Tri-City Americans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tri-City Americans
City	Kennewick, Washington
League	Western Hockey League
Conference	Western
Division	U.S.
Founded	1966
Home arena	Toyota Center
Colors	Navy blue, red, silver, white
General manager	Bob Tory
Head coach	Stu Barnes
Championships	Conference championships 1 (2009–10)
Website chl.ca/whl-americans
Franchise history
1966–1967	Calgary Buffaloes
1967–1977	Calgary Centennials
1977–1982	Billings Bighorns
1982–1983	Nanaimo Islanders
1983–1988	New Westminster Bruins
1988–present	Tri-City Americans

The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team from the United States. They play in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Their home base is in Kennewick, Washington.

The team started in 1966 as the Calgary Buffaloes. After moving around a few times, they finally settled in Kennewick in 1988. They play their home games at the Toyota Center. This arena was built just for them! The Americans have won one Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions. They have also played in one league playoff final, but they haven't won a championship yet.

Team History and Journey

The Tri-City Americans team is one of the original teams in the WHL. They began playing in 1966. Back then, they were called the Calgary Buffaloes. After just one season, their name changed to the "Centennials."

Later, from 1977 to 1982, the team was known as the "Billings Bighorns." Then, they moved to Nanaimo, British Columbia, and became the Nanaimo Islanders. After only one year there, they moved again to New Westminster, British Columbia. Here, they became the second version of the New Westminster Bruins. Finally, in 1988, the team moved to the Tri-Cities area, where they became the Tri-City Americans.

The Americans have set attendance records at their home arena. On December 31, 2008, during their New Year's Eve game against the Spokane Chiefs, 6,042 fans came to watch. This was a new record for the Toyota Center! They broke this record again on March 13, 2010. In another game against Spokane, 6,053 people attended.

In the 2010 playoffs, the Americans won the Western Conference championship for the first time. They beat the Chilliwack Bruins, Kelowna Rockets, and Vancouver Giants in a row. However, they lost the league championship to the Calgary Hitmen in five games.

Championship Wins

The Tri-City Americans have won some important titles:

• Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: This award is for the team with the best regular season record. They won it in the 2007–08.
• Conference championships: They won the Western Conference championship in the 2009–10.
• Regular season Division titles (4): They were the best team in their division four times: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, and 2011–12.

WHL Championship Final Appearances

The Americans have played in the WHL Championship final once:

• 2009–10: They lost 1–4 to the Calgary Hitmen.

Famous Players

NHL Alumni

Many players from the Tri-City Americans have gone on to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHL is the top professional ice hockey league in North America. Scott Gomez was the first former American player to win the Stanley Cup, which is the NHL's championship trophy.

Retired Numbers

Hockey teams sometimes retire a player's jersey number. This means no other player on that team will ever wear that number again. It's a special way to honor players who were very important to the team.

The Americans retired Todd Klassen's number in 1993. This was just a few months after he passed away in a car accident. The team also created the Todd Klassen Humanitarian of the Year Award. They give this award every year to a player who shows great kindness and helps others.

Team Awards

The Tri-City Americans and their players have won many awards over the years.

CHL Awards

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is the league that the WHL is part of. These are some of the big awards won by Americans players:

WHL Awards

These awards are given specifically within the Western Hockey League (WHL).