The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

KENNEWICK— After a disappointing injury-riddled February with only four wins to nine losses, the Tri-City Americans (TC) finished the regular season strong. In March, the team won six of their last seven games, only losing to Seattle and Kelowna.

The solid play has shown that the TCs are peaking at the right time and are playoff ready. After the Americans finished dead last and next to last in the conference the previous two seasons, brokenhearted fans are reenergized at seeing great hockey and a playoff berth this year.

The flurry of March wins solidified the TCs in 5th place position in conference standings, matching them up with the Prince George Cougars (PG) in the first round of the playoffs. The Americans beat Prince George three out of four times this season, splitting the away games and taking both home games. Typically, the WHL playoff format is the best of 7 games in a 2-2-1-1-1 format of home and away games. Since Prince George and Tri-Cities are 700 miles and 12 hours apart, the format will be 2-3-2 to avoid excessive hours for the players on the bus. This format favors the Americans with three home games in a row.

Highlights for the season included:

17-year-old Lukas Dragicevic, an anticipated first-round draft pick by the NHL, is the team’s leading scorer as a defenseman (rare) and an all-time team record 27-game scoring streak.

19-year-old goalie Tomas Suchanek (also a possible NHL draft pick) stopped over 91% of the shots on goal. He also won the title of Best Goalie at the World Junior Championships for the Czechia team.

Jalen Luypen, already drafted by the NHL Chicago Blackhawks, recovered mid-season from a rotator cuff injury. He scored 38 points in 39 games, including one game where he scored three goals (known as a hat trick) and three assists.

The Americans are truly becoming a team in every sense of the word. The lack of selfishness by team members regarding who scores is noteworthy. Past seasons have yielded one or two top scorers on the team, however this year, the scorers were shared among seven players with more than 50 points.

It has been a fun year for the fans and is not over yet. Playoff games began on March 31 and April 1 in Prince George, with the Americans winning the first game 6-4 and losing the second in overtime 2-1. Playoff games continue in Kennewick on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 pm, and Friday at 7 pm.

Tickets for adults are $24 and can be purchased through email at info@amshockey.com. If you have a group of 10 or more, prices fall to $19 for adults and $12 for under 12.