The ride may be over for the Tri-City Americans, but fans here will be talking about this season for a long time to come.

There hasn't been a time this exciting since the early days of hockey in the desert in the late 1980s, when folks here were ravenous for any kind of local entertainment and found a team to call their own in the Americans.

Back then, hockey was the hottest ticket in town, and we're glad to see that spirit return.

Annie Fowler  Tri-City Herald

The Tri-City Americans had a historic season with 52 wins, 108 points, a U.S. Division banner and the Scotty Munro Trophy.

Not a bad season for a team its Western Hockey League brethren picked to finish near the bottom of the 22-team league at the start of the season.

"We didn't try to prove anybody wrong. We just tried to be the best we could," said Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur. "In the end, I think every guy can walk out the door feeling satisfied they accomplished something, because we did. We played the best regular season in franchise history. It's the first time this team has won something in the regular season, and we were a hair short -- one game short -- in the Western Conference finals."

Annie Fowler  Tri-City Herald

Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory added a nice mix of players to the team's protected list during Thursday's Western Hockey League bantam draft with a pair of defensemen, five forwards and one goalie.

With his first pick, 22nd overall, Tory landed 6-foot-1, 200-pound defenseman Zach Yuen of Vancouver, British Columbia.

"We had him rated quite a bit higher and were excited when he was still available," Tory said. "We liked him in the BC Cup and we had a good interview with his family.