2012 January - Tri-Cities-Hockey

The official newsletter of the Tri-City Hockey Booster Club January 2012
booster club christmas party
with the ams
Three beauties: Eric Comrie, Marcus Messier, and Justin Feser.
Justin Hamonic and Connor Rankin load up at the buffet.
www.tri-cities-hockey.com
next booster club meeting
Lukas
Walter
January 28
Thursday, January 26 7 p.m.
Benton County Public Utility
2721 W 10th Ave, Kennewick
Upcoming Player Birthdays
Jordan
Messier
February 4
Justin
Hamonic
February 14
Mitch
Topping
February 19
Michal
Plutnar
February 21
The rookie carol, L to R: Brian Williams, Michal Plutnar, Eric Comrie, Malte Strömwall,
Lukas Walter, Justin Hamonic, Tyson Dallman, Riley Guenther, and Lucas Nickles.
Lucas Nickles chats with Santa Ty Rimmer responds to the peanut gallery “Santa” with Mason Wilgosh
“Santa” with Brendan Shinnimin

BOOSTER CLUB NEWS
get a free Season ticket!
You can receive a 2012–13 Ams season ticket if you sell the most
50/50 tickets this season! Monies from 50/50 sales keep our club
running and help those Ams players go to college. Plus you get to
wear a stunning red smock and meet other Ams fans! Please give Bob
or Lois Nelson a call at 783-6860 to sign up, or look for them selling
tickets at home games, or at our monthly meetings.
We really need your help this year!
The Player Education Fund needs you!
don't miss your booster club news
If your email address, phone number or mailing address changes
during the season, please email your contact info to Laura Kurkjian,
our Membership Chairperson, at laura.e.kurkjian@gmail.com, or call
430-5313. Laura will update your info in our database and you won’t
miss any correspondence during the year!
volunteer opportunities
If you'd like to be added to a list of volunteers who can hand out giveaways
at games, please contact Becki Segura at beckisegura@yahoo.com
or 509-961-7340.
Sign up for the fan bus trip!
✯ Spokane, February 25 — Only $20
per person!
Call Bill Church at 628-0577 or email
billchurch2@frontier.com to get more
info and to sign up for the trips above.
upcoming booster birthdays
January 18 Steve Taylor
January 19 Eric Swiney
January 20 David Atkinson
January 21 Donald Clayton
Tiffany Janikowski
January 22 Sadie Palmers
January 23 Bill Porath
January 25 Jennifer Yochum
January 29 Eric Adams
Jackson Diaz
Lois Nelson
January 30 Dave Ashby
Tom Foster
Bette Porath
January 31 Billie Bliss
February 1 Brook Boderick
Zachary Fabian
February 3 Art Ingalls
Larry Hammer
February 4 Kyle Fowler
February 5 Jacob Wunschel
February 6 Dale Gergely
February 10 John Lotto
February 12 Riley Fellows
February 14 Mikaela Weber
February 15 David Bergum
Carrie Carlson
Dan Sanders
February 16 Bill Dehen
February 17 Leslie Nielson
Cathy Mitchell
February 19 Mary Kirkpatrick
February 20 Robert Moyer
February 22 Dustin Carlson
Barrie DeSoto
Dorothy Henderson
Michael Palmers
February 25 Brendan Winslow
new jewelry ordered!
Stop by the booth to see what has come in!
valentine's day game
vs. vancouver
Stop by the booth for your Valentine’s Day surprise as a thank you
for being a Booster Club member. Our New Year’s Eve surprise was
a big hit!
cheap tickets in spokane
Hit the road and show your support for the team! Upcoming games
in Spokane: February 11, 25 and March 9. Purchase your tickets for
reduced prices by calling Daniel Jones at 1-509-328-0450,
ext. 332 and mentioning that you are a Booster Club member.
cheap tickets in portland
For the games on February 15 and March 4th, the Winterhawks ticket
office is offering this special rate to Tri-City Americans Booster Club
members, their friends and family:
200 Level (Orange) seating: $15.50 per ticket (regularly $24.75)
For purchase and seat selection, please call Chris Okerman
at the Winterhawks Front Office, 971-230-2966 or email
chriso@winterhawks.com. Offer expires 4 hours prior to each game,
and is available through the Front Office only.
player buttons
available at the
booster club table!
2011-2012 booster club meetings
January 26, 2012
February 23, 2012
March 29, 2012
April 26, 2012
Meetings will be held at 7 p.m.
at Benton County Public Utility, 2721 W 10th Ave, Kennewick

