Tri-City Americans stomp Chiefs
Ams uncork 4-goal first period
KENNEWICK – Rather than finding a way to get back on the winning path, the Spokane Chiefs ran into a buzz saw Saturday.
The Tri-City Americans (12-8-1-1) scored four goals in the first period and added three more in the second, eventually beating the Chiefs (10-9-1-1) 8-3 in the Toyota Center.
Mason Wilgosh and Brendan Shinnimin each scored a pair of goals and Adam Hughesman added three assists for the Americans, who avenged their Nov. 13 loss to Spokane.
In that game, Tri-City was shut out 5-0, but the Americans left little doubt of the outcome this time.
They used 15 shots to score four goals in the first period, building a 4-1 lead by the first intermission.
“I thought it was their second goal,” Spokane coach Dan Nachbaur said about the turning point of the game. “We just folded the tents and mentally got down.”
Tri-City scored three goals on just six shots in the second and chased Spokane goalie James Reid.
In just 27 minutes, Reid allowed five goals on 18 shots, getting pulled in favor of Mac Engel.
Mike Aviani gave the Chiefs their first goal of the night with 11:46 gone in the first period. Tyler Johnson scored in his fifth consecutive game for their second goal.
Defenseman Tanner Mort scored the Chiefs’ third and final goal in the third period, to draw the Chiefs to within four. It was the Post Falls native’s first goal of his career.
The Chiefs, who fell into last place in the U.S. Division with the loss, will try and salvage the final game of their road trip at 5 p.m. today against division-leading Portland.
Americans 8, Chiefs 3
| Spokane | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Tri-City | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | 8 |
First Period—1, Tri-City, Holland 10 (Feser, Stebner), 6:58 (pp). 2, Tri-City, Wilgosh 3 (Conrad, Yuen), 7:05. 3, Spokane, Aviani 3 (Kramer, Kalus), 11:46. 4, Tri-City, Rankin 5 (Hughesman, Reddick), 12:15 (pp). 5, Tri-City, Shinnimin 4 (Holland, Hughesman), 15:51. Second Period—6, Tri-City, Messier 13 (Reddick, Macek), 7:25. 7, Spokane, Johnson 12 (Kichton, Cowen), 16:42 (pp). 8, Tri-City, Dow 1 17:24. 9, Tri-City, Wilgosh 4 (Feser, Holland), 18:59. Third Period—10, Spokane, Mort 1 (Baldwin), 0:49. 11, Tri-City, Shinnimin 5 (Hughesman, Rankin), 7:48. Power-play Opp. —Spokane 1 of 3; Tri-City 2 of 4. Saves—Spokane, Reid 11-2-0—13, Engel 0-1-5—6. Tri-City, Owsley 6-13-8—27. A—5,818.