Tri-City Herald: Ams set for big weekend, FSN-TV game

By Annie Fowler | Tri-City Herald

KENNEWICK -- This weekend is Take 2 of 3 of the Tri-City Americans' matchups against the Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks.

Last week, the Americans defeated Portland 5-2 on Friday, and Spokane 5-4 on Saturday.

This time around, the Americans play host to the Chiefs tonight and will travel to Portland on Saturday. Next week, Tri-City plays both teams on the road.

"It's not hard to get excited for those games," Tri-City defenseman Matt MacKenzie said. "You see how important these points are for first place. It's going to a battle to the end.

"Portland and Spokane are skilled at every position. It will be a test for us this weekend. This (U.S. Division race) is the toughest I have seen in this league."

Tri-City (32-23-2-1, 67 points) trails division leader Portland (34-15-0-3) by four points and second-place Spokane (31-13-4-2) by one point. The Americans have two games in hand on the Chiefs and four on the Winterhawks as the regular season winds down to the final six weeks.

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