Tri-City Americans Weekly Report (11/18 – 11/24)

Game One – Swift Current

After starting 0-2 on the Eastern Conference swing with a few tough losses, the Americans got back on track with a 3-1 win over the Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday.

Swift Current opened scoring with a goal from Luke Miselbacher.

Miselbacher extended his point streak to fifteen games with the goal. After Lukas Matecha saved an original shot from close quarters, the puck squirmed over to Miselbacher, who sat beside the crease and tapped the puck home at 8:15 in the first period for his fourteenth goal of the season.

Tri-City scored their first of three straight goals, bringing the game even into the first intermission with just two minutes remaining.

Nick Anisimovicz carried the puck down the boards and into the trapezoid, then made an incredible no-look backhand pass behind him right to Savin Virk waiting in the slot. Virk blasted a one-timer right past Broncos goalie Reid Dyck for the goal.

The Americans would get the lone goal in the second period.

Gavin Garland carried the puck into the Broncos zone along the right boards and made a stellar cross-ice pace on the rush. Smith went blocker side on Dyck, and it was 2-1 Americans just like that.

Americans netminder Lukas Matecha preserved the Americans lead after making a breakaway save late in the second period.

Late in the third period, as the Broncos pulled their goalie, Gavin Garland pickpocketed the puck on the Broncos’ breakout and chucked it into an empty net for his eleventh goal of the season, giving Tri-City their first win on the Eastern Swing.

Game One Notes

Savin Virk‘s goal was the first of his WHL Career and his second straight game with a point.

Lukas Matecha had another masterclass game for the Americans, making 33 saves on 34 shots.

Swift Current had terrible puck luck all game, hitting the goalpost numerous times throughout the night.

This game is the only time the two sides will meet each other this season.

Tri-City outshot the Broncos a whopping 45-34.

Both teams went 0/4 on the power play.

Stars wise, Reid Dyck got first star with 42 saves in total, Jackson Smith got second star honors with the game-winning goal, and Lukas Matecha with the third star after, as stated, making 33 saves.

Game Two – Regina

The Americans headed to Regina for a Wednesday tilt, and it was a classic. For the first time this season, the game was finalized in the shootout for Tri-City, with the final score going the Americans’ way, 4-3.

Tri-City opened the scoring five minutes into the game after Carter MacAdams drove through the Regina line and made a pass through three Regina defenders to Gavin Garland, who then had one of the best goals of the week. Garland went between the legs from right in front of goalie Kelton Pyne and shot it over the sprawled-out netminder to open the scoring.

Cole Temple of Regina would get the tying goal at 16:25 to take the game 1-1 into the break.

Temple skated the puck into the left side of the Tri-City zone one-on-one with an American defender. Temple then dragged the puck into the slot and snapped a wrister by Nathan Preston’s glove.

Jordan Gavin scored the only goal of the second period, restoring the Americans’ lead just over six minutes into the period.

Captain Jake Sloan came barreling into the Pats zone and received a pass from Max Curran, who was along the boards. Sloan quickly then found Jordan Gavin streaking to the net and sauced the puck over the stick of a Pats defender right to Gavin. Gavin then flipped a backhander by the blocker of Pyne from up close to make it 2-1.

Just a minute into the third, Max Curran would boost the American’s lead to two after Pat’s Defender, Tyson Buckzowski, attempted to feed the puck across his own zone, which went terribly wrong.

Curran intercepted the puck and walked in on a breakaway slowly. Curran then softly tapped the puck by the blocker side of Pyne to make it 3-1.

Regina would go on to add two goals to force overtime after a flurry of offense following the Curran Goal.

The first was a harmless wrister from Dayton Deschamps of Regina from the point. The puck managed to sneak through traffic and by the glove of Nathan Preston to make it a one-goal game just a minute after the Curran goal at 2:24.

Regina would tie the game in a very close play at the line that could have been deemed offside.

Caden Brown carried the puck along the right side of the Ams’ zone and found Zackhary Shantz streaking toward the net unmarked by both American defenders. Shantz then quickly fired a wrister through the five hole of Preston, and just like that, it was 3-3.

