SPOKANE, Wash. — Not only have the Chiefs hit their busiest part of the schedule thus far, it is the toughest as far as the quality of opponents as well. Spokane finished of a 4 games in 5 nights grind with a win over the 5th ranked team in all off Canadian Major Junior hockey when Spokane defeated Portland last Sunday with a 5-2 victory. There was no relaxing for the Chiefs though as they had to turn around and take on 10th ranked Saskatoon and then the #1 team in the land in Prince George.
Spokane returned to the Lilac City to begin a three game homestand on Wednesday as they faced off with the Eastern Division leading Saskatoon Blades. Saskatoon was coming off a 6-3 victory at Tri City the night before, keyed in large part by a 4 goal third period. The Blades had won 2 of their 5 previous games through the U.S. Division and were looking to get the 6 game split in their final game in Spokane.
As for the Chiefs, they were seeking a season high 3rd straight win. Spokane had ridden the red hot goaltending of Dawson Cowan in the two victories over Victoria and Portland. For his efforts, the 18 year old netminder was named the league's goaltender of the week. Wednesday's contest was the only meeting of the season between the two clubs. Spokane had split their first two games against the East, beating Brandon before losing to Prince Albert. The Chiefs lost last year in Saskatoon in an 8-5 slugfest, but I expected this meeting to be much more defensive minded.
Cowan was back in net for a 4th straight start but the Blades broke through just 4:15 into the game on a shot from the blue line to take an early 1-0 lead. Little did we know that would be the only goal of the contest until the final minute of play. Saskatoon dominated offensively in the opening period, outshooting the Chiefs 14-5. Spokane would get themselves back into the game in the second, putting up 15 shots and would generate two power plays late in the period. The Chiefs had a 45 second 5 on 3 man advantage but failed to capitalize as the two teams headed to the third with Saskatoon still ahead 1-0.
In the final frame, Spokane would outshoot the Blades 10-7 and generate the only power play of the period. The Chiefs could not find the net though and the Blades would secure the win with an empty net goal in the final minute to shut out the Chiefs 2-0. It was the second shutout loss for Spokane in the last week, after losing 3-0 the previous Wednesday at home to Vancouver. Cowan was excellent in net once again as he turned away 34 opponent shots for the third straight game. Unfortunately for the Chiefs netminder, he was just 2-2 in 4 games after giving up only 7 goals. Spokane did get a couple of days off as they prepared for game two of the week as they hosted the top rated team in the CHL in Prince George.
The Cougars had the top record in the league and were coming off a win Friday at Tri City. Cooper Michaluk got the start in net for the Chiefs but PG came out and scored just 53 seconds into the game after a turnover by Spokane in their own zone to jump out to a 1-0 lead. That margin held up until just under 5 minutes left in the period when the league's leading goal scorer, Prince George's Zac Funk, fired home his 27th of the season to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. Prince George then scored again 22 seconds later and took a 3-0 advantage into the second frame. The Cougars dominated the period, outshooting Spokane 15-8 and leaving the over 8,500 fans who were ready to toss bears for Teddy Bear Toss night feeling a bit chagrined.
Prince George came out in the second and picked right up where they left off in the first as they scored two goals in the first 5:10 to take a commanding 5-0 lead. The fans finally had something to cheer about when rookie Owen Martin rifled home the teddy bear goal at 11:09 to put the Chiefs on the board at 5-1. Over 6,500 bears hit the ice as the game was delayed about 15 minutes for the bear pickup. After the delay, the Chiefs found their game and get the crowd back in it in a hurry. Ben Bonni's tip at 18:52 brought Spokane within 5-2. Berkly Catton then followed with another Chiefs goal just 27 seconds later to score in the final minute to bring the score to 5-3 as the game went to the final period.
The Chiefs had all the momentum going their way and would get a power play chance in the first 3 minutes of the third with a chance to cut the lead to one. Spokane couldn't capitalize on the man advantage though, and Prince George would show why they are the #1 team in the CHL as they shut the door on the Chiefs offensively the rest of the game. The Cougars would add a goal in the final 4 minutes to wrap up a 6-3 victory as the Chiefs suffered their second straight loss at home. With Seattle's win over Kelowna, Spokane fell into last place in the U.S. Division by a point and with Vancouver's win over Tri City, the Chiefs were now tied with Vancouver for 9th in the Western Conference.
Vancouver would provide the final test of the week for the Chiefs as they made their second trip to Spokane in the last 2 weeks. The Giants had won the previous two meetings between the two teams, including a 3-0 shutout victory on November 22nd. Sunday's game would be a huge game for Spokane to move themselves up in the playoff chase and a win would move them past both Seattle and Vancouver in the standings. The Giants were coming off a come from behind win at Tri City the night before and kept the momentum going as they scored off a 4 on 4 situation late in the first to jump out to an early 1-0 lead.
In the second, Vancouver scored on their only power play chance of the period to go up 2-0. Spokane came right back 21 seconds later as Chase Bertholet scored his 5th goal of the year to bring the Chiefs within 2-1. Unfortunately for Spokane, the Giants countered with a goal late in the frame to take a 3-1 lead into the third. The Chiefs had a chance late in the second with a 2 minute 5 on 3 power play, but failed to capitalize as the power play went a frustrating 0 for 7 on the game. Compounding that, Vancouver added a shorthanded goal midway through the third to take a commanding 4-1 advantage.
The Chiefs answered though, as Berkly Catton scored a shorthanded goal of his own at 15:19 to get Spokane within 4-2. After pulling goalie Dawson Cowan from goal in the final two minutes, the Chiefs got a Ty Cheveldayoff goal at 19:13 to put themselves only down by a goal at 4-3. Unfortunately for Spokane, that was as close as they would come, as the Giants held on for their 3rd straight win over the Chiefs this season with a 4-3 victory. The loss was the third straight for Spokane and left them a point back of Seattle for 5th in the U.S. and 2 behind Vancouver and Kelowna for 8th in the Western Conference.
The schedule doesn't get any easier either, as the Chiefs have just 5 games over the next two weeks before the holiday break. Spokane will travel to Portland on Friday at 7:05 pm before coming home to host U.S. Division leader Wenatchee on Sunday at 5:05 pm. After the week the team had against the two top teams in the league, Spokane is right back in the fire against two of the top 3 teams in the division. The trade deadline is also about a month away, so how the Chiefs fare these next two weeks will definitely determine the direction this club will take when it comes to addressing its' roster. I'll have the call on 103.5 FM the Game and 1510 AM KGA starting with the pre-game shows a half hour before puck drop. We hope to see you at the rink!
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