Tri City Americans prepared for a tough series with Thunderbirds
Mar 24, 2017, 10:54 AM
(Brian Liesse/T-Birds)
The Tri City Americans boarded the team bus Thursday afternoon to head to Seattle for their first round, best-of-seven playoff series that begins on Friday night.
As they cross the I-90 pass they know that they are headed to a building that is tough to play in. The Seattle Thunderbirds only lost eight home games in regulation during the season and the Americans went 0-for-4.
Tri City head coach Mike Williamson knows that is going to have to change.
“If we’re going to find a way to win this series, we’re going to have to win on the road,” Williamson said. “We haven’t been very successful in that building so that’s going to be a focus of ours.”
The Americans earned the right to play Seattle by finishing third in the U.S. Division with a flurry of three straight wins over the season’s final weekend. That was a stark contrast to last season, when they fought hard to the end, only to lose out on the playoffs on the last day.
Back in the post season now, the team is excited to get going.
“Our guys are excited and eager to get going,” the head coach said. “The players put a lot of work into the off season and throughout the season to get an opportunity to play in the post season. That’s where everybody wants to get to and see how you can do in the playoffs.”
Boasting one of the top scoring teams in the Western Conference, the Americans can and will pose some challenges for the Thunderbirds in this series. While they are missing top NHL Draft prospect Michael Rasmussen – who is out with a wrist injury – the Americans can still fill the net.
Like the T-Birds, the Americans have a deep group up front, which should lead to an entertaining match up all series long.
“We feel that we do have a deep group of forwards, when we’re healthy,” Williamson said. “Minus ‘Razzy, there’s lots of guys who are going to have to step up. We know it’s a big challenge and Seattle’s forward group is as deep as anyone’s in the league. So, everyone’s going to have to play a big role and step their game up.”
At the top of that list is Morgan Geekie. The tall center from Manitoba led the Americans in scoring with 35 goals and 90 points. He’ll be helped by team captain Tyler Sandhu (23-60-83) and wingers Vladislav Lukin (26-32-58) and Jordan Topping (28-25-53).
They have guys who can score from the blue line as well, led by Parker Wotherspoon who holds the franchise records for points by a defenseman. Alongside Wotherspoon is Finnish import Juuso Valimaki, who potted 19 goals this year.
The Americans can score and can score a lot on the power play.
During the regular season they were ranked fourth in the WHL with the man advantage and cashed in at a 24.8 percent rate. The Thunderbirds are going to have to play disciplined and then work to kill off the penalties.
“I think specialty teams in general are going to play a huge role in this series,” Williamson said. “Our power play has been effective this year, whether we’re scoring or not, if it’s clicking and we’re generating chances it can gain us some momentum and get them on their heels a bit. I think the penalty killers for both teams will have a say in the outcome of this series.”
Seattle did have some success against the Americans power play during the regular season series. In their eight games, Seattle allowed seven Tri City goals on 36 power-play attempts. That’s only a 19 percent rate and well below the Americans’ average against the rest of the league.
A key for the T-Birds is the return of Scott Eansor, who is one of their best penalty killers.
Eansor knows that he and his mates have their work cut out for them.
“Their power play is awesome,” Eansor said of the Americans. “They move the puck really well and have a lot of key guys, defense and offense. We really have to make sure that our details are really strong.”
Williamson knows what his team is up against in a Seattle team that is loaded with high end talent. He also knows a bit about his counterpart behind the bench. Both Williamson and Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk were teammates on the 1991-92 Portland Winterhawks.
He says that he sees a little bit of Konowalchuk the player in the T-Birds.
“I only played with him the one year but he was a very talented player,” Williamson said of Konowalchuk. “He was extremely honest and played hard, didn’t back down and played a hard-nosed game and competed at a high level. That’s what I see in the team he coaches.”
Like the T-Birds, and every team in the playoffs, the Americans have some players who are at the end of their WHL careers. Guys like Sanhdu and Wotherspoon have been leaders for the Americans. Those guys want to go out on top and will be extra motivated to extend their playing time.
“They didn’t like the taste in their mouth last year when we came up a little bit short on the last weekend,” Williamson said. “So I think that’s been a motivating factor all year. They’re great leaders for us and they want to do what they can and not leave anything on the table as far as their WHL career’s go.”
They’ll get that chance, beginning Friday night at the ShoWare Center.