road game with Portland, we've been going good for a while. It's a sign this team is coming together and building."

"This was a stepping stone for us," Shinnimin said. "We haven't had a game like that this year. That's not our type of game. We don't like to  play that way. But when you have a situation like we did tonight, we have guys who can step up and take care of themselves. We battled through it and had to finish 60 minutes, but we stood up for ourselves."

"We threw pucks at the net, stuck with the game plan, did everything right tonight," Sohor said. "We were using our speed to our advantage, which was one of the key parts of the game. And guys were sticking up for one another and for themselves. I'm proud of our guys. This was a real step forward for this team.

"Now we need to go to Everett tonight, do our thing and go into Christmas break right."

"It comes down to what team is most focused right now," Shinnimin said. "Guys are thinking of going home for vacation. But our mindset is that these are important points, and we can't throw them away. These are two good teams we're facing, and especially playing in the division, these are two points we have to get."  (Examiner)

Ferran also notes the three players--Shinnimin, Wilgosh, and Jordan Messier earned themselves Gordie Howe hat tricks last night.  Sexy time.

Moving on to tonight, the Ams are in Everett to face the Silvertips in the last game before the Christmas break.  It'll be Sohor's first game against his former team.  'Tips coming off a 2-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs last night.  Boys need to stay focused and get the points.  Hiller will be behind the bench tonight.  Not sure about Hay as the Giants roll into Spokane.  Just hope Giants are so pissed about last night's game they really take it to Spokane (on the scoreboard not the fists this time).

Around here, it's the final liveblog of 2010 (I'll be at the Dec 28 game in Portland so not liveblogging) so come on in, say hi.  Click on the "Read More" to join the fun.

Read more »

Game Day vs. Vancouver

The Vancouver Giants roll into the Toyota Center tonight for the last home game before the Christmas break. They've been on a roll, going 7-3 in their last 10 games.  The lines are clicking, the forwards are doing more backchecking, the defense is coming together solidly.

Tri-City coach Jim Hiller said the recent string of victories has resulted from a combination of a lot of little things, but noted the ones that have really stood out.

"Part of it has been getting Shinny (Brendan Shinnimin) and Kruise (Reddick) back in a regular rotation," said Hiller of Shinnimin serving a 12-game suspension and Reddick missing several games because of a concussion. "Ows (goalie Drew Owsley) had been playing well, and we've won a couple of big games, and that has given us confidence."

Additionally, they've had the addition of Paul Sohor on the blueline:

"When the overage thing unfolded, the bigger picture was to acquire a defenseman," Tory said. "It was a good fit. He knows a number of guys, and we felt it wouldn't affect the chemistry of the team.

"Zak was bigger and more experienced, but Paul has a little sandpaper to his game, which we can use a bit more of. If we wouldn't have been able to get Paul, we would have had to keep Zak."

"Everett developed me real well," Sohor said, "but I think a change in scenery was in order. Coming here was a real bonus. It's nice to get a reunion with the guys I've known my whole life and get to know the new faces. We have good chemistry out there.

"I was super relieved and happy to come to a winning organization and a team that wants to win. I like playing with these guys more than I liked playing against them." (Herald)

----------

Speaking of Sohor, Rene Ferran had a little chat with him this week for part of his "Meet the Americans":

He described himself this way: "I'm a guy who'll chip in on the scoreboard when I can, but my first job is defense. I love blocking shots, killing penalties, going into the corners, all the rough stuff. At 6-1, I'm a bigger guy, and I like to throw my body around."

Favorite sports movie "Miracle." "It's so inspiring, even though it's American and I'm Canadian. The bag skate? We can all relate to that, that's for sure. In Everett, we once skated a solid 45 minutes straight." (Examiner)

----------

Also in the "Meet the Americans" this week, Ferran talked to the newest American, Carter Ashton who is currently with Team Canada for the upcoming World Junior Championships.

"I enjoyed my time in Regina, but I'm looking forward to a long playoff run with Tri-City," Ashton said. "I'm ready to do the little things ... take pucks to the net, use my size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) and speed."

