TCH: Americans shut out Vancouver 4-0
By Annie Fowler | Tri-City Herald
Coaches spend untold hours trying to get their defensemen to lift the puck off the ice when they shoot.
Parker Wotherspoon has been paying attention.
The Tri-City rookie defenseman’s shot from the top of the circles sailed over Vancouver goalie Payton Lee’s shoulder for his first WHL goal, helping the Americans to a 4-0 victory Sunday over the Giants before an announced crowd of 3,203 at Toyota Center.
It was the fifth consecutive home win for the Americans, who also got 43 saves from Eric Comrie, who posted his second shutout of the season.
“We had to talk about the losing streak for a while, so there’s nothing wrong with taking about that,” Tri-City coach Jim Hiller said of team’s home record of 16-8-1-0. “The guys played hard tonight and earned it. We blocked a lot of shots, closed a lot of passing lanes around the net and scored some timely goals. They are a tough team. It was a big win, the second one in a row. We are going to take it.”
The Americans (22-21-2-2, 48 points), eighth in the Western Conference, now have a seven-point lead over ninth-place Prince George with a game in hand. Tri-City hosts Moose Jaw on Wednesday.
