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The Spokane Chiefs game at Calgary on Sunday has been moved to a 5:00 PST start.
Chiefs captain Jared Cowen has been an Assistant Captain for Team WHL when they play Team Russia on Wednesday, Nov. 25th in Victoria, BC during the 2009 SUBWAY® Super Series. Cowen and Spokane forward Levko Koper will play in Team WHL’s first game of the SUBWAY® Super Series. The Kelowna Rockets will host the sixth and final game of SUBWAY® Super Series pitting CHL All-Stars against Team Russia the following night.
Spokane forwards Mitch Holmberg
(Sherwood Park, AB) and Brady Brassart (North
Vancouver, BC) are two of the 22 player on
Team Pacific’s roster that will participate
in the 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge,
December 29 - January 4, 2010 in Timmins,
Ontario.
Team Pacific is comprised of 11 players from
BC and 11 players from Alberta. Each province
held a provincial camp over the summer to
identify a set number of players. These
players were evaluated during the first part
of the season by a selected group of high
performance evaluators.
The Spokane Chiefs have reassigned forward
David Conrad to the Winnipeg Saints of the
MJHL. Conrad has played 63 games in two
seasons, including eight this year. He has
scored one goal and three points this season
and four goals and 10 points in his career.
The move leaves the Chiefs with 24 players on
their roster;
14 forwards, eight defensemen and two
goaltenders.
For more notes, keep reading.
In a tense, tight-checking game against the defending Western Hockey League champion Kelowa, James Reid make rookie Brady Brassart’s second goal in as many games standup for a 1-0 lead Sunday night.
The Chiefs head out at the end of the week for a five-game road trip starting with three games in Alberta next weekend.
Keep reading for the game story I filed for Monday’s paper and check back tomorrow for additional thoughts from the two weekend wins.
Veteran Kyle Beach had his second hat trick and rookie Brady Brassart scored his first Western Hockey League goal as the Spokane Chiefs whipped Kamloops 6-1 Saturday night at the Arena.
Click on the link below for the unedited game story I filed for Sunday’s paper.
Thanks to the first goal for rookie defenseman Landon Oslanski, Lethbridge has won three in a row. ’s first goal of the season was the winner as the Hurricanes edged the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2… . Oslanski, 17, and D Mike Reddington, 19, were traded to Lethbridge when the Spokane Chiefs acquired Kyle Beach two games into the season. Last week Spokane sent over-age forward Dustin Donaghy to the Hurricanes.
Oslanski had an assist in the only game he played for the Chiefs, he has a goal and three assists in 16 games for the Hurricanes. Reddington didn’t score for Spokane but he has 13 assists in 19 games for Lethbridge. Donaghy has two assists in two games for Lethbridge, compared to one assist in 13 games for Spokane.
In his 16 games for the Chiefs, Beach has 15 goals and five assists - and 56 penalty mnutes, just 11 shy of what the Hurricanes’ Spokane trio has picked up their combined 37 games (50 by Reddington).
You just have to read this, it’s not a hockey story, or even a sports story. It’s a people story and it’s worth every second you spend reading it. Thanks to the Drinnan blog.
It was not a good night for the Spokane Chiefs, who were out-played and beaten 5-2 by Everett Tuesday night at the Arena.
There is really not much to be said than what is in the unedited game story I filed for Wednesday’s paper.
We don’t pretend to be all knowing when it comes to the Western Hockey League, but our goal is to help you know more.
So, almost every day we check in with Gregg Drinnan, who has the pulse of the WHL and so much more. (We should mention as well that Alan Caldwell produces interesting info as well and is especially adept at keeping tabs on rosters.)
For instance, from Drinnan you can read this: If you were wondering, and I know you were, WHL goaltenders went into Saturday’s games on pace to put up 94 shutouts this season. That would be the fifth-highest total in WHL history, behind 2004-05 (141), 2006-07 (120), 2003-04 (107) and 2005-06 (103)… . Last season, the goaltenders put up 92 blank jobs.
Tidbits for today include a link to a story on Tri-City star Brendan Shinnimin. If you know of other places that came up with good information, let us know.
Keep reading below for details on an amazing finish to Saturday’s Seattle-Portland game, which, by the way, drew 8,700 fans.
Meanwhile, Everett is at the Arena on Tuesday. The Chiefs and Silvertips are tied for third in the U.S. Division with 21 points, although Everett has played one less game.
Solid defense and opportunistic offense gave the Chiefs a 2-1 win Saturday night against a top tier Western Hockey League foe. Spokane defeated the Vancouver Giants 2-1 at the Arena.
Below is the unedited game story I filed for Sunday’s paper and a few more notes.
The Western Hockey League schedule is picking up and the Spokane Chiefs seem to be picking up momentum.
A 5-1 win over Chilliwack Wednesday night gave them three wins in their last four games and the loss was a well played game when the visitors’ goalie stole a game.
“Once you get into some games your mentality changes, you’re always ready to play,” Chiefs coach Hardy Sauter said. “The guys have figured out the speed and work ethic we need to be successful. They’re now implementing that. There is a confidence when we play well we can beat good teams. As of late we’ve played very, very well.”