What he wants to be when he grows up Following in his father's footsteps. "Hopefully, I can be a hockey player for a long time. That's my main goal right now."  (Examiner)

----------

The World Juniors are in Buffalo, New York December 26-January 5.   I was very surprised Team Canada did not keep Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Calvin Pickard.  I know Oliver Roy is good, I've not heard of the backup Mark Visentin, but have to assume he's pretty decent.  I do know Pickard is lights-out outstanding.  And he was sorely missed this past weekend when the T-birds faced the high-shooting Spokane Chiefs.  Anyways, back to Ashton:

"Anytime you get to represent your country, it's an honor," Ashton said. "It's going to be exciting."

"We are very proud of Carter's accomplishment and wish him all the best in pursuit of gold," said Ams GM Bob Tory in a text message. "We will welcome him to Tri-City in early January."

Ams coach Jim Hiller said in a text: "It's a great accomplishment. I'm sure the experience will make him a better player." (Examiner)

Backup goalie Chris Driedger will also be getting some tournament play as he's off to the Under-17 tournament over the holiday break:

Driedger does figure to get plenty of work over the Christmas break when he'll play for Team West at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in his native Winnipeg, Manitoba.

"I'm sure he's looking forward to that, and we are too," Hiller said. "We want to see him take over in net."  (Examiner)

----------

New acquisitions Tyson Dallman and Brennen Bosovich talk about their time in Tri-Cities last week (ass-pat to commenter Lori for the link)

“They battle a lot harder than some of the guys here, but that comes with age, there are 20-year-old guys playing there and they’ve got full beards and stuff,” said Dallman, sporting a thin goatee on his chin. 

“As far as we know, we’re probably going to go there and have a good chance to make the team,” he continued, pointing out the Americans just traded a pair of their young players to the Regina Pats for Carter Ashton. “Hopefully, that opens up some spots for us.”  (Prince Albert Daily Herald)

----------

Need to get some Christmas cheer?  Here's the rookies singing a lovely Christmas carol at the Booster Club Christmas Party.  Good times.

----------
That's all I got.  Unless something magical comes along between now and later.  It's been a slow news week for the Americans for the most part.  Obviously, there will also not be a lot of posting during the Christmas break, though I do have to give out Christmas presents and mid-term grades at some point.

Some Stats

It was noted early on by Sister, that the Americans win when Drydn Dow plays.  So I thought I'd do some digging and see how accurate that statement is.

Dow has played in 20 of 30 games.  When he plays the team is 16-4.  When he hasn't played, they are 3-7.  Probably not the best sample size, but still.  There's definitely a token of truth in Sister's statement.

That got me thinking, and the whole kerfuffle about the 20-year-olds too, what about games with and without Neal Prokop back in the lineup and locker room?  Without Neal the team went 13-10, since his return they are 6-1.

The whole team had a rough November so maybe there's no trend or anything interesting in the stats here at all.  But maybe there is.  It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

Granted, the stats don't take into account the eastern road trip or the start-of-the-season Conference Champs hangover or whatever, they're just numbers.  They could mean absolutely nothing.

I do know I like Dow's play, I think he's a very effective D-man and skates very fluidly.  No, he's not the biggest guy on the team, but as long as he does what he needs to do to keep the puck out of the net or even reaching the goaltenders, I'm fine with that.

I also know that Neal is a huge presence in the locker room.  Not only is he a big asset on the ice, but he's one off of it too and that plays just as much a role in the success (or failure) of a team as the chemistry and skill on the ice.

Men of Steel and Ice

So this exists.  It was done by the amazing Christin Kolzig and according to her photography Facebook page, will be for sale at Friday's game with proceeds going to Player Education Fund.  I hope she prints a lot because I need at least a dozen.

----------

Thank goodness Gregg Drinnan pays attention to the important stuff (since I clearly do not)

Is any WHL team hotter these days than the Spokane Chiefs? They played three games last week and scored 22 goals, which gives them the WHL’s top offence, at 4.10 goals per game. . . . The Chiefs, in fact, are the only team in the league scoring more than four goals a game.