#22 justin feser
Nickname: Fees Pal, The Palomino,
Apollo Fees, Corn Cobbler (“playing
Mario Kart and I just thought it was
a funny nickname to put on the
screen.”)
Birth date: July 29, 1992
Hometown: Red Deer, AB
Height: “Generous 5'9"”
Weight: 185 lbs.
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
FAVORITES
NHL player: Mike Cammalleri
NHL team: Montreal Canadiens
Singer: Eminem and T-Pain
Musical format: Hip hop
Song: “Turn All the Lights On” by T-Pain
TV show: Seinfeld
Holiday: “Christmas — fun to go home and see everyone. Good break.”
Food: Chinese food
Dessert: “My grandma’s fudge!”
Beverage: “I like a nice ice cold cola.”
Book: The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
Restaurant in Tri-Cities: Cedars
Dream car: “I like the blue 350 zed — or Z — however you guys say
it — with black rims. Nissan makes it.”
Lucky number: 22
Lucky charm: “I got a little keychain in my stall, I forget what it says.
My auntie gave it to me for Christmas one year so I just kept it with me
all the years I’ve been
here.”
Subject in school:
Social Studies
First job: “I worked at
a propane site. Just
filling ‘em, washing
‘em, painting ‘em, just
refurbishing propane
tanks.” (laughs)
First car: Black 2005
Saturn Ion
Off-ice activities or
hobbies: Golfing, ball
hockey, “the occasional
Mario Kart with the guys
on the bus, NHL12 —
I’m not the greatest, but
I try my best.”
Do you play as yourself in NHL12? “I don’t play as myself
because the players in the game are just too bad, so I just stick
with the NHL guys.”
Family, names and what they do: “Dad, Myron is a banker. Mom,
Rhonda is a kindergarten teacher. My brother Scott plays midget AAA
in Red Deer. He’s 16. He played quite a few games with the Red Deer
Rebels before Christmas.”
Song that gets you ready to play hockey: “On the way to the rink, I
like to listen to ‘Blunt Blowin’ by Lil Wayne.”
Favorite WHL rink to play in: “Other than here? Anywhere in BC,
really. It’s always nice to go up there, nice crowds.”
Game-day rituals or superstitions? “Not really. I just eat my pregame
meal at the same time. Same thing every day, chicken and rice.”
Goals for the future? “Obviously I want to play hockey somewhere,
but if not... go to school somewhere, get a degree. I don’t really know
what the future holds for me. Just see how it goes along.”
TEAMMATES
Photo by Jennifer Hammer.
Best Practical Joker: “The three 20s are pretty good. Probably either
Willy or Shin.”
Best practical joke you’ve played or seen? “I know the guys sent the
famous elbow pad to Brock Sutherland up in Calgary for Christmas. I
guess he was in a little circle of guys who sent it to each other so they
thought it would be funny to send it to Sudsy in the mail.”
Best dresser: “Mitch Topping. He likes his fashion, brand-name
clothes, and likes to keep it spiffy.”
Best motivator: “Wilgs. Heart and soul guy for the team.”
Best sleeper on the bus: “Holly. We call him Casper cuz he’s pretty
much a ghost on the bus.”
Where do you sit on the bus? “I sit in front of Hughey, second from
the back.”
Hockey history: “My dad built me a rink in the backyard when I was
3. Started playing when I was four. Always played forward, but played
defense in roller hockey in the summer, but that’s about it.”

#22 justin feser
Describe your style
of play.
Not too fancy. Pretty
meat and potatoes
guy. I like to try and be
physical, I guess — not
the biggest guy. Just
trying to be solid in all
areas of the ice.
How has your playing
style changed since
you joined the Ams?
Other than playing
defense on the power
play, pretty well the
same. Kinda more of a
shut-down centerman,
I guess. Better in
the D-zone. I feel
more confident in the
offensive zone, too.
What systems are different from other teams you’ve played for?
We’re a little more aggressive. Other teams I’ve played for have
been a little more laid back. Here we just like to go at ‘em and bring
everything we got.
Describe your first WHL goal.
My first goal was actually STOLEN by Jason Reese in my first game! But
my first official goal: I was behind the net, and I just kinda threw it to the
net, and it went off the back of the goalie’s leg and in. So kinda lucky.
How did you end up wearing your number?
It was just given to me when I got here. Didn’t really choose it. Kinda
like it. Kinda embraced it.
What is the role of fighting in the game of hockey?
It’s a big part of the game. Not a big part of MY game, I guess, but... I
don’t think it should be taken out. It’s always been a part of the game
and I don’t think they should ever change it.
Most memorable hockey moment?
Probably my hat trick in Regina, my first year. It was my grandparents’
50th anniversary and I was the only person who couldn’t be there.
So it was nice to give them that gift when I couldn’t be there. (If you
remember, this was a NATURAL hat trick, on the road, by a 16-yearold
rookie!)
Most embarrassing hockey moment?
Put a couple in my own net. My first or second year, I don’t know how
but I just somehow swatted it back into my own net.
How has your life in the WHL differed from other people your age?
Lot of my buddies back home, they go to school. They still play hockey
but it’s not the biggest part of their lives. It’s nice to be privileged
enough to play hockey at this level and try to go forward with it.
How much easier is it now that you’re done with school?
Well, I’m taking a marketing class right now. But it’s a little more laid
back, I guess.
Best hockey advice you’ve received? Give a hit, take a hit. Go hard or
go home. From my grandpa.
Who has been the most influential person in your hockey career?
My dad. He got me started, coached me up until midget. He taught
me a lot of things I know now, give a big thanks to him for that. I'm
sure my dad learned a lot from my grandpa and passed it all on.
Did your dad play junior hockey?
He played a little bit of Junior B, and then he played for the NAIT Ooks*
up in Edmonton — it’s like, not quite University of Alberta college
hockey. He won a national championship with them.
What is the culture of hockey life in Tri-Cities like?
I think it’s gotten a lot better from when I started. The fans have a lot
more knowledge about the game now. I think they’re the best fans in
the league. They’re loud and they support us really well.
How do you think Ams fans differ from others throughout the league?
They’re more rowdy down here, I guess, even the little hits or the little
plays, they get up and cheer for ’em. Up in Canada, they’ll wait for like
the big hit or a big goal to give a big cheer.
How do you take your steak? Sauce or no sauce? Medium. With sauce.
— Interview by Ann Hammer, photos by Jennifer Hammer
*NAIT stands for Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, a college
of 76,400 students in Edmonton, Alberta. Their mascot is the “Ook,”
based on “Ookpik,” the Inuktitut word for the Snowy Owl. Fun fact:
This past autumn, former Ams goalie Shannon Szabados became the
first woman to ever make the roster of the NAIT men’s hockey team.

