Americans Come From Behind, Defeat Silvertips 3-2
Kennewick, WA- The Tri-City Americans (18-16-0-1, 37 pts) bounced back from last night’s loss, coming from behind in the third period to take down the Everett Silvertips (21-10-3-1, 46 pts) 3-2 in front of 4,104 fans at the Toyota Center on Sunday night.
Everett got off to a good start, as Nikita Scherbak got the Silvertips on the board with an easy tap in with a wide open net to make it 1-0 Everett. Midway through the first, Tri-City got on the board, as Parker Wotherspoon skated through the Everett offense and defense and fired a shot into the net to tie the game at one. Everett had the shot advantage in the first, 12-5, but the game was tied after one period.
Each team tried to get something going in the second period to gain the lead. Everett was able to strike and regain the lead, as Noah Juulsen fired a shot that tipped off Evan Sarthou and trickled into the net to give the Silvertips a 2-1 lead. Everett had the shot advantage again in the second period as the Americans tried to gain some momentum going into the third period to mount a comeback.
Tri-City came out and got some energy going, and capitalized midway through the period. Wotherspoon scored his second goal of the game, sniping the top corner of the net on a wrist shot to tie the game at two. The Americans grabbed its first lead of the game 13:57 into the third, as Justin Gutierrez lit the lamp to give Tri-City a 3-2 lead. Everett fired shots at Evan Sarthou looking to tie the game, but he was up to the task and helped the Americans hang on for the win.
The Americans won its first game coming from behind in the third period. Tri-City was 0-14-0-1 when trailing entering the third period.
Tri-City snaps Everett’s streak of 13 straight games against the Americans with at least a point. The Americans snapped a three game losing streak to Everett this season.
Brendan O’Reilly recorded his first career WHL point with an assist on the Americans’ first goal.
Both the Americans and Silvertips recorded 15 penalty minutes and were a combined 0-for-8 on the power play tonight.
Evan Sarthou stopped 28 shots in the win while Everett’s Austin Lotz made 18 saves in the loss.
Tri-City will have a couple days off before playing in the annual New Year’s Eve contest against the Spokane Chiefs (20-12-3-0, 43 pts) at the Toyota Center. Game time is at 7:05 p.m. Spokane has won three of the four meetings this season against Tri-City, including defeating the Americans 5-1 at Spokane Arena on Dec. 27. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations, including the Toyota Center Box Office, any Fred Meyer outlet or online at Ticketmaster.com.
Jack in the Box Three Stars
1. Parker Wotherspoon, Tri-City
2. Noah Juulsen, Everett
3. Evan Sarthou, Tri-City
Note: Brandon Carlo and Team USA defeated Germany 6-0 at the 2015 World Junior Championships today. Team USA faces Slovakia tomorrow at 1 p.m., while Eric Comrie and Team Canada will face Finland at 5 p.m.
WHL Box Score: CLICK HERE
