The Tri-City Americans closed out opening weekend in the WHL with a win. Bouncing back after a blowout loss on the season opener last night, winning 6-4. This earned the Americans the weekend series split.
Tri-Cities looked like a completely different squad tonight, outshooting Prince George 13 to 5 in the first period. The scoring did not take long to reach the team either; just 8:27 into the first period, Jake Sloan put the puck into an empty net as Jackson Smith’s shot from the point had Joshua Ravensbergen way out of position. Three minutes later, at 11:03, Jordan Gavin feeds Pasha Bocharov, who was recently acquired from Medicine Hat, in the slot for a one-time bomb to make it 2-0 Tri-Cities. Prince George would have something to say about this as time winded down in the first period, Terik Parascak from the right faceoff circle went high blocker. The score
Like last night, Prince George brought the fury at the beginning of the second period, scoring just 56 seconds in on the powerplay. Hudson Thorton took a shot that dodged traffic and went by the blocker of a helpless Avakyan, making it 2-2 all. A minute later, however, Tri-Cities got the goal right back. Jake Sloan carried the puck along the boards and found Jordan Gavin sneaking into the slot, where Gavin then popped a shot glove side on Ravensbergen, making it 3-2 Americans.
As things began to settle down midway through the second period, Jaxen Adam and Aiden Foster decided to have a little tussle, Adam landing several rights and knocking down Foster. At 11:40, Oren Shtrom battled behind the net, freeing the puck to his stick and wrapping it around to nod the game up at three each.
Avakyan would make an incredible breakaway save to keep the game tied late in the second. Following the big save, the Americans rushed down the ice, and Jake Gudelj served up a pass to Pasha Bocharov, who kindly went glove side on Joshua Ravensbergen for his second goal of the night. This made it 4-3 Tri-City with just six seconds left in the second.
Tri-City was not satisfied with the 4-3 lead going into the third, adding onto it just 1:30 into the period. Deagan McMillan, from behind the net, found Jake Sloan out front for his second goal of the night, making it 5-3. The excellent team effort was on full display from the Americans Saturday night.
However, Prince George didn’t fret and attempted to mount a comeback. This began with a Villiam Kmec goal 17:25 into the third, going blocker side through traffic again. Prince George started pounding the net with shots, but Avakyan stood tall this time. Eventually, the puck was worked out towards the Prince George bench, where Jake Sloan dug it out and threw it into an empty net to close out the win for Tri-Cities 6-4. With that goal, Jake Sloan completed the hat trick.
The Americans will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 30 in Spokane for the Chiefs home opener. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 