Entering Wednesday night, the Tri-City Americans were the last team in the WHL without a win.
They faced the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, in what looked like their best opportunity to pick up their first victory before a tough three-in-three stretch.
However, after a disastrous third period, Tri-City couldn’t get the job done, falling 5-3.
1st Period
Tri-City set the tone early with a physical approach and controlled play through a strong opening stretch.
After pressing for much of the period, the Americans finally broke through on their second power play of the night, 14 minutes in.
Owen Kraft, working from behind the Lethbridge net, set up David Huk in the low left circle. Huk wasted little time, firing a quick wrist shot past Oaten to give Tri-City the lead.
Lethbridge responded less than two minutes later to halt the Americans’ momentum.
Oliver Sichtar used his speed to create a two-on-one before sending a centering pass to Easton Daneault, who backhanded the puck past Grout with defenders closing in.
After 20 minutes, the game was tied 1-1, with Tri-City holding a commanding 16-9 advantage in shots. For comparison, the Americans managed just 14 shots over the entire game last Saturday in Penticton.
2nd Period
The second period proved to be a sloppy, back-and-forth affair.
Early on, Jaxen Adam flipped a Lethbridge player into the Hurricanes’ bench and was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Six minutes into the period, Tri-City regained the lead following a scramble around the net.
With players crashing the crease, the puck popped out toward the side boards before being sent back to Aden Bouchard at the point. Bouchard fed Crew Martinson in the low left circle, and Martinson fired a shot five-hole on Oaten through traffic to make it 2-1.
Lethbridge’s Gavin Lesiuk, who had tried to drop the gloves with Grady Martin in the first period, got his wish in the second.
Lesiuk went toe-to-toe with Tri-City rookie Lukasz McIsaac, but the bout ended almost as quickly as it began, with McIsaac falling and both players becoming tied up.
Just 24 seconds after Lesiuk’s attempted fight, Lethbridge found the equalizer.
The back-and-forth contest continued, with Tri-City once again taking the lead late in the period on its second power-play goal of the night.
Cruz Pavao scored his first goal of the season at a pivotal moment, giving the Americans a 3-2 advantage. For the first time this season, Tri-City had scored more than two goals in a game.
The Americans carried that lead into the second intermission, but not before a late scare. With just 10 seconds remaining, Lethbridge rang a shot off the crossbar. The puck landed on the goal line, but Grout got to it before anyone else could, preserving the lead.
Tri-City had 20 minutes left to close out its first win of the season.
3rd Period
The third period belonged entirely to Lethbridge, as the Hurricanes snatched victory away from Tri-City.
Lethbridge earned several power plays early in the period, including 30 seconds of five-on-three time. Tri-City eventually surrendered the equalizer on the penalty kill, bringing the game to 3-3.
From there, the momentum swung firmly in Lethbridge’s favor. The Americans, who had controlled much of the opening period, suddenly found themselves clinging to their chances of holding on.
After Lukas Lima, a former Hurricane, was knocked down behind the Lethbridge net, he decided to respond.
Lima dropped the gloves with Nathan Maloney, and the two traded punches before officials stepped in to break up the fight.
What initially looked like an opportunity for Tri-City on the power play turned was erased, as Lima was assessed an extra penalty on the fight.
Shortly after the fight, Lethbridge took its first lead of the night on a goal that Ryan Grout would certainly want back.
From the left wing, Oliver Sichtar let a shot go that somehow found its way past Grout, who had a clear view of the puck from a long distance. It was a save Grout would be expected to make almost every time.
The goal appeared to suck the energy out of both the Americans and the fans in the building.
Trailing 4-3 late in the game, Tri-City pulled Grout in an attempt to find an equalizer. However, the decision came at an inopportune moment, with the Americans not having full puck possession at the time.
Lethbridge was able to get the puck and send it down the ice into the empty net, sealing a 5-3 victory.
Tri-City’s wait for its first win of the season would frustratingly wait until at least Friday.
Postgame/ What’s Next
The loss leaves Tri-City facing a challenging stretch of five games, three of which will come against the reigning WHL champion Everett Silvertips. The Americans will also face Penticton and their rivals, the Wenatchee Wild.
There were some encouraging signs offensively despite the disappointing result. After managing just 14 shots in the entire game against Penticton last Saturday, Tri-City came out firing Wednesday, recording 16 shots in the first period alone.
In fact, this was the American’s strongest start to a game all season. Through their first four games, Tri-City had often struggled early before finding their footing later on. Against Lethbridge, they came out strong but couldn’t sustain that level of play for a full 60 minutes.
That is now the challenge: putting together a complete game.
The power play was another bright spot. Tri-City went 2-for-3 with the man advantage after entering the night converting at just 8.8%.
Martinson and Pavao both recorded their first goals of the season, while Eli McKamey continued his recent offensive production, bringing his total to three points over his past two games.
Aden Bouchard also continued his strong start to his Sophmore season, picking up an assist to bring him to three points on the season. He is already approaching his total of five points in 56 games last year.
Despite the offensive improvements, the Americans will need to clean things up considerably if they hope to earn their first win against Everett on Friday.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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