SPOKANE, Wash. — The Christmas holiday break is always a welcome time for teams in the Western Hockey League to catch up with family and recharge the batteries for a hectic second half of the WHL season. For the Chiefs, the break came at a perfect time as the club had dropped 3 straight on their East Division road trip. Spokane went just 1-4-0-1 in their 6-game journey as they fell into last place in the Western Conference. The Chiefs' 14 points were 3 back of 9th place Victoria, but more urgently, were 13 points behind Kelowna for the 8th and final playoff spot. Spokane was also a distant 15 points back of 4th place Tri-City in the U.S. Division as the Chiefs started the second half of the season with 4 games in 5 nights within the U.S, Division against Seattle and Tri-City.
First up would be the second-place team in the U.S. Division, the Seattle Thunderbirds. Despite being in second in the division, the T-Birds were #1 in the latest Canadian Hockey League poll as the top team in all of Major Junior Hockey. The Chiefs had fared poorly against Seattle this season thus far, having gone 0-3 and been outscored 18-5 in those defeats. The two teams would meet in a home-and-home series to start the week with game one over in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the NHL's Seattle Kraken. The Thunderbirds host a game a season at the NHL venue and this year it would be the Chiefs' turn. Needless to say, the Chiefs were pretty excited to get the opportunity to show their stuff at the Kraken's home arena on Tuesday.
The Thunderbirds were without 4 of their top players who were off playing for Team Canada in the World Junior Hockey Tournament, so Tuesday's game was an opportunity for Spokane to pick up their first win vs. Seattle. The T-Birds had other ideas as they would strike first with a tip in past Chiefs goalie Dawson Cowan 3:40 into the game to take a 1-0 lead. The Chiefs would come right back with a three-goal explosion in just 1:59. Raegan Wiles started the onslaught at 4:20. Kooper Gizowski followed with his 6th of the year at 5:30 and Ty Cheveldayoff capped the 3 goal outburst with his team-leading 13th of the year at 6:19 to give Spokane a 3-1 advantage. Seattle would score just 33 seconds after Cheveldayoff's goal to cut the margin to 3-2. Five goals in just 3:12 and a 3-2 game only 6:52 into the contest. It was quite the offensive show early. The Thunderbirds then scored on their second power play of the first with only 1:04 remaining to bring themselves even at 3-3 after the first period.
Seattle would carry that momentum over into the second period as Lucas Ciona scored 4:34 into the frame to give the lead back to the Thunderbirds at 4-3. Back would come the Chiefs though as Michael Cicek scored a goal in his second straight game at 10:15 to make it a 4-4 game. Spokane would then re-take the lead as Berkly Catton scored on a rebound backhander at 15:59 to give the Chiefs a 5-4 lead heading into the third. The Chiefs had outshot Seattle 22-20 through 40 minutes and carried a lead into the third for the first time against Seattle this season. Cowan had played well too as he had denied several point-blank shots and 2 Seattle breakaways through 2 periods.
Unfortunately, the Chiefs couldn't maintain the momentum in the third as Seattle would outshoot Spokane 12-7 in the period and would capitalize on their 2 power play chances in the final frame. Grayson Sawchyn and Ciona scored on the man advantage as they capped 2-goal, 4-point performances to give Seattle a 6-5 lead. Leading scorer Jared Davidson capped the three-goal third with his second goal of the night as Seattle secured their 4th straight win over Spokane this year with a 7-5 victory. Special teams were the difference in this one as the Chiefs' power play went 0-4 while Seattle went 3-5. Spokane did a lot right, but through the 4-game losing streak, had done enough wrong to cost themselves a chance at victory. Puck management was a key culprit in the loss, as several failed clearances and blue-line turnovers turned into easy Seattle goals. Spokane would have to improve those areas in a hurry as they would come home to host Seattle the very next night.
The return meeting would see the Thunderbirds come out and take a 3-0 lead midway through the first. Seattle scored on a Ciona goal just 26 seconds into the game to go up 1-0. Davidson then scored on a rebound 8:40 in to take a 2-0 lead. Nico Myatovic scored on a tip for the second straight game to give Seattle the 3-goal advantage heading to the last part of the first. Spokane would get a break as Davidson took a 4-minute double minor high sticking penalty and the Chiefs would capitalize on the power play as Berkly Catton scored for the second straight game at 17:08 to bring the Chiefs within 3-1 after the opening period.
After finishing up killing off a Seattle power play at the start of the second, the Chiefs would pull within one as Tomasso DeLuca scored 1:08 into the period to make it a 3-2 game. Spokane then pulled even as Michael Cicek scored for the third straight game at 3:57 to draw the Chiefs to 3-3. The two teams finished the second period tied at three as the Thunderbirds had outshot Spokane 22-20 through 40 minutes. The third period had been the decisive frame in Seattle and it would prove to be again in Spokane. Like they had the night before, the Thunderbirds would score three unanswered goals, 2 of them on the power play to take control of the game at 6-3. Spokane would answer back with a DeLuca power-play goal at 17:03 to cut the margin to 6-4. Blake Swetlikoff then tipped in a shot with 15 seconds left to make it 6-5 but that was as close as the Chiefs would get as they lost their 5th straight overall and their 5th in a row to Seattle this season with a 6-5 defeat.
