Nuclear Night

In case you missed it yesterday, the Americans released the auction information:

With the second annual CH2M Hill Nuclear Night set for this Friday, the Tri-City Americans have released details surrounding the game-worn jersey auction for the atomic-themed jerseys the players will be wearing to honor the occasion.

The Americans, in conjunction with One World Telecommunications, have launched a new online auction website, amshockeyauctions.com, which will serve as the official online auction site for the 2011 Nuclear Night Jersey auction.

Starting on Friday, January 28 at 10:00 p.m. (PST), all 22 player jerseys will appear on the site and will be available for bidding. In addition to the player’s jerseys, fans will also have the option to bid on Nuclear Night jerseys from the Americans’ mascot, Winger, as well as nine additional blank jerseys that do not have player names or numbers.

It will be a live auction, with fans able to see what the current high bid is on their jersey of choice. All jerseys will have a minimum bid of $200.00 (USD) with a Buy It Now option of $500.00 (USD). All bids must be in whole-dollar amounts and must be at least one dollar ($1.00) higher than a previous bid. The auction will close to all bidders on Wednesday, February 2 at 10:00 p.m. (PST) and all winning bidders will be contacted on Thursday, February 3 by 10:00 a.m. (PST).

When fans visit the site, they will be asked to register with a current e-mail address and password (up to 10 characters in length). Fans will then receive an automatic e-mail reply from amshockeyauctions.com with a confirmation code that will need to be verified before bids can be accepted. No personal information from your registration will ever be made public or shared with anyone outside of amshockeyauctions.com.

Fans with any questions regarding the Nuclear Night Jersey auction should contact the Americans’ offices at 509.736.0306 or via e-mail at info@amshockey.com.

The jerseys look pretty cool, I'm hoping for neon green socks to go with them.

Bigger than jersey auction is the game.  The Portland Winterhawks are in town, bringing their 1st place standing with them.  Ams did all that road work at the beginning of the season, leaving a whole lot of division games for this 2nd half, including several matchups with Portland, and 8 games against Spokane.  Essentially playoff hockey from here on out.  I'm not sure I can handle the stress.

Hiller knows it'll be tough going, but he's got Messier and Grist back, still no Prokop for the weekend (insert sad face):

"It's a great dry run for the playoffs," Americans coach Jim Hiller said. "They will be intense games. We have to be focused and ready to play. These games will provide a great test for us."

"You build those mental muscles," Hiller said. "We are careful not to use 'must win' or "critical.' Nobody knows what the outcome will be, all we can control is our focus, details and work,"

"It's encouraging," said Hiller, who also noted that Neal Prokop's leg still is on the mend and he won't play this weekend. "No one likes to have injuries, but it's important to take the time and not rush things. It's getting to what we might look like in the end. They are big bodies and in the second half of the season, those big bodies are important."

"It took long enough," Messier said of healing from his injury. "It's hard to sit -- you feel helpless. My first practice the other day, I felt a little out of whack and I had cement hands."

"I hope it helps that I'm back," Grist said. "My job is to be the big guy and play physical." (Herald)

I'm glad Big Mess and Grist are back, hope they haven't rushed it, that concussion stuff is scary business.

So tonight will be rough, tomorrow night at Spokane will be no walk in the park either.  Programming note right now, there will not be a liveblog tomorrow night, I'm going to a wedding reception (as are most of the regular liveblog contributors).  The happy couple are Ams season ticket holders and have promised to have the game video feed showing at the reception :)

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Rene Ferran's latest "Meet the Ams" installment takes a closer look at Chris Driedger:

"Obviously, as a 16-year-old goalie, I knew I wouldn't get a lot of ice time to start out," Driedger said. "I'll take this first year to get used to the league, and hopefully in the future I'll get some ice time."

"He's been able to go in relief, but we'll get him a game or two to take the ball from the start," Hiller said. "I think we've seen some maturation in Chris. The work he's done with Olie (former NHL goalie and Ams part-owner Olaf Kolzig) has paid dividends with his technique. He's staying up a little more, for instance."

"Definitely, it's hard when they call on me to go in, because while you're always supposed to be ready, it's tough to go in cold, and sometimes it's hard to perform your best," he explained.

"But honestly, I'd rather be here (than playing in a lower league). I'm getting way better here, just being able to react faster to the puck. The shots I see in practice, I'm facing guys who are 19-20 years old, and it's like a step up from boys to men." (Examiner)