On a Sunday Matinee, the Tri-City Americans took on the top team in the Western Conference, the Everett Silvertips. The American’s were down 4-1 midway through the third period but got within one before giving up an empty netter and losing 5-3. Tomas Racz picked up his first career goal in the contest and Charlie Elick played in his 200th Career WHL Game.

1st Period

Early on, it was back and forth, but Tri-City dodged some early hazards.

Shea Busch had a point-blank one-timer that was turned aside by Xavier Wendt. Not long after, Jakub Vanecek’s stick broke at the Everett blue line. As he skated backward, he accidentally kicked the puck right to Nolan Chastko for a partial breakaway. Chastko flipped it to Jaxsin Vaughan along the right wing, who fired a shot wide.

It was Carter Kingerski, just past the halfway mark of the first, who gave Tri-City its first big chance. Kingerski carried the puck in from the red line along the left wing, then drove the net and fired one off the chest of Raiden LeGall from a sharp angle.

After nearly a full period without scoring, Shea Busch finally got the party started for Everett at 15:13.

Following a beautiful rush from the Silvertips, Vanhanen carried the puck into the Tri-City zone and chipped it ahead to Busch, who had broken past both Tri-City defensemen. Busch held the puck as he cut across the crease at full speed before nudging it by the outstretched pad of Xavier Wendt.

That would conclude the action in the first period. Everett held a 1–0 lead and a slight edge in shots, 11–7

2nd Period

The second period was where Everett began to take control, outshooting Tri-City 19–9.

However, it was Charlie Elick who struck first in the frame to even the score. The goal was his second of the season, already matching his goal total from 2024–25.

After going 0-for-6 on the power play the previous night against Wenatchee, Elick did it all himself. Just five seconds into Tri-City’s first power play of the night, he launched a shot from the high slot that snuck through traffic and beat LeGall to make it 1–1.

After the game, Tri-City Associate Coach T.J. Millar spoke about how the Columbus Blue Jackets helped Elick transform into an even better player over the summer:

“I told him when he returned from Columbus, we are gonna rely on him heavily on the power play, because he has a good shot. I think it’s unknown to some, looking at his production in the past, and to me, he has a lot of pro-upside. You could tell he learned a lot from Columbus with the exhibition games and working with the development team. It really is nice to see him take that Pro Model back here. That’s just on the ice, off the ice, he’s teaching our players incredible habits off the ice as well.”

Unfortunately, following Elick’s goal, Everett responded with three straight unanswered goals. Momentum flipped entirely after Tri-City’s David Krcal was called for hooking at 1:45 of the second.

The first of those goals came five minutes into the period off a rebound. Rhys Jamieson, from the right wing, snapped a shot that Wendt saved. Unfortunately, the puck popped into the slot where Everett’s Mirco Dufour was waiting. Dufour gathered the rebound and reached around the pad of Wendt, sliding the puck in.

Tri-City nearly tied the game just over halfway through the period. Savin Virk made a beautiful stretch pass to Cash Koch, who broke in alone on a breakaway. Koch faked forehand and went backhand, but LeGall read it the whole way and made the stop.

The Americans narrowly escaped the period down just one instead of two. Landon DuPont was one-on-one with Wendt up close, but Wendt denied him with a glove save.

3rd Period

Tri-City entered the third period trailing by just one goal for the third time this season. Unfortunately, for the third time as well, the Americans let the game slip away when it was within reach.

After a tough bounce, Everett made it 3–1 at 8:51. Clarke Schaefer, skating through the slot, was knocked off the puck, but it bounced right to Nolan Chastko in front. Chastko slid it back to Schaefer, who buried it from the backdoor.

Not long after, Everett extended the lead to 4–1 on the power play, as Jaxsin Vaughan became the team’s fourth different scorer of the night.

Matias Vanhanen continued to trouble the Americans, threading a picture-perfect rink-wide pass from the left boards to Vaughan in the slot. Vaughan didn’t disappoint, going glove side on Wendt.

Tri-City didn’t quit, battling until the final buzzer.

Cruz Pavao netted his first goal of the season, jumping on a loose puck out front and putting it past the outstretched LeGall on the power play to make it a two-goal game.

Two minutes later, Tomas Racz scored his first career WHL goal to bring Tri-City within one. Krcal, from behind the net, made a no-look backhand pass to the slot, where Racz was waiting. Racz buried the puck five-hole on LeGall.

After the game, Racz was clearly thrilled to score his first:

“It’s always exciting getting your first career goal, no matter the level. I just got a really good pass from Krcal and took the opportunity.”

However, it was too little, too late. Everett held on and added an empty-net goal in the dying seconds to claim a 5–3 victory.

T.J. Millar credited Tri-City’s late push to their simpler approach and emphasized the importance of that style moving forward:

“We got to get back to our game, we have to skate and play simple. Playing our third in three nights, the team that usually plays the simplest usually has the most success. As we started chipping away with the simple side of our game, we ended up getting some results. It was also nice to get rewarded on the power play to get back in it.”

What’s Next/Post Game

Tri-City fall to 1–4, but they’ve remained competitive in virtually every game besides the game on Friday in Everett. The American’s have just let the game slip away in the later stages.

The Americans went 2-for-4 on the power play, a big improvement over their 0-for-6 effort the previous night. Everett went 1-for-2 on the power play, as Tri-City again did a good job of staying out of the box for the second night in a row.

Millar also shared his overall thoughts on the game:

“I thought it was okay. One thing us coaches challenged the players with was building off the energy we had last night. I thought last night we rebounded quite nicely. Then today we’re playing a high-octane, very fast transition, quick, very offensive team. For us, I thought if we got to our game early and had a good start, I thought it was going to be okay. But we have to manage the puck better and be a little smarter in spots and positioning. We ended up on the wrong side of things with those mistakes. But again, it’s early, and we’re learning through things as we go along here.”

Tri-City will now get a few days to prepare before making the fifteen-hour trip to Prince George for a doubleheader next weekend.

Millar stated what the team will focus on heading into that doubleheader:

“First we’re gonna take a look at these three games and look at what worked for us. I think managing pucks down low behind the net to set up our o-zone play and getting our defense involved a little bit in the neutral zone as well. We’ll have a couple days of practice before we have a long travel day. But take our minds off the game tomorrow for a little bit, prioritize some rest and guys who just need a little bit of time away from the rink and get ready for next weekend.”

With Carter Savage missing his third consecutive game, Millar also spoke on the importance of the overage defenseman and what Tri-City is missing without him:

“He’s a guy that does a lot of things behind the scenes. He’s a relentless worker, and has a poised presence for us. When he does come back I know he’s gonna be a welcomed addition back.”