Wilgosh, Prokop Spark Americans’ 6-1 Thumping of Bruins
By Dan Mulhausen | Tri-City Americans
KENNEWICK, WA – After missing over three weeks and 11 games, Mason Wilgosh made an immediate impact in his return to the ice.
Tri-City’s alternate captain was one of six different goal scorers on the evening, as the Tri-City Americans (42-24-2-2, 88 pts) drubbed the visiting Chilliwack Bruins (32-31-4-4, 72 pts) 6-1 in front of a sold out crowd of 5,929 fans at the Toyota Center. With the win, the Americans take the season series vs. the Bruins 3 games to 1, outscoring their rivals 18 to 4 in their last three meetings. Meanwhile, the Bruins, who had collected at least one point in their last 10 games, saw that streak come to end, dropping their third consecutive game but first in regulation time.
After a poor showing in front of the hometown faithful in a 2-1 loss to Everett on Wednesday, the Americans hit the ground running on Friday and never looked back.
Just 2:37 into the contest, David Conrad forced a turnover from Dylen McKinlay deep in the Bruins’ zone. Once he corralled the puck, Conrad fed Drydn Dow out in front, who shelved a shot over the blocker of Chilliwack starter, Lucas Gore. Then, with 3:38 remaining in the first period, and on the penalty kill, Kruise Reddick raced down the ice, beating a Chilliwack defender to the puck in the corner. From there, Reddick dished it to the hard-charging Wilgosh, who connected on his 12th goal of the season, giving Tri-City a 2-0 lead.
The Bruins, though, responded with one minute left in the period. While on the power play, Jeff Einhorn found Jamie Crooks behind the Tri-City net. Crooks then carried the puck out to the goal line, where he turned and fired it on Drew Owsley. The puck found its way through Owsley’s pads and the post, pulling the Bruins to within one headed into the first break.
But, after outshooting Chilliwack 15 to 6 through the first 20 minutes, the Americans continued to bombard Gore, adding another 20 shots in the second period.
Tri-City connected on three of those 20 shots to pull away from the Bruins. Only 1:24 into the second, and just seconds after Gore juggled but kicked aside his previous shot, Justin Feser put back a Wilgosh rebound, making it a two-goal lead. Four minutes later, and back on the power play, Owsley broke out Brendan Shinnimin, who carried the puck in and let a shot go on Gore. Gore made the save, but there to knock it out of mid-air was Zachary Yuen, who notched his eighth goal of the year. Finally, with 0.9 seconds remaining, and on another power play, a great read by Matt MacKenzie allowed Shinnimin to find Carter Ashton in the slot, who stuffed his career-best 32nd tally of the season past Gore for a 5-1 Tri-City lead.
Gore would give way to back-up Braden Gamble at the start of the third period, leaving the game with 30 saves on 35 shots in 40 minutes of work. However, Tri-City didn’t let Gamble off the hook either, peppering him with 16 shots over 20 minutes of work. At the 11:02 mark of the third period, Gamble allowed a power play goal off the stick of Neal Prokop, who was playing in his first game since reinjuring his left leg back on January 14, missing a total of 28 games. Prokop was a welcomed sight on the Americans’ power play unit, who has scored 11 of his 26 goals with Tri-City while on the man-advantage.
On the opposite end of the ice, Owsley made several key saves in route to stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced. Owsley, who has appeared in 121 games for Tri-City, earned his 35th win of the season and 75th of his WHL career. Tri-City finished the night going 3-of-10 on the power play, while holding the Bruins to just one power play goal on seven man-advantage opportunities.
Tri-City, with just two games left in the regular season, will look to match their home record from last season, as they wrap up the home portion of their schedule tomorrow, Saturday, March 19 against their U.S. Division rivals, the Spokane Chiefs (47-17-4-2). Game time is 7:05 p.m. at the Toyota Center. The Chiefs come in having won nine straight games and 15 of their last 17. Spokane has also taken five straight from the Americans as they try to track down their first U.S. Division title in the franchise’s history. Meanwhile, the Americans will look to improve on Friday’s performance, as they tighten things up headed into the post-season already locked into the #4 seed. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, including online at ticketmaster.com, the Toyota Center box office, or all Fred Meyer outlets. The game will also be broadcast live on NewsTalk 870 AM starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:45 p.m.
Applebee’s 3 Stars:
1, Drew Owsley, Tri-City
2, Mason Wilgosh, Tri-City
3, Brendan Shinnimin, Tri-City
Kruise Reddick’s ‘Kruisen’ for MDA’ Challenge Update:
After 70 games, Tri-City has recorded 276 goals = $1,104
If you would like to join Kruise’s MDA Challenge, contact the Americans office at 509.736.0606 and ask how you can contribute.