Tri-City had a perfect opportunity with a power play late in the third period and at the start of overtime but did not capitalize on it.

Kelton Pyne made a highway robbery save, which was later deemed the WHL Save of the Night, after sprawling out and making a backdoor save in overtime to keep the Pats’ winning chances alive. That would be the big opportunity in overtime, and the game would thus be decided in a shootout.

Nobody scored on both teams’ first three attempts; in fact, Kelton Pyne did not even have to make a save on the first three attempts, as the first three American shooters whiffed on the puck.

Tye Spencer for Regina hit the post as the fourth shooter, and up came overager Brandon Whynott for the Ams’.

Whynott slowly skated in on Kelton Pyne before picking his spot with a wrist shot, going yet again blocker side on Pyne to close the game out.

Game Two Notes

After an unpleasant start, Tri-City won its second game in a row and moved to 2-2 on the road trip.

The American bus broke down following the Swift Current game, and players had to sit it out on the bus overnight before getting a backup bus courtesy of the Calgary Hitmen to Regina.

Regina had its own struggles. Heading into the game, Regina lost star forward Tanner Howe to a trade, and Howe was sent to the Calgary Hitmen. Regina was also 1-6-1-2 in its last ten games, and the Pats’ last win came against the Seattle Thunderbirds at home on October 19th.

This is also the only time the two clubs will meet this season. Last year, Tri-City won on Pink Ice night against the Pats 5-3 at home.

The Americans’ power play struggles continued, as they went 0/3 on the night and were now without a goal on their last 20 power plays. However, they impressively held Regina to only one power play, which Regina did not score on.

Tri-City dominated play for most of the night and outshot the Pats a monstrous 46-27.

Star-wise, Kelton Pyne made 42 saves, including the save of the night in the WHL. Zackary Shantz, the Pats goalscorer who tied the game and forced overtime, was deemed the second star. Followed by Max Curran receiving third-star honors with a goal and an assist.

Game Three – Brandon

Tri-City took on the Brandon Wheat Kings Friday night and walked away with two more points, extending their three-game winning streak in a very physical game. The final score was 4-1.

Tri-City again scored first at the six-minute mark of the first period for the lone goal of the first period.

Max Curran made a great cross-ice pass in the Wheat King zone that squeaked through multiple Wheat King defenders to Jake Sloan. Sloan then rifled a wrist shot past the blocker of Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Carson Bjarnason.

In the second, Tri-City got off to a good start again by extending the lead to two.

Just under five minutes in, Carter MacAdams netted his seventh goal of the campaign. Bjarnason saved an initial shot by Gavin Garland in the slot, but Carter MacAdams gathered the rebound after a mad scramble out net front for the puck and slid the puck in, making it 2-0.

With Lukas Matecha riding a shutout in the third and looking for his second shutout of his career and first of the season, the Wheat Kings said enough is enough.

Just two minutes into the third, Caleb Hadland of Brandon received a pass in the slot and went five-hole on Lukas Matecha to make it a one-goal affair.

However, a minute later, sixteen-year-old Cruz Pavao would get a goal on the power play for his fifth of the year and restore the American’s two-goal lead.

Pavao skated the puck into the left circle moderately uncontested before firing a relatively harmless shot that kicked off Bjarnason’s skate and in to make it 3-1.

Max Curran would get awarded an empty netter after firing the puck all the way from the American’s end and into an empty net with just two minutes remaining to secure a 4-1 victory.

Game Three Notes

The last time the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Americans at their home rink was in 2008. Tri-City has now won its past six games in Brandon. The previous time Tri-City was in town, now former American Lukas Dragicevic netted an overtime winner in 2022.

Tonight was the lone meeting between the two sides this season as well.

Tri-City had been 0 for its last 25 power plays until Cruz Pavao netted a power play goal in the third period to end the drought.

Pavao’s goal was also his first goal and point since returning from the U17 World Hockey Challenge, where he won a Silver Medal.

Lukas Matecha had another class game for the Americans, making, again, 33 saves. This was his third straight start with at least 30 saves.

Tri-City yet again outshot their opponent. The final shot tally was 46-34 in favor of Tri-City. The Americans before the third were outshooting Brandon nearly two-to-one, with it being 33-17.