The Chiefs will need that consistency and confidence. After a Friday game in Seattle they play four straight at home, including Saturday against B.C. Division leading Vancouver, Tuesday against Everett, the team just above them in the U.S. Division.
A key factor in the improvement is the play of the unheralded young forwards, which the coach and a veteran addressed after the game, and the defense seeming to find a groove. Keep reading for their comments and additional comments on the trade of veteran forward Dustin Donaghy.
The Spokane Chiefs turned in a solid performance for a 5-1 win over Chilliwack. Afterwards they traded 20-year old forward Dustin Donaghy to Lethbridge for a sixth-round draft pick.
Keep reading for my unedited game story for Thursday paper and then check back tomorrow for more from the players and coaches.
Here’s an oddity from the Spokane Chiefs’ weekend - they beat two of the better teams in the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League on the road but they lose at home.
Still, it would have to be considered an outstanding weekend since the Chiefs played well at the Arena on Saturday night but lost to a red-hot goalie. That would add up to three solid performances, coming off two disappointing one-goal losses at home against TC and Brandon.
Spokane Chiefs coach Hardy Sauter said his postgame talk to his team on Saturday was short and sweet.
“The guys played well, outcome wasn’t the way we wanted it,” he said after the 2-0 home loss to Portland.
The difference was 20-year old goalie Kurtis Mucha, who made 35 saves, allowing the Winterhawks to steal a win at the Arena.
“You have the sense he’s playing well for sure … I don’t know if you ever have the sense (all the bounces go against you),” Sauter said. “He must have done something right this week because he got the bounces.”
No doubt hockey fans know the Chiefs picked up a big road win on Friday against defending Western Hockey League champion Kelowna. However, for your added enjoyment is the story from my friend Doyle Potenteau of the Okanagan. It focuses on Kelowna native Kyle Beach. Keep reading for the story.
Each of the three leagues that comprise the Canadian Hockey
League plays two games against the Russians. For the WHL its Nov. 25 in
The two Chiefs are skating in the first game. They will be
joined by three players from the
The series starts with games Nov. 16 and 18 at
Complete rosters on the extended entry.
The defensive-minded Spokane Chiefs had their worst defensive effort of the season and wasted a hat trick by Kyle Beach in a 5-4 loss to Brandon at the Arena.
Keep reading for the unedited game story that I filed for Thursday’s paper.
The Spokane Chiefs
have reassigned goaltender Chase Martin to the Calgary Canucks of the AJHL.
Martin made two appearances, including one start, for the Chiefs this season and
is 0-1-0-0 with a 3.61 goals against average. The move leaves the Chiefs with
two goaltenders, James Reid and Michael Tadjdeh.
The Western Hockey League has issued a one game suspension to Chiefs forward T.C. Cratsenberg for receiving a major penalty and a game misconduct versus the Tri-City Americans on Saturday. Cratsenberg will serve his suspension on Wednesday night when the Chiefs host the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Brandon game begins four games in five nights. Firday the Chiefs go to Kelowna and then have a home-and-home with Portland, with Saturday’s game in Spokane, Sunday’s ‘in the Rose City.
In a WHL note, Kamloops fired its coach. Keep reading for the story.
Hockey games are three periods and Spokane Chiefs coach Hardy Sauter saw three different games Saturday night - which ended with a disappointing 4-3 loss to the Tri-City Americans.
“It was a tale of three games,” he said. “The first portion we had to kill a whole bunch of penalties and they definitely had momentum. I thought probably 18 minutes of the second period and maybe even the first five to seven minutes of the third we did a good job of digging ourselves back out of the whole. Their their penalty kill did a great job, they got a power play goal, then the next one off the foot.”
As he said, “It’s too bad but at the same time, lots to learn from.”
Keep reading for the unedited game story for Sunday’s paper. The Chiefs return to action Wednesday when Brandon comes to town.
Back from R&R with news from Chiefs.
(Actually I’m returning to R&R because this vacation was so good I have to do my resting and recuperating upon return).
But I digress. We are back to hockey. Keep reading for some notes, most of which should be in Saturday’s paper, serving as an advance for Saturday’s game with Tri-Cities.
The Spokane Chiefs haven’t tried doing things the easy way very often this year.
This time, however, it didn’t cost them. Spokane gave up the game’s first goal for the seventh time in nine games Saturday night, but the Chiefs responded with three consecutive goals to secure a 3-1 victory over Kootenay in a Western Hockey League showdown.
Click here for the game story.
Goaltender
Chase Martin will get his first career WHL start on Friday night when the Chiefs
travel to Cranbrook, BC to take on the Kootenay Ice.
Spokane put a two-game losing streak to bed with a 5-2 victory over Prince Albert on Friday at the Arena. The Chiefs will go for their first back-to-back wins of the young season tonight when they host Seattle at 7.
Below, you can read my unedited game story as I’m pinch-hitting for beat writer Dave Trimmer.
