| Team: | Tri-City Americans |
| Color: | background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#002D62 5px solid; border-bottom:#C41230 5px solid; |
| Color Text: |
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| City: | Kennewick, Washington |
| League: | Western Hockey League |
| Conference: | Western |
| Division: | U.S. |
| Founded: | 1966 |
| Arena: | Toyota Center |
| Colors: | Navy blue, red, silver, white |
| Championships: | Conference championships 1 (2009–10) |
| Reg Season Titles: | 1 (2007–08) |
| Gm: | Bob Tory |
| Coach: | Stu Barnes |
| Website: | chl.ca/whl-americans |
| Name1: | Calgary Buffaloes |
| Dates1: | 1966–1967 |
| Name2: | Calgary Centennials |
| Dates2: | 1967–1977 |
| Name3: | Billings Bighorns |
| Dates3: | 1977–1982 |
| Name4: | Nanaimo Islanders |
| Dates4: | 1982–1983 |
| Name5: | New Westminster Bruins |
| Dates5: | 1983–1988 |
| Name6: | Tri-City Americans |
| Dates6: | 1988–present |
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.
The Americans franchise began as a founding franchise of the league, beginning as the Calgary Buffaloes in 1966.[1] 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.
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. 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.[2]
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.[3] 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.
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.[4] Dixon ultimately agreed that Kozuback would continue coaching the team, rather than LaForge.[5] 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.
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. 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.
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.[6] In 2021, Barnes would be named the team's head coach.[7]
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]
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 33 | 34 | 5 | — | 300 | 299 | 71 | 4th West | Lost West Division semifinal | ||
| 72 | 39 | 28 | 5 | — | 433 | 354 | 83 | 3rd West | Lost West Division semifinal | ||
| 72 | 36 | 32 | 4 | — | 404 | 386 | 76 | 4th West | Lost West Division semifinal | ||
| 72 | 35 | 35 | 2 | — | 363 | 376 | 72 | 2nd West | Lost West Division quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 28 | 41 | 3 | — | 245 | 312 | 59 | 6th West | Lost West Division quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 19 | 48 | 5 | — | 272 | 373 | 43 | 6th West | Lost West Division quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 36 | 31 | 5 | — | 295 | 279 | 77 | 4th West | Lost West Division final | ||
| 72 | 45 | 25 | 2 | — | 336 | 255 | 92 | 3rd West | Lost West Division semifinal | ||
| 72 | 22 | 43 | 7 | — | 225 | 288 | 51 | 7th West | Did not qualify | ||
| 72 | 17 | 49 | 6 | — | 264 | 371 | 40 | 7th West | Did not qualify | ||
| 72 | 43 | 23 | 6 | — | 311 | 219 | 92 | 2nd West | Lost West Division final | ||
| 72 | 24 | 39 | 7 | 2 | 231 | 288 | 57 | 6th West | Lost West Division quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 21 | 36 | 8 | 7 | 217 | 284 | 57 | 7th West | Did not qualify | ||
| 72 | 31 | 31 | 10 | 0 | 260 | 271 | 72 | 3rd U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 20 | 44 | 3 | 5 | 240 | 335 | 48 | 4th U.S. | Did not qualify | ||
| 72 | 31 | 27 | 10 | 4 | 205 | 197 | 76 | 3rd U.S. | Lost Western Conference semifinal | ||
| 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 | |
| 72 | 30 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 188 | 221 | 67 | 4th U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 47 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 240 | 190 | 96 | 2nd U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 52 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 262 | 176 | 108 | 1st U.S. | Lost Western Conference final | ||
| 72 | 49 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 263 | 184 | 101 | 1st U.S. | Lost Western Conference semifinal | ||
| 72 | 47 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 272 | 193 | 97 | 1st U.S. | Lost final | ||
| 72 | 44 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 286 | 223 | 92 | 3rd U.S. | Lost Western Conference semifinal | ||
| 72 | 50 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 281 | 190 | 104 | 1st U.S. | Lost Western Conference final | ||
| 72 | 40 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 246 | 227 | 85 | 3rd U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarter-final | ||
| 72 | 29 | 33 | 4 | 6 | 178 | 224 | 68 | 5th U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 31 | 38 | 0 | 3 | 190 | 242 | 65 | 5th U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 35 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 236 | 253 | 73 | 5th U.S. | Did not qualify | ||
| 72 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 272 | 252 | 85 | 3rd U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarterfinal | ||
| 72 | 38 | 25 | 8 | 1 | 255 | 249 | 85 | 4th U.S. | Lost Western Conference final | ||
| 68 | 34 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 214 | 230 | 74 | 4th U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarterfinal | ||
| 63 | 17 | 40 | 4 | 2 | 157 | 302 | 40 | 5th U.S. | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 78 | 14 | 5th U.S. | No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 68 | 19 | 43 | 6 | 0 | 179 | 306 | 44 | 5th U.S. | Did not qualify | ||
| 68 | 34 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 256 | 245 | 76 | 3rd U.S. | Lost Western Conference quarterfinal | ||
| 68 | 23 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 206 | 306 | 49 | 6th U.S. | Did not qualify |
Loss, 1–4 vs Calgary Hitmen
Alumni of the Americans who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Scott Gomez was the first former American to win the Stanley Cup.
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.[13]
| Player | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Brian Sakic | |
| 14 | Stu Barnes / Todd Klassen | |
| 33 | Olaf Kolzig |
David Branch Player of the Year Award
Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy
Player of the year
Del Wilson Trophy
Goaltender of the year
Bob Clarke Trophy
Top Scorer
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy
Coach of the year
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy
Humanitarian of the year
Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy
Executive of the year
WHL Plus-Minus Award
Top plus-minus