SPOKANE, Wash. — The Chiefs' recent road trip was a classic case of "close, but no cigar." The team fell in back-to-back games in Victoria in overtime after losing leads in the final minute and a half of both contests. Then Spokane fell behind by 3 in the third at Vancouver, only to get within a goal with a chance to tie in the final minute before giving up an empty-net tally. The final results were 3 losses in 3 games through the Lower Mainland, dropping the Chiefs down to fifth in the U.S. Division standings.
Spokane then got a chance to regroup as they had most of the week off and also got back on home ice as they would host a pair of games at the Spokane Arena over the weekend. The club also got some good news off the ice as they inked Swedish import draft pick Rasmus Ekstrom to a contract, enabling the team to get a 19-year-old forward with experience in the top Swedish pro league. Spokane welcomed Kelowna and Everett to the Arena for the first time this season, as the Chiefs hoped to snap their 3-game losing streak.
First up was a Rockets club who had defeated the Chiefs in the two teams' first meeting with a 6-3 win back on October 7th. The two clubs were tied at 2 heading to the third before Kelowna put up 4 in the final period to hand the Chiefs their first road loss of the season. Spokane had lost 3 of 4 to Kelowna last year but had split their two games in Spokane, so the Chiefs were hoping to get back to their winning ways as they hosted the Rockets on Friday night. Spokane was without forward Chase Bertholet and defenseman Saige Weinstein, who were both out due to injury. It gave some opportunities for Ben Bonni to play on the blue line and for young forwards like Will Jamieson and Chase Harrington to see increased playing time up front.
Cooper Michaluk got the start in Friday's game, hoping to rebound from a loss at Victoria in his last start. The Chiefs came out looking determined to get back in the win column as Cole Wadsworth scored his second goal of the season just 3:13 into the game to give Spokane a 1-0 lead. Connor Roulette then began a big night offensively for him with back-to-back power-play goals less than 2 minutes apart late in the first to give the Chiefs a 3-0 advantage. Kelowna got on the scoreboard with just over 2 minutes left to cut Spokane's lead to 3-1 at the end of the first.
Ty Cheveldayoff got the Chiefs going in the second as he scored his second goal of the year only 24 seconds into the middle period to put Spokane in charge at 4-1. Kelowna's Andrew Cristall, the league's leading scorer, got the Rockets within 4-2 on a power-play goal that was scored with just one second left on the man advantage to make it a 4-2 game. Berkly Catton countered for Spokane just over 2 minutes later, and the Chiefs had a 5-2 lead midway through the second. The Rockets scored with just over 6 minutes left in the second to cut the margin to 5-3, and then Cristall took over the rest of the period. He would score his second of the period with just under 4 minutes remaining to make it 5-4, and then would get the hat trick and cap a 3-goal explosion for Kelowna with a goal with just 0.2 seconds left to bring the Rockets even at 5-5 after two.
The 3-goal lead meltdown was reminiscent of the Chiefs losing a 3-goal lead in the third at Victoria the previous Friday, and it appeared midway through the third Kelowna would overcome that 3-goal deficit as it looked like Cristall had scored his 4th of the game to give the Rockets a 6-5 lead. The goal was waved off, though, as Cristall interfered with Michaluk prior to the goal. That call turned the game as the Chiefs, who had been on their heels at the start of the period, slowly took over the game. Spokane would get a power play at 13:17, and 16 seconds later, Roulette would get his first hat trick with the Chiefs as he would give Spokane a 6-5 lead. Roulette would then finish off a 5-point night with his 4th of the game with an empty-net tally at 18:37 to make it 7-5 Chiefs. Kelowna would get a power play in the final minute and would pull their goalie, but even with a 6-on-4 advantage, it was the Chiefs that capped the scoring as Layton Feist scored short-handed into an empty net with less than 30 seconds remaining to wrap up an 8-5 Spokane victory.
The win snapped the Chiefs' 3-game losing streak and was the team's third straight victory at home. The eight goals were the most scored by Spokane this year, and the Chiefs' power play had a season-best 3-for-4 performance on the power play as the team evened the season series with the Rockets at 1-1. Spokane had now moved within 1 point of Everett for 5th in the U.S. Division standings and had a chance to pass the Silvertips in the standings with a regulation win on Saturday as the Chiefs hosted Everett at the Arena. Everett was coming off an overtime loss at home the night before, and Spokane had won the opening game of the season series back in game two of the year with a 4-1 victory in Everett. A three-goal third period had sparked that win, with rookie Hayden Paupanekis scoring 2 power-play goals in Spokane's win.
The Chiefs jumped out in Saturday's game as rookie Chase Harrington scored his first goal of his career just 1:09 into the game to give Spokane a 1-0 lead. Everett came right back and scored two goals less than 5 minutes apart midway through the period to take a 2-1 advantage. Spokane got one power play opportunity in the first and would capitalize as Paupanekis got his third career goal, all on the power play, and all against Everett, with less than a minute and a half to tie the game at 2 heading into the second period.
The game would swing in Everett's favor in the second as the Silvertips would score 3 goals in less than 10 minutes to go ahead 5-2 at the end of the second period. The third would see the Chiefs outshoot Everett 13-6, but the Silvertips got the only power play of the frame and would wrap up the contest by scoring on that man advantage late in the third to wrap up a 6-2 victory. The loss snapped the Chiefs' 3-game home winning streak and pushed the team 3 points back of Everett in the standings. Spokane is now 2 points back of Seattle and Tri City entering the final week of October and the first week of November.
Ironically enough, the Chiefs now head out on the road this week to face those two teams that are just ahead of Spokane in the standings. Spokane will visit Seattle for the first time this season on Friday night at 7:05 pm before going on their first trip to rival Tri City Saturday at 6:05 pm. Seattle dropped 3 in a row on their Central Division swing after they had won the first three, while Tri City lost 2 straight at Kamloops. As the week starts, Spokane is just 5 points out of first, so a positive week can get the Chiefs back towards the top of the standings. I'll have the call on 94.1 FM the Bear for Friday's game from Seattle due to Gonzaga basketball with the pre-game show at 6:30 pm. Saturday's game is on our regular home of 103.5 FM the Game with the pre-game at 5:30 pm. We will see you on the radio!
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