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Tri-City Americans

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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.

Tri-City Americans
CityKennewick, Washington
LeagueWestern Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionU.S.
Founded1966
Home arenaToyota Center
ColorsNavy blue, red, silver, white
       
General managerBob Tory
Head coachStu Barnes[1]
Websitechl.ca/whl-americans
Franchise history
1966–1967Calgary Buffaloes
1967–1977Calgary Centennials
1977–1982Billings Bighorns
1982–1983Nanaimo Islanders
1983–1988New Westminster Bruins
1988–presentTri-City Americans
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2007–08)
Playoff championshipsConference championships
1 (2009–10)
Current uniform

History

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Foundations

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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] The move was seen as a gamble given the lack of hockey history in Tri-City area, but it paid off—within a few seasons, the team counted nearly 4,000 season ticket holders.[4]

Tumultuous beginnings

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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.[5] 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.[6] Dixon ultimately agreed that Kozuback would continue coaching the team, rather than LaForge.[4][7] 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][4]

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.[5] 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

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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.[8] 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.[9][10] 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.[11] In 2009–10, the Americans won their third straight division title and advanced to the championship series for the first time in history.[12] They faced the Calgary Hitmen, losing the series in five games.[13]

Season-by-season record

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

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
1988–89 72 33 34 5 — 300 299 71 4th West Lost West Division semifinal
1989–90 72 39 28 5 — 433 354 83 3rd West Lost West Division semifinal
1990–91 72 36 32 4 — 404 386 76 4th West Lost West Division semifinal
1991–92 72 35 35 2 — 363 376 72 2nd West Lost West Division quarterfinal
1992–93 72 28 41 3 — 245 312 59 6th West Lost West Division quarterfinal
1993–94 72 19 48 5 — 272 373 43 6th West Lost West Division quarterfinal
1994–95 72 36 31 5 — 295 279 77 4th West Lost West Division final
1995–96 72 45 25 2 — 336 255 92 3rd West Lost West Division semifinal
1996–97 72 22 43 7 — 225 288 51 7th West Did not qualify
1997–98 72 17 49 6 — 264 371 40 7th West Did not qualify
1998–99 72 43 23 6 — 311 219 92 2nd West Lost West Division final
1999–00 72 24 39 7 2 231 288 57 6th West Lost West Division quarterfinal
2000–01 72 21 36 8 7 217 284 57 7th West Did not qualify
2001–02 72 31 31 10 0 260 271 72 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2002–03 72 20 44 3 5 240 335 48 4th U.S. Did not qualify
2003–04 72 31 27 10 4 205 197 76 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal
2004–05 72 26 34 8 4 172 196 64 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
Season GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
2005–06 72 30 35 4 3 188 221 67 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2006–07 72 47 23 1 1 240 190 96 2nd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2007–08 72 52 16 2 2 262 176 108 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference final
2008–09 72 49 20 0 3 263 184 101 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal
2009–10 72 47 22 1 2 272 193 97 1st U.S. Lost final
2010–11 72 44 24 2 2 286 223 92 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference semifinal
2011–12 72 50 18 2 2 281 190 104 1st U.S. Lost Western Conference final
2012–13 72 40 27 2 3 246 227 85 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2013–14 72 29 33 4 6 178 224 68 5th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2014–15 72 31 38 0 3 190 242 65 5th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2015–16 72 35 34 2 1 236 253 73 5th U.S. Did not qualify
2016–17 72 41 28 3 0 272 252 85 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2017–18 72 38 25 8 1 255 249 85 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference final
2018–19 68 34 28 5 1 214 230 74 4th U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2019–20 63 17 40 4 2 157 302 40 5th U.S. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 19 7 12 0 0 47 78 14 5th U.S. No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22 68 19 43 6 0 179 306 44 5th U.S. Did not qualify
2022–23 68 34 26 5 3 256 245 76 3rd U.S. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
2023–24 68 23 42 2 1 206 306 49 6th U.S. Did not qualify

Championship history

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WHL Championship final

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Players

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NHL alumni

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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

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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]

# Player
8 Brian Sakic
14 Stu Barnes / Todd Klassen
33 Olaf Kolzig

Awards

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CHL awards

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WHL awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "WHL History". Western Hockey League. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c Lapp, Richard M.; White, Silas (1993). Local Heroes: A History of the Western Hockey League. Madeira Park, British Columbia: Harbour Publishing. pp. 205–206. ISBN 1-55017-080-5.
  5. ^ a b Jordan, Kevin (October 23, 2022). "Tri-City Americans". WHL Arena Guide. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Stewart, Bill (December 31, 1989). "Tri-City Americans to end one-day walkout". United Press International. Retrieved May 16, 2024 – via UPI Archives.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Americans advance to WHL final". Red Deer Advocate. April 26, 2010. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  13. ^ "Hitmen capture crown". The Spokesman-Review. Canadian Press. May 8, 2010. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
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