“And suddenly,” writes Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review, “the team that lost 103 goals and 301 points from a half-dozen regulars last season is leading the league in scoring.”
Spokane also has the WHL’s second-best PP, at 24.1 per cent. And, as Trimmer points out, this PP unit once went 23 chances in a row without scoring. . . . They scored four PP goals in beating the visiting Kamloops Blazers 10-5 on Saturday and also have at least one PP goal in each of their last 13 games.

The Chiefs also are fourth in the 22-team league in defence and fourth on the penalty kill.
Veteran C Tyler Johnson scored 10 points in three games to move into a tie for third place in the WHL points derby, with 46.

You may recall that the Chiefs got off to something of a slow start, at 2-5-0. Since then, they are 14-4-4, and now are tied for second in the U.S. Division with the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Chiefs, who are 7-0-2 in their last nine outings, have one regulation loss in their last 15 games. (Taking Note)

Damn you Spokane. And damn you Don Nachbaur (said with adoration of course).

----------

I've received several emails with this video, Wazz showed it to me the other day and Wyshynski had it on Puck Daddy.  The "Men of Steel and Ice" is super rad, but I would LOVE to see the boys do something like this:

so badass, so festive.

Tree

The Ams beat Seattle 5-1 last night.  Goals from Holland, Feser, Wilgosh, and two from Jordan Messier.  Chris Driedger got some playing time.  In the liveblog we discussed combination fast food restaurants and cough syrup.

In more interesting news, some dear friends have an Americans themed Christmas tree, complete with red goal light on the top.

 

Pretty freaking fantastic.  One of these days I will have a Christmas tree and it will also be Ams themed.  Awesome.

Game Day at Seattle

2nd half of a home-and-home series with Seattle tonight as the Americans hit the road to the Emerald City today.

There was a game last night, I remember most of it.  But Captain KB was kept buying me gin and tonics (doubles!) so the 3rd was a blur.  Literally.

Shinny got things started early with a sick goal, that sent the bears out.

I do know that from up in the sweet suite I saw the game very differently and it is glaringly obvious how bad passing is.  Pass the puck to where the guy (in the Ams jersey) is going to be, not where he's been.

I guess in the long-run it's a good thing Seattle played so undisciplined, but the Americans didn't capitalize as much as they could have, going 2-for-10 on the power play.  Credit to the T-Birds PK and of course Calvin Pickard.  He stopped 44 of 48 shots, including 20 in the 3rd period (thanks to many Seattle penalties).

Macek's 2nd goal was hot (and needed to get him closer to being off my bad list) and Prokop was the key to it, being that big body in front of Pickard, totally screening him out.  That's one of many assets Prokes brings to the team.  He was doing it all night, camping out in Pickard's kitchen.  Hot.

Props to Dallman, new kid out there, played pretty well, didn't look out of place.  I assume the other newbie, Bosovich, will play tonight.

"Everyone before the game wanted that goal," said Shinnimin, who also had two assists. "It feels good to get it going and get the team going. When it goes to a good cause, it makes it that much better."

"It's a great night," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "You want to score early and everyone knows what it's for. When the home team wins, everyone goes home happy."

"They hit the post and we went down and scored," Hiller said. "Sometimes there is some luck and randomness that happens in hockey and we came out on the right side of that tonight."

"Ten power plays to three. They are a good offensive team, you can't put them on the power play that many times," said Seattle coach Rob Sumner, whose team is 0-4 against Tri-City this season. "In the first, we were outshot -- we turned down some shots and missed some. In the second, there was a stretch where we started to get in a rhythm, then we gave up a simple goal (Hughesman's) at a critical time. That was a big goal to give up." (Herald)

----------

Friday night, Americans rookie D-man Sam Grist played the best game I have seen him play all season.

Sam's puck control has improved immensely since the start of the season, and he's learned how to level a hit without taking a trip to the penalty box. (Red Light District)

Wait, huh? Wazz disagrees: "I agree with the hit part, but he had more turnovers than Pillsbury".  Truth.  But it is nice that he's not a penalty machine and is playing a solid physical game.  Baby steps?

"Seattle is an opportunistic team, and the longer you hold them in a game, the harder it's going to be against them," Shinnimin said. "Going up 1-0 on them was huge, and we just kind of rolled with it from there."

