Tri City Americans

The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City Americans flagship radio station 870-AM KFLD, and each game can also be heard streaming live at KFLD's UStream Channel, as well as from time-to-time being telecast on Saturday nights on KVEW 42.2.

History
The Tri-City American franchise is an original franchise of the WHL. They began in 1966 as the Calgary Buffalos before being renamed the Centennials after one season. The franchise was also known as the Billings Bighorns from 1977–82 before relocating to Nanaimo, British Columbia as the Nanaimo Islanders. After only one season, they moved to New Westminster, British Columbia to become the second incarnation of the New Westminster Bruins. They moved to the Tri-Cities in 1988.

The Americans enjoyed local support until early 2000, the start of 4 owners in 4 years, all wanting to relocate the team to Canada. Between selling off team assets and one owner banning the local newspaper columnist from attending games, the attendance dropped considerably. The lack of any banners in the barn didn't help matters either. Although the ownership group represented by Darryl Porter had stated upon purchasing the team that they would create a local presence (the oft-heard criticism of the ownerships groups), Mr. Porter had still not moved to the Tri-Cities in his 3rd year of ownership. In 2004, Porter attempted to move the team to Chilliwack, British Columbia in Canada. However, the other Western Hockey League teams voted to prevent the move, including all four other American teams as well as 2 Canadian teams. Shortly after this failure, the team was sold to Tri-Cities natives, including Olaf Kolzig, the former goalie for the Washington Capitals, and Stu Barnes of the Dallas Stars, both former Americans players. Since the sale the team has doubled attendance figures and won the first division championship in team history. Porter and his investment group were later granted the Chilliwack Bruins as an expansion franchise.

On November 29, 1989 Americans goaltender Olaf Kolzig became the first goalie to register a WHL goal when he successfully shot on an empty net against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Americans annual series with the Highway 395 rival Spokane Chiefs is always intense and full of action, clearly their biggest rival year in and year out. The competitiveness of the two team is such that an annual tradition with the Americans is to play the Chiefs at home on New Year's Eve. The only time this tradition was broken was due to a one-day strike by the Americans over the training tactics of one of the coaches.

In the 2002–03 season, sixteen-year-old goaltender Shannon Szabados became the first female player to compete in the WHL when she played one game for the Americans. In 2010 Szabados won gold in Women's Ice Hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics playing for Canada.

During the 2007–08 WHL season, the Americans won the US Division regular season championship for the first time after a March 15, 2008 showdown with the division rival Spokane Chiefs in Kennewick, Washington at the Toyota Center. The Americans won the Western Conference regular season championship, and the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the best overall regular season record in the WHL. The 2009–10 Season marked the third straight year the Americans won the US Division.

At their annual New Year's Eve game against the Spokane Chiefs on December 31, 2008, the Americans set a record for attendance at a hockey game in the Toyota Center, with 6,042 attendees. The Americans surpassed this number on March 13, 2010, in a game against Spokane, with an attendance of 6,053.

The Americans won the Western Conference championship for the first time in the 2010 playoffs defeating the Chilliwack Bruins, Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants in successive series before dropping the league championship to the Calgary Hitmen in 5 games.

Future of Franchise
On November 7, 2017 voters in Kennewick rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed a .2% sales tax to help fund $45 million in bonds to help pay for improvements to the arena and other facilities in the area. The team is under a September 2019 deadline to meet WHL guidelines for fan amenities and player safety. The team has a lease that runs through 2020 but the club can either negotiate a lower rent or terminate the agreement early if the arena fails to meet league standards.

Charitable work and events
The Americans are charitably-active in the Tri-Cities area. Years ago, the Americans were one of the first teams to do 'The Teddy Bear Toss', which was originally called 'Toy Trick'. This is where the fans would throw stuffed animals onto the rink on a selected night when the home team scores their first goal. The players collect the bears and hand them out to various organizations or the players take them along with them when they visit children in the local hospitals.

A definite first at the Tri-City rink was the Breast Cancer night. Brian Sandy, Senior VP of business operations and Chief Marketing Officer, dreamed up this event, where the ice is tinted pink and the players wear pink jerseys that are auctioned-off at the end of the night. The game on Feb 2, 2008, every jersey sold for the maximum donation of $500 each, with all proceeds supporting breast cancer research.

The Americans also were active in raising start-up funds for the establishment of a local chapter of The First Tee. Players visit schools and hospitals weekly and assist the young hockey players with their practices. Links are provided on their website to other organizations like the local Humane Society, and opportunities have been provided to the Children's Developmental Center to volunteer to aid in the seating at games for a $15,000 check at the season's conclusion.

Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OL = Overtime losses, SL=Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

WHL Championship history

 * 2009–10: Loss, 1-4 vs Calgary

NHL alumni

 * Stu Barnes
 * Milan Bartovic
 * Alexandre Boikov
 * Brian Boucher
 * Jason Bowen
 * Mike Busniuk
 * Kimbi Daniels
 * Brad Ference
 * Dan Focht
 * Scott Gomez
 * Olaf Kolzig
 * Zenith Komarniski
 * Jaroslav Kristek
 * Jason Labarbera
 * Daymond Langkow
 * Scott Levins
 * Bill Lindsay
 * Jason Marshall
 * Josef Melichar
 * Steve Passmore
 * Stephen Peat
 * Ronald Petrovicky
 * Alexander Pechurskiy
 * Carey Price
 * Terry Ryan
 * Terran Sandwith
 * Ray Schultz
 * Todd Simpson
 * Dan Smith
 * Sheldon Souray
 * Jaroslav Svejkovsky
 * Billy Tibbetts
 * Terry Virtue
 * Vladimir Vujtek
 * B. J. Young
 * Bret Festerling
 * Clayton Stoner

Retired numbers
8 - Brian Sakic

14 - Stu Barnes, Todd Klassen

33 - Olaf Kolzig