Feser, Comrie Lead Ams Past Hurricanes 4-1

Kennewick, WA- Ty Rimmer was looking for a win at the Toyota Center which he did so many times for the Americans last year.

But his homecoming was not meant to be, as Justin Feser had a goal and two assists and the Tri-City Americans (3-3-0-0) earned a 4-1 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes (2-4-0-0) in front of 4,083 at the Toyota Center.

The Americans got off to a quick start, with Jordan Messier feeding the puck to Michal Plutnar at the point, who shot a laser that was redirected off Parker Bowles into the net to make it 1-0 early. Tri-City would add another goal on a power play midway through the first with Connor Rankin skating past a defender, going to the net and putting a backhander over Rimmer’s shoulder to make it 2-0 Americans after one period.

Lethbridge would get on the board in the second period. The Americans turned it over right in front of the net, which allowed Sam McKechnie to shoot it past Eric Comrie to bring Lethbridge within one. But Tri-City would answer less than a minute later, as Justin Feser took it from his blue line and skated into the slot and wristed a shot into the goal to increase the lead back to two. Lethbridge outshot Tri-City 12-8, and had a lot of chances in front of Comrie but would only get the one goal to make it 3-1 heading into the third period.

Lethbridge outshot Tri-City 17-7 in the third period, but couldn’t score even with multiple chances with a man advantage. And with 1:10 left, Drydn Dow put the nail in the coffin as he scored on the power play from the top of the left face-off circle to put the finishing touches on a 4-1 win.

With the points, Feser has three goals, four assists and seven points to lead the Americans. Malte Strömwall snapped his five game point streak. It is the first time the Americans have scored first at home this season. Tri-City has beaten Lethbridge five straight times, outscoring them 29-12 in those five games.

Eric Comrie was terrific in net, making 36 saves. Rimmer played his final game at the Toyota Center, making 24 saves.

Tri-City is back in action tomorrow night as the Victoria Royals (4-2-0-0) come to the Toyota Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Royals won the first three games of the season, but have gone 1-2 in their past three. The Americans won the series 3-1 last season, losing one game at the Toyota Center 5-4. NewsTalk 870 will broadcast the game on the radio and the video stream is online at WHL Live. Tickets can be purchased at the Toyota Center box office, Fred Meyer outlets, any Ticketmaster location or online at Ticketmaster.com.  

Jack in the Box Three Stars:
1. Parker Bowles, Tri-City
2. Justin Feser, Tri-City
3. Eric Comrie, Tri-City