Game Day Preview: Broncos @ Americans

Tuesday October 22, 2013
Swift Current (6-7-0-1 13 pts.) At Tri-City Americans (5-8-0-1 11 pts.)
Toyota Center, Kennewick, WA; 7:05 p.m.
Listen: NewsTalk 870; 6:45 p.m.
Watch: WHL Live

Previous Game
Tri-City: 10/18/13 vs. Victoria (1-8, Loss)

Swift Current: 10/22/13 vs. Everett (1-4, Loss)

2013/14 Point Leaders

Swift Current: Coda Gordon 8G-9A-17PT, Julius Honka 5G-12A-17PT, Colby Cave 7G-9A-16PT

Tri-City: Brian Williams 9G-5A-14PT, Connor Rankin 5G-8A-13PT,  Lucas Nickles 3G-4A-7PT, Phil Tot 3G-4A-7PT

Notes

The Tri-City Americans welcome the Swift Current Broncos to the Toyota Center for the first and only meeting between these two teams during the 2013-14 season. Both teams are coming off losses and will be hungry for a win on Tuesday night. Historically, Tri-City trails Swift Current with a 14-18-2-0 record all-time. However, the Ams come into tonight’s matchup having won six of the last seven meetings against the Broncos including victories in each of the last two matchups.

Players to Watch

Swift Current:

Coda Gordon- Leading the offensive charge for the Broncos so far this season is Coda Gordon with eight goals and nine assist in 14 games for Swift Current. The Calgary Flames prospect comes into tonight’s game riding a three-game point streak scoring two goals in those three games.

Connor Sanvido- The Americans will face a familiar opponent tonight in Sanvido who Tri-City use to face off against on a regular basis when he was a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds. So far this season the 20-year-old has scored four goals and seven assists in 14 games and leads the team with a plus-eight rating. Last season Sanvido did some damage against the Americans scoring five goals and four assists against Tri-City with the Thunderbirds.

Julius Honka- Honka comes into tonight’s game second on the team with 17 points, scoring five goals and 12 assists in 14 games.  The rookie defenseman is currently riding a two-game goal scoring streak including the team’s last game when he registered the Bronco’s only goal against the Everett Silvertips.

Tri-City:

Connor Rankin- Last season Rankin feasted on Eastern Conference teams, scoring five goals and five assist for 10 points including the winning goal at Swift Current last season. The North Vancouver native has registered five-goals on the season while adding a team best eight assists.

Mitch Topping-  The Americans would love to get its power play going tonight against a Swift Current team that has struggled a man down and that all starts with Topping running the point. In this game last season, the Americans captain registered a goal in the team’s 2-1 victory at Swift Current.

Marcus Messier- With special teams such a major factor in tonight’s game, Messier will play an important role in the outcome. Going up against one of the league’s top power plays, the Canmore Alberta native along with the rest of the penalty killers will have its hands full. Messier is also one of five Americans with a power play goal on the season.

Game Notes

Weekend Recap: The Americans split two home games at the Toyota Center this weekend defeating the Victoria Royals on Friday night before dropping a Saturday night contest against the Portland Winterhawks.

Tuesday Success: Tonight’s game will be the fourth Tuesday night matchup for the Americans this season, and to this point it has been a good day for the Ams. Tri-City is 3-0-0-0 on Tuesdays this season, outscoring its opponents 12-4 during those games.

Special Teams: The Americans are looking to get its power play back on track going up against a Swift Current penalty killing unit that ranks 19 in the WHL so far this season. On the other side of the special team’s battle, the Americans penalty kill will need to be on its game against the Broncos fourth ranked power play.

Against the Eastern Conference: Tonight will be the first game this season against an Eastern Conference foe, the Americans hope that it can continue the success it had against the East from last year. During the 2012-13 season Tri-City posted a 9-2-0-1 record including a 5-0-1-0 record against the East Division.

Success at the Toyota Center: The Americans come into tonight’s game winners of three of its last four games at the Toyota Center and are looking to take advantage of a Swift Current team that has struggled on the road. The Broncos are 1-6-0-0 away from home this season having lost all four games of its US Division road swing.

Next Game

Tri-City: vs. Seattle 10/25/13
Swift Current: vs. Edmonton10/26/13