"They had just hit a post, and Shinny goes down and scores," Hiller said. "That's how quickly a hockey game changes.

"We played four lines tonight and were relatively consistent. Our depth showed 1 through 4 tonight."

"You can't fall asleep," said Owsley, who made 22 saves. "It was a 3-1 game, and if they score one it's a game again. You have to be ready when called upon."

"Paul (Sohor) was really solid," Hiller said. "The one thing with defensemen is you don't want to notice them. He was solid defensively, and that's a good first step." (Examiner--whose pop-up ads can EABOD)

I thought Sohor played well, and I really really liked the pairing of Sutherland and Dow. Like a lot.

So the two teams are back at it again tonight at 7 so liveblog action starting around 6:45, click on the "Read More" to join in.

Read more »

They call him Trader Bob.

Tri-City Americans Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team has acquired 19-year-old forward Carter Ashton and a 3rd round pick in the 2012 Bantam Draft from the Regina Pats in exchange for 18-year-old forward Tanner Olstad, 17-year-old forward Nils Moser, a 1st round pick in this year’s bantam draft as well as 2nd and 5th round picks in the 2012 draft. (Tri-City Americans)

I hope this means Moser and Olstad will get more playing time, but man, I'll sure miss all that moxie.

Game Day vs. Seattle

It's Teddy Bear Toss night tonight.

"It's a big goal. I think everyone would like to score that one," said Brooks Macek, who scored the Americans' first goal last year in a 5-2 win over Portland. "It's a lot of fun to be part of."

"That's a big number," Macek said of the of the donations. "That's cool. I hope this year is better than last year."

"It's pretty crazy," Macek said of the standings. "Every game is a four-point swing. We just have to take it game-by-game and not worry about where the other teams are at. We'll see at the end of the season what needs to be done." (Herald)

Holy hell Brooks Macek needs to score a goal (or two) tonight, whether it's the teddy bear toss one or not.

At least the Americans get to have the Toss, the Saint John's Sea Dogs of the QMJHL decided to scrap theirs after fears of bedbugs (this story came up a couple days ago but I've been lazy):

Saint John Sea Dogs President Wayne Long announced today that the team’s annual ‘Teddy Bear Toss’ promotion, originally scheduled to be held on December 12, has officially been cancelled due to concerns regarding an infestation of hematophagous parasites (bedbugs) that has proliferated throughout south western New Brunswick in recent months.

“After meeting with several external parties and discussing the matter internally at length, we have decided that we won’t be able to hold the Teddy Bear Toss this season,” said Long. “We contacted several charitable organizations throughout the region, across Canada, and even abroad, and none were willing to accept a donation of stuffed toys from south western New Brunswick due to the bedbug outbreak. It’s unfortunate that this great promotion won’t take place at Harbour Station this year, but we hope that our fans will understand the reason behind the decision.” (St. John Sea Dogs via Buzzing the Net)

On a related note, someone in Toronto threw waffles at the Leafs last night.  For real.

Last night’s loss to Philly looked an awful lot like many other Leaf games this season: a terrible start, punchless power play, key faceoffs lost and a chorus of boos from the home fans. The only new twist was the apparent hurling of waffles on to the ice surface in the dying minutes of the game. I’m sure there’s a deeper message there, but for now we’ll just let the Internet have fun with it.  (Globe and Mail)

Friend of the blog, Eyebleaf, was not impressed:

----------

Speaking of news that several days old and my laziness, Buzzing the Net had a great piece on Neal Prokop the other day:

Prokop has won one of Ams' three overage jobs for the rest of the season. Tri-City GM Bob Tory, whose roster was one overager above the limit, traded overage defender Zak Stebner to Kelowna Rockets as part of pair of deals on Tuesday. The kicker is Tory even took a bit of a hit (3rd and 7th picks for Stebner, got 4th and 8th from Kelowna for him) to create a spot for Prokop.

One way to spin that is to note it speaks how, it was tough believe rationally that Prokop would make it back for this season. Evidently, he's persevered.  (Buzzing the Net)

---------

This week Rene Ferran's "Meet the Americans" focused on Zachary Yuen:

"During the playoffs, I played a lot more, and that helped me this year," Yuen said. "The first half of last year, I didn't play, but in the playoffs, the coaches were trusting me a lot more. I got a lot more ice time, and I was playing a lot better. It felt pretty good."