The Spokane Chiefs were listless Friday night, falling to Portland 5-3 at the Arena. Below is the unedited story that will appear in Saturday’s newspaper.
Using the arrival of Kyle Beach as the focal point, we checked in with Spokane Chiefs coach Hardy Sauter about how he put his lines together early in the hockey season. That serves as our notebook lead prior to Friday’s Western Hocker League game with Portland Friday at the Arena. Check the extended entry for the unedited story that will appear in Friday’s paper.
A couple of quick notes, Gregg Drinnan has a piece on a WHL coach/GM and his White House connections, a fun little read; and there’s a Nick Patterson’s story in the Everett Herald about the Silvertips’ long layoff.
Spokane Chiefs forward T.C. Cratsenberg, who received a match penalty against Tri-City in Saturday’s home opener, has been suspended for one game by the Western Hockey League.
Cratsenberg receives the suspension because of the match penalty, which was the result of pulling an opponents helmet off during a fight. The 17-year old forward got into a fight Tyler Schmidt in the third period. Both received 5-minute fighting majors but the Americans got a 5-minute power play out of the exchange.
It should also be noted that 16-year old rookie forward Mike Aviani was reassigned by the Chiefs. His No. 21 was given to newcomer Kyle Beach. For a few more notes, involving trades by U.S. Division teams and ex-Chiefs, read the extended entry.
Blame Mother Nature. The follow-up on the Spokane Chiefs home opener, a solid 5-2 win over Western Hockey League rival Tri-City before a good crowd of 9,500, should have been done on Sunday. But a check of the 5-day weather indicated that getting outside for work and play, seemed like the best play for an official day off. There’s a long, cold winter ahead for Sunday morning computer work. Anyway, in addition to the game story, columnist John Blanchette had a column on newcomer Kyle Beach (above in Dan Pelle’s picture from Saturday night). There are also some leftover comments below.
The Spokane Chiefs had it all, or most of it all, in a 5-2 home opening win over the Tri-City Americans. The No. 1 line of Mitch Wahl, Levko Koper and newcomer Kyle Beach produced three goals (and so many chances it was scary) and veteran defensemen Brett Bartman and newly-named captain Jared Cowen whistled in a pair of big goals. The Americans did score on two of five power play chances, the first and last goals of the game.
Quickly, the story on Cowen being named captain, a look from afar at the Chiefs picking up Beach and the unedited story that will appear in Sunday’s paper.
The Spokane Chiefs home opener - and third game of the Western Hockey League season - is Saturday but below we’ve got our unedited version of the advance story/Levko Koper feature that will run in tomorrow’s paper. There is also this Tri-City Herald story on the Americans’ weekend, which starts with a home game against Portland tonight.
The Chiefs could name their captain today - expected to be Jared Cowen, and it sounds like newcomer Kyle Beach has No. 21, which means 16-year old forward Mike Aviani has been reassigned.
Not that the Spokane Chiefs’ home opener needs any hype, not with Western Hockey League rival Tri-City as the opposition, but the game certainly has an interesting sub-plot.
The Chiefs traded two defensemen for the player it seems every one loves to hate, Lethbridge forward Kyle Beach. (Here is our story, which was posted on the blog last night.)
Beach has a history with the Chiefs - and if you read the other blog posts on the trade you’ll see the famous punchout.
This trade is akin to swinging for the fence. It could be a home run - the Chiefs’ need for a big, scoring forward is well known. But it could be a whiff if it disrupts the lockerroom. However, Spokane management is convinced there is enough leadership on the team to make this trade a winner. It remains to be seen.
But what is going to be interesting Saturday night is how fans react to Beach. The punch-out was in Spokane, so fans are well aware of Beach. The guess is there may be some negative reaction that will turn around as soon as Beach contributes to a win.
There is this reaction on the Silvertips’ blog from Nick Patterson and his story in the Everett Herald. From Lethbridge, Pat Diedlecki’s blog and his story in the Lethbridge Herald. And then there is the take from Tri-City on Annie Fowler’s blog.
The Spokane Chiefs have traded two defensemen for offense.
Below is our unedited story, which leads off the notebook that will appear in tomorrow’s newspaper and then there are some addition comments on the trade. We posted the initial news earlier, which also includes a history lesson - Chiefs Chris Bruton KO’d new Chief Kyle Beach a few years back. There is also more information on the Hurricanes’ blog. And there’s this quick note calling the trade a win-win.
Steve Bergum covers EWU football and men's basketball, college baseball, and writes weekly golf column during the summer.
Recent work by Steve
Vince Grippi covers WSU sports and invites readers to share their thoughts on the sports news of the day.
Recent work by Vince
Greg Lee covers North Idaho high school sports and North Idaho College sports.
Recent work by Greg
Jim Meehan covers Gonzaga basketball, Whitworth football, Spokane Shock football and college volleyball.
Recent work by Jim
Dave Trimmer covers a variety of high school, college and professional sports and is the primary writer on the weekly Then & Now series.
Recent work by Dave
Mike Vlahovich covers high school sports, manages the weekly Prep Page and writes a column. Also writes the Washington Preps blog.
Recent work by Mike
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