Tri-City_Americans

Tri-City Americans

Tri-City Americans

Western Hockey League team in Kennewick, Washington

The Tri-City Americans are an American major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League and based in Kennewick, Washington. Founded in 1966 as the Calgary Buffaloes, the team settled in Kennewick in 1988 after a number of relocations. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center, which was purpose-built for the team. The team has won one Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions and have played in one league playoff final; however, the Americans have not won a playoff championship.

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History

Foundations

The Americans franchise began as a founding franchise of the league, beginning as the Calgary Buffaloes in 1966.[2] The original team was renamed the "Centennials" after one season. In 1977, the franchise relocated to Montana and was known as the Billings Bighorns—part of an initial wave of American teams in the league. In 1982, the team moved again, this time to Nanaimo, British Columbia, where the team played for one season as the Nanaimo Islanders. The team then moved to New Westminster, BC, to become the second incarnation of the New Westminster Bruins.[2]

In 1987, owner Ron Dixon proposed moving the team to the Tri-Cities area if local investors would put together enough money for a new arena; the proposal was endorsed, and the team moved to Kennewick and became known as the Americans in the fall of 1988.[3]

Tumultuous beginnings

The team's new arena in Kennewick, the Tri-Cities Coliseum, was not ready in time for the start of the team's first season in Washington, forcing the team to seek practice ice in Walla Walla and to play its first seventeen games on the road.[4] The team's inaugural game was a 4–2 loss in Spokane against the Chiefs. The team finally debuted in their new home arena on November 20, 1988, defeating the Seattle Thunderbirds 4–3 in overtime in front of 6,000 spectators.[3]

Led by stars Stu Barnes and goaltender Olaf Kolzig, the Americans were playoff contenders from the outset. The team gained widespread attention during their second season when they staged a one-game walk-out; Dixon hired Bill LaForge to manage the team, and when he stepped in for coach Rick Kozuback and allegedly levied verbal abuse at players and instructed them to injure their opponents, the players refused to play in their December 31, 1989 game against the Portland Winter Hawks.[5] Dixon ultimately agreed that Kozuback would continue coaching the team, rather than LaForge.[3][6] In that season's playoffs, during their first round series against the Thunderbirds, Kozuback and several players got into a physical altercation with fans, who had apparently been pouring beer onto the bench; Kozuback and two players were suspended, while Seattle was fined for its fans' actions.[3]

Despite re-branding as the Americans, the team wore the New West Bruins' black-and-gold colors for the first two seasons in Kennewick, before Dixon finally paid for new uniforms in their red, white, and blue color scheme in 1990.[4] The team found limited success in its first two decades, winning its first playoff series in 1995 over Spokane, but never advancing past the Division final.

Twenty-first century

Struggling on and off the ice, the team was nearly relocated to Chilliwack, British Columbia, in 2004. However, an ownership group including former players Kolzig and Barnes, along with Bob Tory and Dennis Loman, purchased the team and kept it in Kennewick.[7] In 2021, Barnes would be named the team's head coach.[1]

The Americans' had their most successful run in a five-season period from 2007–08 to 2011–12, when the team topped the U.S. Division four times. In 2007–08, led by goaltender Chet Pickard and coach-of-the-year Don Nachbaur, the team won the regular season title with a 52-win, 108-point season, before losing a seven-game conference final series against Spokane that featured a then-record five overtime games.[8][9] The following season, at their annual New Year's Eve game against the Chiefs on December 31, 2008, the Americans set a team record for attendance with 6,042 attendees.[10] In 2009–10, the Americans won their third straight division title and advanced to the championship series for the first time in history.[11] They faced the Calgary Hitmen, losing the series in five games.[12]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

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Championship history

WHL Championship final

Players

Current roster

Updated March 21, 2024.[13]

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NHL alumni

Alumni of the Americans who played in the National Hockey League (NHL).[citation needed] Scott Gomez was the first former American to win the Stanley Cup.[3]

Retired numbers

The Americans honored Todd Klassen in 1993, months after he was killed in a car crash. The team also began awarding the Todd Klassen Humanitarian of the Year Award annually.[3]

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References

  1. [1]
    Morrow, Jeff (August 9, 2021). "After 20+ years in NHL, this hockey talent is coming home to coach the Tri-City Americans". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  2. [2]
    "WHL History". Western Hockey League. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  3. [3]
    Fowler, Annie (September 21, 2012). "Tri-City Americans celebrate 25 years". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  4. [4]
    Jordan, Kevin (October 23, 2022). "Tri-City Americans". WHL Arena Guide. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  5. [5]
    Stewart, Bill (December 31, 1989). "Tri-City Americans to end one-day walkout". United Press International. Retrieved May 16, 2024 – via UPI Archives.
  6. [6]
    Stewart, Bill (January 1, 1990). "Tri-City players end walkout but still want GM fired". United Press International. Retrieved May 16, 2024 – via UPI Archives.
  7. [7]
    Stock, Curtis (January 30, 2014). "Bob Tory works magic with Tri-City Americans". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024 – via pressreader.com.
  8. [8]
    Kepke, Cami (May 7, 2024). "Moose Jaw Warriors moving on to WHL Championship Series". Western Hockey League. Archived from the original on May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024. Saskatoon and Moose Jaw tied the previous marker of five overtime contests in game 6, matching Kelowna and Seattle's 2013 quarterfinal series and Tri-City and Spokane's 2008 Western Conference Championship showdown.
  9. [9]
    "Don Nachbaur named head coach in Binghamton". American Hockey League. July 17, 2009. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  10. [10]
    Tri-City Herald. January 1, 2009. "Ams ring in new year with victory Archived 2013-02-04 at archive.today" by Annie Fowler. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  11. [11]
    "Americans advance to WHL final". Red Deer Advocate. April 26, 2010. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  12. [12]
    "Hitmen capture crown". The Spokesman-Review. Canadian Press. May 8, 2010. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  13. [13]
    WHL Network, Western Hockey League, retrieved March 21, 2024
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