BoOSTER CLUB NEWS
upcoming jersey auctions
Now you can go to the booster club site at www.tri-cities-hockey.com
at home or from your cell phone and place your bid right up to 8pm
on game day! Here are the remaining auctions for this season:
January 20 Justin Feser (blue)
February 3 Neal Prokop (white)
February 4 Zachary Yuen (blue)
February 10 Connor Rankin (white)
February 14 Blank (blue)
February 18 Carter Ashton (blue)
February 21 Brock Sutherland (blue)
February 24 Jordan Messier (blue)
February 28 Paul Sohor (white)
March 2 Matt MacKenzie (white)
March 13 Drydn Dow (white)
March 16 Carter Ashton (white)
Matt MacKenzie in home white.
Photo by Jennifer Hammer.
March 17 Adam Hughesman (white)
You will be contacted after the auction closes IF you are the winning
bidder. No bid of less than $200 will be considered. Buy It Now price
is $600. All proceeds go to the Players Education Fund.
tri-Cities hockey booster club 2011-12
BOARD:
President Becki Segura 961-7340 beckisegura@yahoo.com
Vice President Diane Rakestraw 438-1980 sugarhill22@msn.com
Treasurer Fred Bray 781-0027 irishockey@gmail.com
Secretary Vicki Benson 946-0944 vickibenson@charter.net
Past President Mike Schneider
Members-at-Large:
Lori Boarder 628-9889 boarder@hotmail.com
Debbi Hannah 627-4589 dave.debhannah@gmail.com
Jim Perham 545-0530
Erinne Steinmetz 833-3784 1estein@charter.net
COMMITTEES:
Committee Chairman Phone Email Board Liaison
Bus Trips Bill Church 628-0577 billchurch2@frontier.com Vicki Benson
Souvenirs Sue Severson Bray 781-0027 Sue.seversonbray@gmail.com Fred Bray
Buttons Jim Rapoza 946-0749 rapozajr@aol.com Becki Segura
Fifty/Fifty Bob & Lois Nelson 783-6860 rnelson875@aol.com Becki Segura
Goody Gang Debbi Hannah 627-4589 dave.debhannah@gmail.com Becki Segura
Guest Speakers Dee Struthers 582-6857 dee_struthers@yahoo.com Becki Segura
Hospitality Bill Church 628-0577 billchurch2@frontier.com Becki Segura
Membership Laura Kurkjian 430-5313 laura.e.kurkjian@gmail.com Debbi Hannah
Newsletter Ann Hammer (503) 916-9767 amzfan@gmail.com Becki Segura
Scrapbooks Tanya Davis 531-6044 tlaeldavis@yahoo.com Becki Segura
Sunshine Eleanor Weston 582-3174 deweston@charter.net Becki Segura
Goody gang & three stars
Malte Strömwall receives the 3rd Star honors on November 19, 2011.
Photo by Steve Einan.
The Goody Gang supplies game day goodies for the team and also
presents the 3 Stars of the game, after each game. We are pleased to
announce that Applebee’s is sponsoring our 3-Star Award program again
this year. The stars of the game receive gift cards to use as they wish!
We wish to thank the following individuals for supplying goodies for
the team during the month of December: Becki Segura, Kathleen and
Tyler Adams, Tracy Engel, Donna Campbell and Debbi Hannah.
— Debbi Hannah
make a donation
to the player
education fund
Have a hockey friend you want to
honor? Family celebrating a birthday,
anniversary, wedding, or other important
event? Consider donating to the Player
Education Fund in their name!
Remember a loved one through a
memorial donation to the Player
Education Fund. Drop off donations
with the Ams office or mail to: Player
Education Fund, PO Box 5452,
Kennewick, WA 99336

Tri-City Hockey Booster Club
P.O. Box 5452
Kennewick, WA 99336-0452
Inside this issue:
Booster Christmas party
Members-only opportunities
Bus trip info
Player profile: Justin Feser
Cheap tickets on the road
January 2012
Photo by Jennifer Hammer
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