Carson Bjarnason nabbed well-deserved first-star honors with 42 saves, including many incredible stops to keep this game close for Brandon. Carter MacAdams was rewarded the second star for the game-winning goal. Lukas Matecha earned the third star after, as previously stated, making 33 saves, including 16 in the third period alone, to prevent Brandon from clawing their way back into the game.

Game Four – Moose Jaw

Tri-City closed out their Eastern Conference swing with their fourth game in five days against the former WHL Champions with a nail-biting 7-5 win after a late surge from the Moose Jaw Warriors.

At 14:30, the Warriors opened scoring on the power play after a sweet tic-tac-toe play.

Rylan Kovacevic dragged the puck into the American zone and muscled the puck over to Owen Berge in the slot. Berge then quickly tapped the puck back to Kovacevic. Kovacevic then plopped the puck into what was essentially a wide-open net.

With just twenty seconds left before the first intermission, the Americans tied it off a sweet pass from Gavin Garland.

Garland skated slowly at the top of the left circle before saucing a puck perfectly to Brandon Whynott, who was streaking towards the net. Whynott then tipped the puck through Jackson Unger’s five-hole.

Tri-City wasted no time getting their first lead of the night, which came only 30 seconds into the second.

Carter MacAdams walked in on a two-on-one with Gavin Garland. Jackson Unger started cheating towards the pass, and MacAdams effortlessly flipped the puck past into what was a pretty open net, making it 2-1.

The 2023 first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brayden Yager, tied the game at 12:10 in the second.

Yager walked in on a two-on-one on the left circle and went bardown on Nathan Preston.

Tri-City would go on to score four straight goals. Thirty seconds after Brayden Yagers’ goal, Curran got the rebound of a shot and lifted it over a sprawled-out Jackson Unger to start the run.

Gavin Garland buried another loose puck to give the Americans the lead after a shot from the point off Austin Zemlak’s stick trickled away from Unger and to Garland, who sat aside the crease in the late stages of the second period.

Austin Zemlak started a chaotic third period with a bardown goal from the left circle at 3:40. Just eight seconds later, Jordan Gavin would pickpocket the puck away from a Moose Jaw defender following the faceoff and put it past Unger as the game looked out of control making it 6-2.

However, the Warriors seemed to wake up in the second half of the third. They went on to net three straight goals and came within one with thirty seconds left, thanks to a goal from Connor Schmidt.

It was a case of too little too late for the Warriors as Austin Zemlak was able to clear the puck out of the zone, and Carter MacAdams skated to center ice, then chucked the puck into an empty net to secure a win for the Americans against the former WHL Champions.

Game Four Notes

Four players recorded multiple points, three on Tri-City and one on Moose Jaw. Carter MacAdams, Brayden Yager, Austin Zemlak, and Gavin Garland.

With Tri-City outshooting Moose Jaw 42-33 on Saturday, they outshot every team they played on the Eastern Conference Road Trip and finished with a 4-2 record, much better than the 1-5 trip from last season.

Tonight’s game is the only meeting between the two clubs this season. The last time Tri-City was in Moose Jaw, the Americans won 6-2 in October of 2022.

Austin Zemlak of Tri-City matched his all-time high in points with three. Zemlak also reached 50 career points in the WHL with an assist on the Carter MacAdams empty net goal.

Max Curran had his third straight game with a goal and an assist.

Nathan Preston stopped only 28 shots on 33 after a terrifying second half of the third period, while Jackson Unger, on the other end, stopped 35 on 41 shots faced.

Max Curran earned the first star with, as stated, a goal and assist, along with a +2. Gavin Garland got the second star with a goal and an assist. Brayden Yager achieved the third start with, you might have guessed it, a goal and an assist.

Transactions

Following the Saturday night game in Moose Jaw, top NHL draft prospect Jackson Smith will be headed to the CHL & USA Prospects Challenge. The top first-year draft-eligible players from all three CHL leagues will battle against USA Hockey’s NTDP in a doubleheader on November 26th & 27th. Smith should be back in time for the Wenatchee doubleheader next weekend.

What’s Next/Implications

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