Kennewick, WA. – The Tri-City Americans (25-27-4-1) had a hard time generating offense for long stretches Friday night, being shutout for the fifth time this season in a 3-0 loss to the Spokane Chiefs (31-26-1-0) at the Toyota Center.
Slow Start for Tri-City
Tri-City had a slow start to the period as the Chiefs jumped out to a 5-0 shot advantage before the Americans got their legs under them. Tri-City’s best scoring chance came off a turnover as Grady Martin got a breakaway inside the Spokane zone, but he was denied by the right pad of Carter Esler.
Chiefs Strike Late in the First
The Chiefs went to the first power play of the game late in the period and scored a buzzer beater. Owen Martin worked the puck across the Americans zone to Dominik Petr in the right faceoff circle, and his shot snuck under the blocker arm of Ryan Grout with 1.3 seconds on the clock to give Spokane a 1-0 lead after one.
Second Period Pressure Builds
Another slow start to a period saw the Americans fall behind on the shot clock 15-5 as the Chiefs came out with some quick chances to start the second. That was despite Tri-City going to their first power play of the game 2:16 into the middle frame.
Another great scoring chance for the Americans was denied by Esler, as Jake Gudelj took a centering feed from below the goal line, and despite falling forward, Esler was able to make a blocker save to deny the tying goal.
Spokane Extends the Lead
Not long after that save Spokane extended their lead. Coco Armstrong gained the Americans line down the right wing and was able to sneak a shot through the fivehole of Grout to push the advantage to 2-0. The goal came with 6:49 left in the period.
Tri-City went to another power play less than two minutes later, but once again couldn’t score to cut into the lead as the Chiefs led 2-0 after two.
The Americans had two more power play chances in the third period, with their fourth one being the strongest by generating several shots on goal, but Esler turned them aside at every turn, keeping the Chiefs in the lead.
Grout went to the bench with just over two minutes left in regulation for the extra attacker, but Logan Wormald hit the empty net from his own zone following a shot block to seal the 3-0 final.
Looking Ahead
The two teams meet again Saturday night in Spokane.
Announced attendance was 4,517.