The Seattle Thunderbirds had a chance to play spoiler Wednesday night, but Jordan Messier helped the Tri-City Americans remain in control of their playoff destiny.

Messier had two goals and Brendan Shinnimin added three assists as the Americans beat the Thunderbirds before an announced crowd of 6,025 at Toyota Center.

"Portland did us a little favor (beating Everett on Tuesday) and the ball is back in our court," Messier said. "We now have two against Spokane. It will be a big battle. I'm looking forward to it."

KENNEWICK, WA - To quote longtime Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, all the Tri-City Americans had to do on Wednesday was 'just win, baby!' And, back inside the friendly confines of the Toyota Center, the Tri-City Americans did just that and continued their march towards a third consecutive division crown.

Jordan Messier scored twice, Alexander Pechurskiy picked up 26 saves and the Tri-City Americans (46-21-1-2, 95 pts) skated past the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds (18-39-7-5, 48 pts) 4-1 in front of a sold out crowd of 6,025 fans. With the win, the Americans wrap-up the 10-game season series with Seattle, winning 7 games to 3. The win also snapped Tri-City's season-long three-game losing skid. Meanwhile, Seattle's losing streak in the Toyota Center grew to 12 games as they have now dropped five of their last six.

Toronto, ON - The Canadian Hockey League today announced the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for week twenty-five of the 2009-10 season. The weekly rankings of the Canadian Hockey League's Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings - Week 25
Rank, Team (Record), Last Week Rank, Number of Weeks Ranked

1, Barrie Colts (54-9-0-2), 1, 21
2, Saint John Sea Dogs (52-11-1-1), 2, 22
3, Windsor Spitfires (49-11-0-5), 3, 25
4, Drummondville Voltigeurs (48-15-0-2), 5, 23
5, Calgary Hitmen (49-17-1-2), 7, 19
6, Moncton Wildcats (46-13-2-4), 4, 8
7, Brandon Wheat Kings (47-18-1-3), 8, 16
8, London Knights (47-15-1-2), 9, 14
9, Saskatoon Blades (45-17-3-4), 6, 21
10, Tri-City Americans (45-21-1-2), 10, 20

KENNEWICK - The Tri-City Americans left town Feb. 26 for the first of seven road games. With them, they took a three-point lead in the U.S. Division standings.

Two weeks later, the Americans return to home ice on a three-game losing streak and have fallen into a tie with the Everett Silvertips with 93 points atop the division.

After the Silvertips lost to Portland on Tuesday, both Everett and Tri-City have three games remaining.

KENNEWICK, WA - Tri-City Americans General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team has signed prospect Sam Grist to a standard WHL Players Contract.

Grist, a 6'4 200 lb. defenseman from N. Saanich, British Columbia, spent this season with the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League (Junior A), appearing in 45 games and collecting two goals, six points and 55 penalty minutes. As a rookie, Grist helped lead the Grizzlies to a 34-18-2-6 record and third place in the Coastal Conference. However, the Grizzlies were bounced in a tough first round series 4 games to 2 by the Nanaimo Clippers, with five of the six games being decided by just one goal.

The Tri-City Americans dropped their third straight game with a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday at Sho Ware Center in Kent. It was the Americans' seventh straight road game.

Tri-City (45-21-1-2, 93 points) led the Western Conference in points from Dec. 13 until yesterday's 6-3 loss to Portland, but remains tied with Everett (44-19-3-2, 93) for the conference lead with three games left in the regular season.

Tri-City fell behind 2-0 after goals by Seattle's Burke Gallimore and Tyler Alos in the first 4:47 of the first period. Neal Prokop responded for the Ams with a goal at 6:34 to cut the lead to 2-1, but the T-birds picked up two more goals in the second period to take a 4-1 lead.

KENT, WA - With three games left in the regular season, the Tri-City Americans have officially switched from being the hunted to the hunters.

Backed by two goals from Burke Gallimore and 39 saves from Calvin Pickard, the Seattle Thunderbirds (18-38-7-5, 48 pts) held off the visiting Tri-City Americans (45-21-1-2, 93 pts) 4-3 in front of 3,215 fans at ShoWare Center. With the win, Seattle snapped their four-game losing skid to the Americans and their four-game overall losing streak. Meanwhile, Tri-City's slide continued as they dropped their third straight contest, matching their longest winless drought of the season. The loss also dropped the Americans out of first place in the division for the first time since Oct. 30, a span of 18 straight weeks.

PORTLAND -- The Tri-City Americans have done a poor job of protecting their lead in the U.S. Division on their latest road trip.

Playing their sixth straight on the road, the Americans dropped a 6-3 game to Portland on Saturday at the Rose Garden before a crowd of 10,194, putting them in a tie with Everett atop the division standings.

Tri-City (45-20-1-2, 93 points) has lost two in a row and has just four games left in the regular season, including tonight's game at Seattle.

PORTLAND, OR - Let the race begin!

After previously holding a double-digit lead in the U.S. Division standings this season, the Tri-City Americans (45-20-1-2, 93 pts) now have company atop the Conference after falling to the Portland Winterhawks (41-25-2-1, 85 pts) 6-3 in front of 10,194 fans at the Rose Garden. With the win, Portland picked up just their second win in 10 overall meetings with the Americans this season. However, for Tri-City, that loss could not have come at a worse time in the season, as they are desperately trying to hold off the hard-charging Everett Silvertips and Spokane Chiefs. Now, as teams enter the final week of the regular season, the loss sets up a three-team race for the U.S. Division crown.