Spokane fell even further back in the standings as Victoria won to move 5 points ahead of the Chiefs for 9th in the conference and Tri-City lost in overtime to take a point in Portland and go up by 18 on Spokane for 4th in the U.S. Division. The Chiefs remained 13 back of Kelowna for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West after the Rockets lost their second straight to Kamloops. Spokane set out to end their losing streak and end 2022 on a positive note as they took on rival Tri-City in a home-and-home series to end the calendar year. The Chiefs had lost 2 of 3 to the Americans this season but the club's lone win had been at the Spokane Arena the last time the two teams met there on November 12th. Spokane notched their largest win of the season with a 7-3 victory that night but it would turn out to be the team's only win in November. The Chiefs had lost their last meeting with the Ams down in the Tri-Cities on November 26th by a 4-1 decision.
The Chiefs were not only to hoping to snap their losing streak but also pick up 4 valuable points from Tri-City in the standings with a pair of wins in the home and home series. The two clubs met in Spokane on Friday night in the opening game. The Americans were without forward Adam Mechura and goalie Tomas Suchanek who were playing for Czechia in the World Junior Tournament. The Chiefs went back to Dawson Cowan in net and he would prove to be a good choice as he turned aside 12 Tri-City shots in the first to keep the game scoreless after the first period. Cowan was back at it in the second as he stopped all 16 Americans shots as the Chiefs denied a 5-on-3 Tri-City power play for 1:24 early in the second. Spokane only managed 5 shots in the second and 12 in the first two periods yet were in a scoreless game heading to the third.
Tri City would break through with a goal 4:37 into the final period to go up 1-0. Spokane answered back quickly as Jake Gudelj poked home his 6th of the season just 37 seconds later to bring the Chiefs back even at 1-1. The Chiefs got their first power play chances midway through the third since the first period. Spokane got a brief 5-on-3-man advantage and failed to score, but the Chiefs took advantage on the back half of the power play to take the lead. Berkly Catton scored off a rebound at 11:43 to go ahead 2-1. Cowan would turn aside 5 Tri-City shots in the third as Spokane turned away 3 Tri-City power plays in the period and went a perfect 8 for 8 on the penalty kill to secure a 2-1 victory. The win snapped the Chiefs' 5 game-losing streak and evened the season series with the Americans at 2-2.
Spokane gained ground on both Victoria and Kelowna in the conference standings as the Royals lost in overtime and the Rockets lost to conference-leading Seattle. The Chiefs also gained two points on Tri for 4th in the division but would need another win in regulation the next night in Kennewick to start to make a move in the U.S. Saturday's game marked the 32nd annual New Year's Eve showdown between the two rivals down in the Tri-Cities and the Chiefs were hoping for their first winning streak since their opening weekend sweep at Victoria in September. Spokane was also hoping for their second straight New Year's Eve win at Tri-City. A sellout crowd awaited the Chiefs as the Americans had won 7 straight on their home ice coming into Saturday's contest.
Tri City would jump out to the early lead with a power play goal 6 minutes into the game to go up 1-0. Spokane would counter with power-play goals on their first two tries as Kooper Gizowski tied it at 8:56 and then Chase Bertholet gave Spokane a 2-1 lead at 15:54. The Chiefs extended their 2-1 advantage after one to 3-1 just 1:56 into the second on a Tomasso DeLuca unassisted goal. Tri City answered with their second power-play goal of the night on a Jake Sloan tally midway through the period to send the game to 3-2 Chiefs after two periods. Shots were 22-20 Spokane and each team had 2 power-play goals as the game headed to an offensive third frame.
The Americans started the fireworks as Tyson Greenway scored his second goal of the game just 15 seconds into the period to tie the game at 3-3. Spokane would get a Mac Gross power-play goal at 8:05 to re-take the lead at 4-3. After matching minor penalties led to a 4 on 4, the two clubs then scored 3 goals in 1:29. The Chiefs took a 5-3 lead on Blake Swetlikoff's 3rd goal in 5 games at 13:32. Tri-City answered just 25 seconds later to cut it to a 5-4 margin but Spokane came right back at 15:01 as Berkly Catton scored a goal in his 4th straight game to put the Chiefs back up by 2 at 6-4. Spokane was in a prime position to win their second straight over the Americans and hand Tri-City their first home loss in 8 games.
Unfortunately, Spokane would take 2 totally unnecessary penalties in the final 4.5 minutes and the Americans would score on both power play chances. The final one came with just 48 seconds remaining as Tri-City was able to force overtime at 6-6. In the overtime, Tri would complete the comeback as Parker Bell's shot hit right off a Chiefs stick and into the open net just 17 seconds into OT to wrap up a come-from-behind 7-6 victory. It was a brutal giveaway loss for Spokane as critical mistakes down the stretch doomed the Chiefs. Spokane now heads into the New Year and the official second half of the season at 7-24-1-1. The 16 points leave the Chiefs last in the West, 10 points behind Kelowna for the final playoff berth.
While the team has shown signs of improvement in a number of areas, at this rate it's going to take a small miracle for this group to make the playoffs. The same mistakes keep cropping up at the most inopportune times and this club doesn't have the overall talent to overcome their errors. This group of Chiefs is learning the hard way how to make winning plays in crunch time. Let's hope 2023 leads to better success for Spokane. The Chiefs return home to open a 3-game homestand on Friday, January 6th when they host the Victoria Royals. Spokane will then entertain the Vancouver Giants the following night in the only two games of the week for the team. I'll have the call on 103.5 FM the Game and 1510 AM KGA on Friday and 101.1 FM the Key on Saturday due to Gonzaga basketball. The pre-game shows are at 6:30 pm and the puck drop is at 7:05 pm. We hope to see you at the rink!
