Yellow Horn gives Ams OT win over Chiefs

KENNEWICK – Colton Yellow Horn’s unassisted goal at the 2:07 mark of overtime lifted the Tri-City Americans to a 4-3 win over the Spokane Chiefs in Western Hockey League play on Saturday night at Toyota Center.

Spokane is 1-1-1 on the season. Tri-City improved to 2-1.

“Yeah, it’s a tough loss,” said Spokane coach Bill Peters. “Anytime you lose a game in overtime and lose a game in the division, you have to be disappointed.”

Yellow Horn stole the puck on an attempted pass by Spokane defenseman Dan Mercer at the blue line, beat Mercer to the net, then put it past Spokane goalie Kevin Armstrong to win the game.

“You really can’t give that guy an inch – and I put it right on his tape in overtime and he took advantage of it,” said Mercer.

Yellow Horn, who the Americans acquired for a first-round pick, made an immediate impact in his regular-season debut with a pair of goals.

The goal came after the Chiefs had worked to tie the game in the third period and force the 5-minute, 4-on-4 period.

Trailing 3-2, Drayson Bowman tied the game for the Chiefs at the 11:38 mark of the final period. Derek Ryan stole a puck, passed it up to Bowman, who took a shot from the right circle and sent it into the back of the net.

The Americans had taken a 3-2 lead just 2:11 into the period when Erik Felde poked in a loose puck in the crease which fell out of the grasp of Armstrong after he had made a save.

The teams played a ragged first period, as Spokane – as it had in the first game – once again got into penalty trouble early in the game.

The Americans got on the board on a 5-on-3 goal by Alex Aldred in the first period when he rebounded his own shot.

The second period would be more eventful and the teams settled into more of a flow to the game. The teams would score three goals between them in the first 6:46 seconds and it would end tied at 2.

Spokane got the first two goals of the period to take the lead. West Richland, Wash., product Seth Compton tied the game with a short-handed goal just 1:06 in when he was set up perfectly by Chris Bruton in the right slot on a 2-on-1 chance.

Three minutes later Spokane’s Michael Grabner got his first goal in his first game of the season. He put a shot off the pads of Tri-City goalie Carey Price, who finished with 29 saves, from behind the net.

However, Tri-City would get the equalizer from its newly-acquired star Yellow Horn at the 6:46 mark on a slapshot from the left circle that whizzed past Armstrong. Spokane would fail to capitalize on four power-play opportunities before the end of the period and finished 0-9.

Ams 4, Chiefs 3 (OT)

First Period—1, TC, Aldred 1 (Schmidt) 3:25 (pp).

Second Period—2, Spo, Compton 1 (Bruton) 1:06 (sh); 3, Spo, Grabner 1 (Hobson, Blackwater) 4:06; 4, TC, Yellow Horn 1 (Aldred) 6:46.

Third Period—5, TC, Felde 1 (Gillies) 2:11; 6, Spo, Bowman 3 (Ryan) 11:38.

Overtime—7, TC, Yellow Horn 2 2:07.

Power-play Opp.—Spokane 0 of 9; Tri-City 1 of 7. Saves—Spokane, Armstrong 24 saves. Tri-City, Price 29 saves. A—5677.