MEDICINE HAT, Alberta – For the second game in a row on their six-game swing through the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference, the Spokane Chiefs held a 4-3 lead early in the second period over a team with a winning record.
Part of the charm of the Western Hockey League is they shut down play for 10 days over Christmas to allow the mostly teenage players to go home and spend the holiday with their families.
It’s been a long December for the Spokane Chiefs, but Friday night at the Arena the home team put together its best 60-minute effort in a couple of weeks.
At the start of the season, the Spokane Chiefs looked at the December portion of their schedule – with eight out of 10 games at home – as a potential ramp-up to a playoff chase in the Western Hockey League second half.
For the first two periods of the game Sunday evening, the Spokane Chiefs owned the better of the play and the scoreboard, taking a two-goal lead into the third period against the first-place team in the U.S. Division.
Mazden Leslie scored a short-handed goal in the third period for a three-goal cushion and, despite a late comeback attempt, the Vancouver Giants beat the Spokane Chiefs 4-3 in a Western Hockey League game at the Spokane Arena on Sunday.