The Tri-City Americans welcomed the Kamloops Blazers to town Friday night for the first of three meetings between the two teams this season.
Tri-City, still searching for its first win of the season, would have to wait at least one more night. The Americans fell 2-1 to Kamloops after all three goals were scored within the opening eight minutes, including two in the first 23 seconds.
Ryan Grout, making his first start of the season, looked sharp in net for Tri-City, stopping 20 of 22 shots.
1st Period
The action got started in chaotic fashion, with two goals coming in the opening 23 seconds as fans were still making their way to their seats.
The first came just 11 seconds into the game following a failed clear by new Tri-City captain Jaxen Adam.
Isa Guram fired a shot from the left point that was tipped in front by Jacob Dumansky and past Grout.
Grout immediately protested that the puck had been deflected with a high stick, and after a lengthy review, the call was upheld.
Tri-City responded almost immediately, tying the game just 12 seconds later.
Defenseman Aden Bouchard, looking to test Kamloops goaltender Kaden Tate from the point, fired a shot through traffic that found its way past Tate for his second career goal.
After scoring just once in 56 games last season, Bouchard already has a goal through the first two games of this season.
Just under nine minutes into the game, Kamloops regained the lead as defenseman Mateo Ferreira, the Blazers’ 2025 first-round pick, scored his first career WHL goal.
Ferreira was given plenty of time and space as he carried the puck in from the left circle. He then snapped a shot past Grout’s glove side from the low left circle to make it 2-1.
After a wide-open opening period, Kamloops took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission while holding a 10-6 advantage in shots.
2nd Period
The second period was much more subdued as both teams settled into the game.
With the energy beginning to fade late in the period, Alexander Laing tried to provide Tri-City with a spark, dropping the gloves beside the Kamloops bench with Ty Coupland.
Laing held his own against Coupland and landed a couple of solid punches before the referees eventually stepped in to break things up.
On Tri-City’s fourth power play of the evening, Cruz Pavao cut toward the middle before quickly feeding the puck to Eli McKamey in the left circle.
McKamey had a wide-open net in front of him but missed on the one-timer, sending the puck wide.
McKamey immediately looked toward the sky in frustration after missing what was arguably Tri-City’s best opportunity to tie the game.
The score remained 2-1 in Kamloops’ favor as the Tri-City offense struggled to generate much after scoring on its first shot of the game.
Following some extracurricular activity after the horn, the Americans would begin the third period shorthanded.
3rd Period
Much like last weekend’s home opener, Tri-City needed to find another gear offensively in the third period.
Unfortunately for the Americans, that push never fully materialized.
The third period began with Tri-City having to kill off two penalties. Kamloops nearly extended its lead to 3-1 during the second of those power plays, generating several quality chances, including one that rang off the crossbar.
Tri-City earned a power play eight minutes into the period but couldn’t capitalize, finishing the night 0-for-5 with the man advantage.
As time wound down, Tri-City pulled Grout in favor of the extra attacker in a last-ditch effort to tie the game.
The Americans generated a late push but couldn’t find the equalizer as Kamloops held on for the 2-1 victory.
Postgame / What’s Next
Kamloops takes the first game of the three-game season series and the Tri-City Americans fall to 0-1-1 on the season.
Tri-City Head Coach Jody Hull spoke about the team’s performance after the game.
“I think we had a slow start, weren’t ready to go when the puck dropped, and they got that quick one off the hop and luckily we were able to respond right away. But, when you get opportunities, we had a couple chances in the second period. We missed the wide open with a shot on the power play (McKamey one timer), and we had a chance late in the game too but missed. Pucks on the sticks and they aren’t ready for it. Just the way things are going right now. It’s been a tough couple of games because our goaltenders have given us the opportunity to win and we have just come up a little bit short.”
Hull was also asked whether the number of opportunities Tri-City has generated early in the season can be viewed as a positive sign moving forward.
“A little bit, I think we still need some more from some guys right now. I know we are young or whatever. But we still need to go out and be hungry and play and play the right way. But for whatever reason, we don’t seem to execute sometimes with what our systems really are. We’ve been working on them for three weeks now, there’s no reason why we can’t go out and do certain things and do it the right way.”
With two important defensemen returning to the lineup in Jakub Vanecek and Jaxen Adam, Hull also discussed what their presence can provide.
“They’re guys that have experience. They can eat up some big minutes and play against other teams top lines. And you know, we just can’t be relying on those guys all the time to get the job done for us.
Both goaltenders turned in strong performances. Kamloops’ Kaeden Tate, making just his third career WHL start, stopped 25 of 26 shots, while Grout stopped 20 of 22 in his first start of the season.
Bouchard has also looked promising through the first two games, already finding the back of the net after scoring just once last season. Crew Martinson added a primary assist Friday night, giving him the team lead in points through the first two games.
The power-play struggles, however, have carried over from last season. Tri-City went 0-for-5 on Friday, with the unit looking disjointed throughout the night. The McKamey one-timer was certainly the Americans’ best opportunity with the man advantage.
There were still positives to take away from the loss. Both Tri-City goaltenders, Xavier Wendt and Grout, have gotten the season off to strong starts, while the penalty kill looked solid against Kamloops. The Americans also continued to bring plenty of physicality, an area where they had the advantage throughout the night.
Now, Tri-City turns its attention to Spokane, where the Americans have struggled in recent seasons.
New Tri-City captain Jaxen Adam knows what it will take to come away with a win in a difficult environment.
“It’s going to take everybody. We are going to have to be going right away, and I think we can do it. This group is hungry and we really do want to win. I think tomorrow we’re going to come in with a little bit of a different mindset and a little bit pissed off honestly, so I think it’ll be a good game.”
Puck drop is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. in Spokane.
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