Game Day Preview: Rockets @ Americans
Wednesday February 26, 2014
Kelowna Rockets (49-9-0-4, 102 pts.) at Tri-City Americans (27-28-3-4, 61 pts.)
Toyota Center, Kennewick, WA; 7:05 p.m. PST
Local Radio Broadcast: NewsTalk 870 AM, 6:45 p.m.
Watch: WHL Live
Previous Game
Kelowna: 02/25/14 vs. Prince George (9-5 Win)
Tri-City: 02/22/14 vs. Everett (2-3 Loss SO)
2013/14 Point Leaders
Kelowna: Myles Bell 39G-30A-69PT, Ryan Olsen 27G-28A-55PT, Tyson Baillie 22G-33A-55PT
Tri-City: Brian Williams 34G-15A-49 PT , Phil Tot 15G-21A-36PT , Beau McCue 18G-16A-34PT
Game Overview
The Tri-City Americans welcome the league leading Kelowna Rockets for a Wednesday night showdown at the Toyota Center, in what could be a preview of next month’s WHL Playoffs. The Americans have dropped each of the first two contests in the season series, and will be looking to get one back with a victory tonight. Tri-City leads the all-time series against Kelowna with a 63-57-2-0 record historically, including a 40-19-1-0 mark at home.
Players to Watch
Kelowna:
Myles Bell – Leading the high powered Kelowna offense is Myles Bell, coming into tonight with 39 goals and 30 assists on the season. The 20-year-old has been held pointless just three times in his last 12 games, tallying 14 points during the month of February.
Tyrell Goulbourne- Goulbourne is red hot as of late, fresh off his three-goal performance in last night’s 9-5 victory against the Prince George Cougars. The Edmonton native also did damage against the Americans in Kelowna last week, where he tallied a goal and an assist. Goulbourne has just 15 goals in 58 games this season, but seven of those have come in the last 11 games.
Madison Bowey- The Rockets also have several defenseman that can do damage on offense, one of those players is Bowey, who is currently second on the team with 36 assists, while adding 15 goals this season. The Defenseman also has a +36 rating coming into tonight and is coming off a two assist effort against Prince George last night.
Tri-City:
Parker Bowles- While the Americans suffered a tough shootout loss against Everett on Saturday, one encouraging sign was the play of Parker Bowles who scored both of the Americans goals. The Kelowna native has played just 29 games this season but is tied for the team lead with 21 assists while also scoring nine goals on the season.
Beau McCue- Another encouraging sign for the Ams has been the consistent play of McCue during the month of February, tallying points in eight of the 10 ten games. The Colorado Springs native is second on the team with a career best 18 goals this season and is third on the team with 34 points.
Mitch Topping- It’s been a very productive month for the Americans captain, tallying four goals and four assists for the team in 10 games during February. The 20-year-old is approaching the end of a productive five-year WHL career, registering 33 goals and 78 assists in 307 games with both the Americans and the Chilliwack Bruins.
Game Notes
Previous Game: The Americans dropped another heart breaker on Saturday night, tying the game in the third period only to fall in a shootout for a 3-2 defeat against the Everett Silvertips. Tri-City did get some encouraging performances however, with Parker Bowles registering a two-goal-game as well as a 39-save effort by Eric Comrie.
Against B.C. Division: The Americans will be looking to improve on its record against the B.C. Division where it has gone 8-9-1-0 so far this season. In previous meetings against its cross division Western Conference opponents, Tri-City has victories against Victoria and Prince George as well as multiple wins against both Vancouver and Kamloops.
Playoff Update: With 10 games remaining in the 2013-14 regular season, the Americans continue hold that eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Tri-City sits eight points back of the Everett Silvertips for the seventh spot as the team looks to improve is post season positioning down the stretch. Still in the hunt are the Prince George Cougars who sit just one point back, but have just six games remaining on its schedule.
Pair of Americans’ Alumni Goaltenders Strike Gold in Sochi: The Americans had two of its former goaltenders representing Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Shannon Szabados for the women and Carey Price for the men. Neither of them disappointed, as both back stopped its respective team to the gold medal. Carey Price played 193 games for the Tri-City Americans posting a 2.53 goals against with a 0.914 save percentage before continuing his success in the NHL with the Montreal Canadians. Shannon Szabados was the first female to play in the WHL participating in four pre-season games where she split time with the then 15-year-old Price.
Comrie Saves for Hunger: Americans goaltender Eric Comrie has teamed up with 2nd Harvest Tri-Cities to re-launch “Comrie Saves Hunger” for its second season. Comrie will donate 50 cents out of his own pocket for every save that makes on home ice. The Tri-City Americans will also match Comrie’s donation to 2nd Harvest dollar for dollar. So far Comrie’s save total at the Toyota Center is up to 821, equaling to $410.50 in his personal donation.
Next Game
Tri-City: at Everett 02/28/14
Kelowna: vs. Vancouver 02/28/14
