Messy

That was as sloppy as a 3-year-old's handwriting.

You could blame officiating (but what's the point?), you could say it's because Schmidt was out.  There could be a lot of excuses, but the bottom line is the Ams got out played.  They were chasing their tails all night.  Full credit to the Chiefs--their game plan was to make things difficult for the Americans and they stuck to it.  Probably their actual game plan was full of more hockey lingo and whatnot--puck possession, block passing and shooting lanes, get shots on net--but they flat out dominated.  It was like they had puck magnets in their sticks, while the Ams were turnover city.  I swear next time I see some bullshit no-look drop pass go to an opposing player I will flip out.

I know there's not really any sort of "set plays" in hockey because of the fluidity of the game, but there are there are ways to set up plays (systems?) based on how the game, puck, and players are moving.  The Chiefs wouldn't let the Ams even get close to setting anything up or getting any flow.  In that sense, the Chiefs' "set play" was to get in the way of everything, they were everywhere.*

Difficulties that the Americans have had all season are showing through--lack of a consistent, strong effort; no puck luck; and struggling against the Chiefs.  Srsly.  I don't know what it is about Spokane that our boys have such trouble with.  Yes, the Chiefs are a good hockey team.  But so are Portland and Vancouver, they haven't given the Ams trouble like Spokane.  Is it some of the boys worried about playing against their former coach?  Are they somehow intimidated?  Do they try too hard, knowing it's going to be a battle every time?  Is there too many individuals, not enough of a team effort?

A couple (not many) positives from last night--Drew was outstanding.  It could have easily been like 10-1 if not for his efforts.  The Americans finally got some shots on goal.  Not enough, but it's something.  Right?  In the absence of Tyler Schmidt (or because it's playoffs) Brock Sutherland had a great game (all things considered).  As did Matt MacKenzie.  Semi-newbie Clinton Atkinson played well, he's going to be a solid, reliable addition to next years squad.  Neal Prokop's goal (and that sexy beard).

"It's close to do-or-die," said forward Neal Prokop, who scored Tri-City's only goal midway through the second period. "We've got to win the next two, because we know it'll be tough to go up there and win two in Spokes."

"As frustrating as it is, though, it's a seven-game series, and we're down only 2-1," said Mason Wilgosh. "We win Thursday (in Game 4), and it's 2-2 and a whole new series."

"That got us on our heels, and we never recovered," said Ams coach Jim Hiller. "I thought we'd have better pushback early, but they kept the puck away from us. We had a hard time generating any scoring chances."

"We've got to fire pucks at the net, create chaos in front and hope one goes in," Prokop said.

Hiller said, "We've got to be more desperate. We're the team that's trailing in the series. We didn't make enough plays tonight, and you've got to do that to beat good teams."

"I thought it was Drew's best game of the series," Hiller said. "He was really good. He made some quality saves. He needed to make too many."

Wilgosh added, "We can't have all those turnovers. We need to be sure at each blue line. We need to be sure it's out and it's in when it's needed."

"It (Schmidt's suspension) definitely had an impact," Hiller said. "All you have to do is look on the wall (of records outside the dressing room) to see he's an important part of this franchise. We'll definitely welcome him back (Thursday), but it's going to take more than that. It's going to take 19 other guys, too." (Examiner)

So they're saying the right things, but it needs to get put into action.

Apparently Nachbaur was watching a different game than I was:

"I'm not sure we carried the play, but we played a style that was good for us and we had some good results," Spokane coach Don Nachbaur said. "We had to get back in this series and that was a good way to do it. We played a solid game without the puck. It was a good effort by our guys." (Herald)

Didn't think they carried the play? Solid game without the puck--when did the Chiefs NOT have the puck?

Oh well. It's over. Westie, on the post game show, was stressing the importance of putting the game behind them and moving on to Thursday. Sure, that sounds easy. The Ams have one day--today--to make improvements for tomorrow night's game. I don't know what I'd do or say. Then again, I'm not a coach.
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SWX has short clip on Comrie's WHL debut:


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The Ams sent over a couple more photos from the Williams signing:

*this entire paragraph is worded/thought out poorly.  But I typed it anyways.