"I think I'm a shutdown defenseman but with offensive abilities," Yuen said.

Want to know more about Zachary ... or is it Zach? Either is fine by him. "Whatever's easier," he said, smiling, when asked his preference.

What he wants to be when he grows up To follow in Jim Hiller's footsteps. "I want to try coaching, for sure. I think it would be a lot of fun."  (Examiner)

----------

Clayton Stoner.  NOM. 

---------
Final note today, I have been spelling Chris Driedger's name wrong this whole time.  What a dumbass, how about double checking, eh Schultzie?  Anyways, HUGE apologies to Chris and his family for butchering his name.  I before E except after C.

Movement **UPDATED**

Tri-City Americans Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team acquired 19-year-old defenseman Paul Sohor from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for 17-year-old forward prospect Zach McPhee.  (Tri-City Americans)

Sohor's a good D-man, no lie.  Surprised to see a trade within the division, those are more rare.  But acquiring a quality 19-year-old defenseman tells me that by midnight tomorrow either Schmdit or Stebner are the odd man out, either through trade or release.

**UPDATE**
Ams deal Stebner to Kelowna.

Tri-City Americans Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team traded 20-year-old defenseman Zak Stebner and a 7th round pick in the 2011 Bantam Draft to the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2011 Bantam Draft and a 8th round pick in the 2012 draft.  (Tri-City Americans)

Best of luck to Stebs, he is a great player and really a quality individual.

Tory states, "This was probably the hardest decision I’ve ever made next to trading Lassu and Tutschek for Dececco and Evans in Kootenay.

Stebner is a great kid and was involved in the community and a very good teammate.  And we all know what Proks brings."

Meanwhile Kelowna, to make room for Stebner, have released 20-year-old Brendon Wall

The Kelowna Rockets have acquired 20-year-old defenceman Zac Stebner from the Tri City Americans.

The Rockets acquired Stebner along with a 7th round bantam draft pick in 2011 in exchange for two picks in the annual WHL bantam draft: A fourth round pick in 2011 and an eighth rounder in 2012.

To clear roster space for Stebner, the Rockets were forced to release 20-year-old defenceman Brendon Wall.

"We lose a real solid player in Brendon Wall," said Rockets president/general manager Bruce Hamilton. "Unfortunately we can only have three 20-year-olds. It wasn't anything Brendon did. We had an opportunity to get a player that played in the league final last year and was a valuable player for Calgary."  (Kelowna Rockets)

----------

Alan Caldwell weighs in:

For the Americans, they only acquired Stebner six weeks ago from the Hitmen, and gave up a 3rd round pick in that deal. They only got a 4th round pick in return, and they had to swap a 7th for an 8th in order to get that 4th rounder too. So, clearly the Ams take a bit of a loss on the Stebner deals when all is said and done. I'm guessing they may not have expected Neal Prokop to be able to return and play as an overager this year?  (Small Thoughts At Large)

I would assume the Ams needed time to evaluate Neal and see if he'd be 100% to play but didn't want to turn down the opportunity to acquire Stebner as a back-up plan, for lack of a better term.  Bantam picks are a crapshoot.  And Bob Tory and the Ams scouting staff has a knack for finding diamonds in the rough in later draft picks.  Other rumor out there is that the Winterhawks were shopping Stebner originally and Tory wanted to keep them from getting their mitts on him.  But that's just scuttlebutt so who knows on that one.

I think having this whole 20-year-old situation dealt with will take a load off the boys' minds (until the trade deadline anyways) and they can relax and play some hockey!  It's my birthday party Friday night so I'm expecting a birthday win!

It figures.

I am busy today and Wednesday so anything with these 20s better happen tomorrow.  Because obviously Bob should make sure deals revolve around my schedule.

In other news, friend of the blog Kimberlee went to the gingerbread building thingy and noted that Mason Wilgosh has shaved off the super 'stache.  I haz sad.

Loss

At no time in the Winterhawks' 5-1 victory were the Americans in the game. Portland scored less than 5 minutes into the contest and controlled it throughout.

