Tri-City Americans goaltender Eric Comrie shut down the Spokane Chiefs during teddy bear toss night at the Arena on Saturday. Comrie blanked the Chiefs for nearly 57 minutes to guide the Americans' 2-1 win. Read story

Comrie said he didn't want Teddy Bear Toss night to be too much of a distraction.

"You're alway trying to stay in the moment and stay completely focused all the time," he said. "As soon as your focus switches, that's when goals end up happening."

Comrie stopped 36 shots, including 15 in the first period and 13 in the final period.

"Obviously, it's disappointing to ... have as many chances as we had and not score until late in the game," Klemm said.

The teams had no penalties whistled on them for the first 25-plus minutes.

"I thought the players were pretty disciplined tonight," Comrie said. "They played hard-nosed and the refs let us play, so it was fun to watch."

"It was a hard-nosed, fast game and each team knew discipline was going to be a big part of the game," Klemm said. "Both teams didn't want to take unnecessary penalties to put the other team on the power play and give them a chance."

Comrie has had to be stingy this year because the Americans hadn't passed the 100-goal mark for the season until Saturday.

"But our guys play so good defensively in front of me, which balances the equation out," Comrie said.

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