http://www.amshockey.com/news/article.src?ID=4019

March 28, 2010

Dan Mulhausen Tri-City Americans


Photo courtesy of Jenna Hauck, Chilliwack Progress
CHILLIWACK, BC - There would be no late-game heroics in Game 6. A solid game plan and a full team effort was all that the Tri-City Americans needed to finally put away the pesky Chilliwack Bruins.

Drew Owsley stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced while four different players scored to lead the Tri-City Americans (4-1-1, 8 pts) to a 4-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins (2-3-1, 4 pts) in front of 3,787 fans at the Prospera Centre. The loss ends a franchise-best year for the Bruins, who set new highs for regular season wins, points and playoff wins. Meanwhile, the Americans won their second straight game at Prospera Centre and advance to the Western Conference Semi-Finals for the third straight year. The Americans will now prepare to take on either the Vancouver Giants or Kelowna Rockets in the next round, which is tentatively set to start on Friday, April 2nd at the Toyota Center.

On Sunday, Game 6 once again saw the Americans dominate the play in the first period. Tri-City launched 18 shots on Bruins' netminder Lucas Gore, compared to just eight by Chilliwack. And, midway through the period, the Americans struck first. Justin Feser set up Jarrett Toll in the right circle. Toll then stepped in and fired a shot on Gore. Gore, however, gave up a rebound that went straight to Patrick Holland, who then notched his second goal of the series. But, despite the discrepancy in shots, the Bruins managed to stay within one headed into the second period.

Then, at the 8:27 mark of the second, and on the power play, Brandon Manning sent a stretch pass out to Dylen McKinlay, who carried the puck behind the Americans' net. From there, McKinlay fired a pass off the pad of Owsley and the ricochet went right to Roman Horak. Horak then buried it in a near empty-net, tying the game at 1-apiece.

But, it proved to be the lone blemish on an otherwise stellar night for Owsley, as he and the Tri-City defense held off the desperate Bruins the rest of the way.

Four and a half minutes after Horak tied the game, Jordan Messier tallied the eventual game-winning goal. After he kept in a Chilliwack clearing pass, Eric Mestery followed it up with a blast from the point that was redirected on net by Mason Wilgosh. Again, Gore came up with the stop, but had the rebound go straight to an Americans' player. This time, Messier swept a backhander past the sprawling netminder, putting Tri-City on top 2-1.

After a quick flurry of shots to start the third, the Americans made it 3-1 only 1:31 into the period. Just seconds after he fired a shot off the post, Sergei Drozd made good on a second attempt to collect his second goal of the series. Then, with 3:25 remaining in regulation, and on the power play, Brooks Macek fired a wrist shot top shelf on Gore to wrap up the scoring in the contest.

Gore, who faced 228 shots in the series, stopped 32 of the 36 shots he faced in the loss. Meanwhile, Owsley picked up his fourth playoff win in his first post-season series. The Americans finished 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Bruins were 1-for-5 on the man-advantage.

Applebee's 3 Stars:
1, Drew Owsley, Tri-City
2, Zachary Yuen, Tri-City
3, Not listed