Tipped Off
01-26-2007, 01:04 PM
TC Herald
Ams lose top D-man for up to 3 weeks with rib injury
By Annie Fowler, Herald staff writer
Just when things seemed to have come together for the Tri-City Americans, they hit another bump in the road.
The Americans (29-19-0-1, 59 points), who have won five straight games and are in second place in the U.S. Division, will be without veteran defense-man Matt Swaby for up to three weeks with a rib injury he suffered in Tri-Cities' 4-3 overtime win Wednesday in Kelowna.
"Who would have thought carrying eight D-men would pay off," said Tri-City general manager Bob Tory. "Usually, it's a nightmare. But Brock (Cornish) is close to coming back and Zach (Sim) can play back there. We'll be OK."
Swaby and forward Erik Felde are the only two Americans to play in all 46 games this season. Swaby, 19, has two goals, 17 assists and a plus-13 rating.
The Americans will take the ice tonight and Saturday in Prince George (19-21-2-4, 44 points) against a Cougars club that has won three in a row. Tri-Cities is 2-0 against Prince George this season and has a chance to sweep the Cougars for the first time since PG relocated from Victoria, British Columbia, at the start of the 1994-95 season.
But while Prince George's win streak includes a win against Kelowna and two against Chilliwack -- the bottom two teams in the B.C. Division with a combined 28 wins -- the Americans have strung together wins against the likes of U.S. Division leader Everett and B.C. co-leaders Kamloops and Vancouver.
"We are doing very well and playing with confidence," Tory said. "Games like last night (the win over Kelowna) are ones in the past that we might have let slip away. It's not easy on the road, but we have played some good hockey."
So much so that they have caught the eye of Cougars GM Dallas Thompson.
"I think this will be a great weekend," he said. "This will be a good test for us with Tri-Cities, which is playing well right now, just like they have all year. We are looking to get some of our big guys more involved this weekend, but we need to shut down their big guys like (Carey) Price and (Colton) Yellow Horn."
Price is 4-1 since his return from the World Junior Championships, where he backed Team Canada to a gold medal. Yellow Horn leads the Western Hockey League with 34 goals and is fourth in scoring with 59 points.
"You win with great goaltending and Price has proved his worth this year with the World Juniors, and he has played very well since he has been back," Thompson said. "I think it's an interesting challenge for our guys. Everyone wants to shoot on Carey and see what they can do."
So do the Prince George fans.
The Cougars, who have been averaging 2,931 fans this season, are expecting to fill a few more seats this weekend. It doesn't hurt that Price's hometown of Williams Lake, British Columbia, is 21/2 hours south of Prince George.
The Cougars bolstered their goaltending staff with the addition of Scott Bowles, 20, who was playing in the Ontario Hockey League before joining Prince George. Bowles, acquired at the Jan. 10 trade deadline, played for PG last season with a 26-16-2-2 record and a 2.40 goals against average.
Goaltending has been an issue for the Cougars this season, but so has scoring, which for a team with a league-high nine NHL drafted players is perplexing. First-rounders Devin Setoguchi and Ty Wishart, and second-rounders Chris Durand and Vladimir Mihalik, have combined for just 34 goals this season.
"Scott has been a calming influence for the team," Thompson said. "Real (Cyr) got hurt and that put some pressure on us, and that didn't help our confidence. But our goal right now is to play our game. We need to take care of our own end and then try to get the puck past Carey."
Ams lose top D-man for up to 3 weeks with rib injury
By Annie Fowler, Herald staff writer
Just when things seemed to have come together for the Tri-City Americans, they hit another bump in the road.
The Americans (29-19-0-1, 59 points), who have won five straight games and are in second place in the U.S. Division, will be without veteran defense-man Matt Swaby for up to three weeks with a rib injury he suffered in Tri-Cities' 4-3 overtime win Wednesday in Kelowna.
"Who would have thought carrying eight D-men would pay off," said Tri-City general manager Bob Tory. "Usually, it's a nightmare. But Brock (Cornish) is close to coming back and Zach (Sim) can play back there. We'll be OK."
Swaby and forward Erik Felde are the only two Americans to play in all 46 games this season. Swaby, 19, has two goals, 17 assists and a plus-13 rating.
The Americans will take the ice tonight and Saturday in Prince George (19-21-2-4, 44 points) against a Cougars club that has won three in a row. Tri-Cities is 2-0 against Prince George this season and has a chance to sweep the Cougars for the first time since PG relocated from Victoria, British Columbia, at the start of the 1994-95 season.
But while Prince George's win streak includes a win against Kelowna and two against Chilliwack -- the bottom two teams in the B.C. Division with a combined 28 wins -- the Americans have strung together wins against the likes of U.S. Division leader Everett and B.C. co-leaders Kamloops and Vancouver.
"We are doing very well and playing with confidence," Tory said. "Games like last night (the win over Kelowna) are ones in the past that we might have let slip away. It's not easy on the road, but we have played some good hockey."
So much so that they have caught the eye of Cougars GM Dallas Thompson.
"I think this will be a great weekend," he said. "This will be a good test for us with Tri-Cities, which is playing well right now, just like they have all year. We are looking to get some of our big guys more involved this weekend, but we need to shut down their big guys like (Carey) Price and (Colton) Yellow Horn."
Price is 4-1 since his return from the World Junior Championships, where he backed Team Canada to a gold medal. Yellow Horn leads the Western Hockey League with 34 goals and is fourth in scoring with 59 points.
"You win with great goaltending and Price has proved his worth this year with the World Juniors, and he has played very well since he has been back," Thompson said. "I think it's an interesting challenge for our guys. Everyone wants to shoot on Carey and see what they can do."
So do the Prince George fans.
The Cougars, who have been averaging 2,931 fans this season, are expecting to fill a few more seats this weekend. It doesn't hurt that Price's hometown of Williams Lake, British Columbia, is 21/2 hours south of Prince George.
The Cougars bolstered their goaltending staff with the addition of Scott Bowles, 20, who was playing in the Ontario Hockey League before joining Prince George. Bowles, acquired at the Jan. 10 trade deadline, played for PG last season with a 26-16-2-2 record and a 2.40 goals against average.
Goaltending has been an issue for the Cougars this season, but so has scoring, which for a team with a league-high nine NHL drafted players is perplexing. First-rounders Devin Setoguchi and Ty Wishart, and second-rounders Chris Durand and Vladimir Mihalik, have combined for just 34 goals this season.
"Scott has been a calming influence for the team," Thompson said. "Real (Cyr) got hurt and that put some pressure on us, and that didn't help our confidence. But our goal right now is to play our game. We need to take care of our own end and then try to get the puck past Carey."