"We got outworked and outclassed," said Ams coach Jim Hiller. "They scored one early, we gave them a couple of odd-man rushes, and they made some nice plays and scored two goals.

"We didn't make good decisions in the back with the puck and we didn't forecheck," Hiller said. "It's very disappointing. We didn't play with the same passion that we did at home. You have to bring that passion on the road."  (Examiner)

I blame the uncertainty surrounding the 20-year-old situation, that's gotta be heavy on their minds.

Acquiring Prospects

Tri-City Americans General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team has signed two list prospects, 17-year-old Brennen Bosovich and 17-year-old Tyson Dallman, to standard WHL Players Contracts.


“Both of these players bring a winning attitude to each and every game and come from a strong hockey program,” Tory continued. “We are happy to have them join our program and look forward to seeing them make their WHL debuts later this month.”


Both players will make a special trip to Kennewick next week, where they will practice with the team and will participate in the home-and-home doubleheader with Seattle over the weekend. (Tri-City Americans)

Game Day @ Portland

"We feel good, and we should," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller. "We've worked hard and we've put a stamp on who we are this season. We know how good the teams are in the league and we don't take anyone for granted."

"They have lost four, two were in a shootout, which ultimately is a tie," Hiller said of the Winterhawks. "They want to get back to winning and we are a team they'd like to beat. They are a good team and they are always good games."


"They have given us challenges over the last year," said Portland coach Mike Johnston. "Hopefully the nine games this year will be better. They are a good team and that is my main concern. They are well prepared, well coached and you have to be aware of what they are doing in certain situations. They are good on the power play and that's a danger if you give them that."


"Usually when you see a team not playing well, you try and nip it in the bud," Johnston said. "We did a little and continued to play well. You always have concerns and you try to sharpen them up. We haven't had a lot of practice time lately -- nothing consistent in the last couple of weeks."


"We had a plan of everybody sitting out a game and letting us get a good look at Neal," Hiller said. "That was the best way to approach this. They have all been in for big wins. We can't worry about next week. Right now, we are just making sure we are playing with passion and believing in ourselves." (Herald)

Couple of interesting bits concerning Portland that I found on the interwebs, the first comes from 'Hawks p-b-p guy Andy Kemper.  Yesterday he took a look at the Winterhawks' (and other teams') home ice power play advantage.  My first reaction was one of thinking Kemper's got some sour grapes going on.  Then annoyance with him saying a conspiracy theorist could have a hayday.  If you don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, don't say things like "I know there isn’t a movement in place to penalize the Hawks and Blades for being good road teams, but the numbers certainly are interesting."  By suggesting it, even if saying there isn't a conspiracy, it means you've thought about it.  Maybe that's just me being an Ams fan looking at a Winterhawks website. 

Taking a read at the comments, it seems 'Hawks fans know their team--they know they're still taking some dumb penalties.  This isn't new, it's been the trend for the team the last couple seasons.  It's just that now they're a really good team and one would expect them to knock it off.  Another commenter, Chad Balcom, notes "Jordan is behaving really well this season, but the rest of the hat trick of Ross & Boychuck are still making poor decisions in the eyes of the officials. You don’t get ‘reputation calls’ without developing a reputation."  Which is why I always get so mad at Tyler Schmidt blabbering on to the officials, he's drawing attention to himself and that could get him in trouble.  That being said, he's stayed out of the box the last couple games so HUZZAH for that.


Another piece about the Winterhawks I came across concerns their new (horrendous, IMO) third jerseys.  Teebz over at Hockey Blog in Canada did the research and found their Hawk eye look is nearly identical to a minor-league baseball team in California.

There's no doubt that junior hockey teams have to keep their fans engaged in order to make a profit. That's true for 99.9% of businesses, but hockey teams require fans to buy-in with their hearts and wallets in order for them to remain highly competitive in an ever-expanding entertainment world. Hockey teams seem to fall back to alternate jerseys as a way to capture the fans' imaginations, but there's something far too familiar about the new Portland Winterhawks alternate jersey.


I mean, I've seen hats with that logo of angry eyes. I've seen it on shirts and on baseballs, too. So why would the Winterhawks have all of these things, especially baseballs?


