Bardaro, Chiefs Put An End to Americans’ Perfect Season
By Dan Mulhausen | Tri-City Americans
SPOKANE, WA – After a full week off following their 4-1 loss to Tri-City, Anthony Bardaro and the Chiefs made sure history repeated itself once again.
Bardaro – with three goals – and Steven Kuhn helped guide the Spokane Chiefs (1-1-0-0, 2 pts) past the visiting Tri-City Americans (3-1-0-0, 6 pts) 7-2 in front of 9,348 fans at Veterans Memorial Arena. With the win, the Chiefs even the best-of-12 series at 1 apiece while handing the Americans their first loss of the season for a fourth consecutive year. The rivalry will now take nearly a full month off before the two sides meet again.
After playing even the first half of the first period, Spokane finally broke through in the second half thanks, in part, to untimely Tri-City penalties. After Brendan Shinnimin went off for slashing at the 9:08 mark of the period, Patrick Holland had a shorthanded attempt ring off the post. However, the Chiefs were able to turn that rebound around and finished it with Bardaro’s shot inside the left post. Three minutes later, Bardaro counted again on the power play to make it a 2-0 game. Then, while playing four aside in the final minutes of the period, Kuhn knocked a Holland pass out of midair and broke in all alone on Tri-City starter, Eric Comrie. Kuhn eventually saw his attempt slip through Comrie’s pads, putting Spokane up 3-0 with just eight seconds left before the end of the period.
The Chiefs would pile on two more before the midway point of the second period, increasing their lead to five. At the 6:05 mark, Bardaro capped off his hat trick as part of a 3-on-1 breakaway. After Davis Vandane’s shot was knocked down by Tri-City’s Michal Plutnar, the rebound went straight to Bardaro, who then faked a cross-ice pass before beating Comrie. Then, 3:40 later, Kuhn had his shot blocked deep in the Tri-City zone, which found the stick of Mitch Holmberg. Holmberg then found Darren Kramer patiently waiting backdoor, who simply redirected the puck into the net.
Less than a minute later, back-up Ty Rimmer came on in relief of Comrie, providing a brief spark to the Tri-City offense. Nearly five minutes after the switch, Adam Hughesman fired a wrist shot past Mac Engel, snapping his shutout bid.
But, with 3.6 seconds left in the second, and back on the power play, Brenden Kichton sent in a blast from the high slot, only to have it redirected by Collin Valcourt, who had parked right in front of Rimmer. Finally, at the 1:39 mark of the third period, Kuhn capped off the Chiefs’ scoring with another power play marker.
Playing four-aside at 8:42 of the third, Tri-City defenseman Mitch Topping notched his second goal in as many games, after a well-placed drive from the left point sailed over Engel’s glove, capping the scoring in the contest.
Comrie finished with 11 saves on 16 shots in 30:19 of work, suffering his first WHL loss in his first road start of his young career. Rimmer then played the final 29:41 and allowed two goals on 21 shots. Meanwhile, Engel went the distance in goal for the Chiefs, stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced. Tri-City finished the night 0-for-5 on the power play, while Spokane went 4-of-12 on the man-advantage.
The Americans will now head home and prepare for a home and home doubleheader with the defending B.C. Division Champion Kelowna Rockets (2-0-0-0). Before Friday’s match-up at the Toyota Center, the Americans will travel north to Prospera Place on Wednesday, October 5. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Rockets and Americans split their four-game season series last year and Tri-City will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak against their conference counterparts. Meanwhile, the Rockets have yet to lose a game this season, going 6-0 this pre-season along with their 2-0 start to the regular season. Fans can catch all the action live, via WHL Live, at Kimo’s, the Americans’ home away from home, starting at 7:00 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on NewsTalk 870 AM, starting with the Sterling Savings Bank Warm-up Show at 6:50 p.m.
Applebee’s 3 Stars:
1, Anthony Bardaro, Spokane
2, Steven Kuhn, Spokane
3, Mac Engel, Spokane