Because the logo is nearly identical to that of the Lake Elsinore Storm, a Class A - Advanced minor-league baseball team in the California League. Don't believe me? Look at the comparison of the two logos. Yes, there are some minor differences, but the idea of the logo itself is definitely similar. After all, all three of the merchandise items - the hat, shirt, and baseball - come from the Lake Elsinore Storm merchandise page. (HBIC)

It's a terrible jersey, it really is.  And that grey-ish mess behind the eye logo is very weird.  And unnecessary.  To me, 3rd jerseys are a chance for teams to really be creative and come up with something fantastic.  They could have gone with a great retro-inspired look like the old Portland Buckaroos.  I liked the 3rds they had a couple years ago with the skyline on them.  And what the hell, they're already copying the Chicago Blackhawks jerseys (it's a great logo and design) so why not copy their 3rds?  Nutty.  The Lethbridge Hurricanes ripped off the Washington Capitals with their new 3rds.

The Ams' thirds aren't particularly fabulous.  They're not ugly by any means, I like the deep red they used instead of some obnoxious bright red.  But they look just like the Kitchener Rangers' jerseys, minus the stripes on the sleeves.  The best 3rds in the WHL in my opinion are the Brandon Wheatkings' jerseys.  They're just hot.

Speaking of the Wheaties, they got Brayden Schenn back from the LA Kings yesterday.  The message board lit up like a Christmas tree with speculation about where he would go--assuming Brandon would trade him.  The always awesome Gregg Drinnan breaks it down:

McCrimmon will have to decide whether the presence of Schenn and Glennie is enough to make his club competitive with the Saskatoon Blades, Kootenay Ice, Red Deer Rebels and Medicine Hat Tigers, the four teams at the head of this conference’s class.



Or he could decide to be a seller between now and the Jan. 10 trade deadline.


This always is an interesting time of the season because of the impending arrival of that deadline.


Were you a WHL general manager, you would have to look at the trade deadline something like this: Although the deadline is more than a month away, the window really is much smaller. Today is Dec. 3. Trading isn’t allowed from Dec. 15 through Dec. 27. You might have players away at one or more of the various Christmas tournaments that are on the schedule, and those players will start leaving any day now. That being the case, you may not have what now is your roster together for more than a game or two between, say, Dec. 10 and Jan. 10.


If you’re McCrimmon and you have Schenn back in time to play at some point this weekend, you may only have him for two or three games before he leaves for the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. That camp opens Dec. 11 in Toronto.


If we assume Schenn will make the Canadian team, he will be gone until after Jan. 5. That means he would miss as many as eight games, and it could be nine or 10 should he be given three or four days off after the World Junior Championship.


So McCrimmon has to try and figure out where in the standings his Wheat Kings might be by Jan. 10?


And that isn’t an easy task.  (Taking Note)

I just hope he doesn't end up in the US Division.  Even as an American because you know the price for him will be steep.

Back to the task at hand, there's a game tonight in Portland.  The 'Hawks have lost 5 in a row so you know they're going to be hungry and probably pretty chippy.  Ams need to ride their momentum into the Rose Garden and be prepared.  We don't know yet who will be the sitting 20-year-old.  If they stick with taking turns it's Tyler's turn, but it would be dangerous to not have his veteran presence on defense against the Winterhawks.  Ah hell, it's scary not to have any of the 4 out there, they all bring something different to the table.  I hate this part of junior hockey.

I'm going to assume Drew will be in net, though I'm starting to feel bad for Dreidger.  Additionally, Owsley will need to rest at some point (and not just the holiday break) or he'll be burnt out come playoffs time.  The trouble is that there are no really bad easy teams in the division or the conference in which to play the backup goalie.  He's going to have to get tossed into the fire eventually.  As we all know, Owsley plays better the busier he is, but again, burnout is the issue.  It's a tough call.  And one more reason I'd never be a good coach or GM.

As usual, we'll be liveblogging the game here tonight, so click on the "Read More" and as a friend says, "Keep it cute or put it on mute"--that pretty much sums it up as far as contributing to the liveblog.

Read more »