Chiefs’ Daniel Shuts Down Prince George

No matter where in the Western Hockey League he plays, or where the Cougars of Prince George are stationed, Jarrod Daniel has their number.

That number is zero.

Daniel, the Spokane Chiefs’ 20-year-old goaltender, notched his third career shutout Saturday night, a 7-0 blanket over the Cougs in the Coliseum.

All three of Daniel’s blanks have been fired at this same club, the first two shutouts when the Cougs were campaigning as the Victoria Cougars.

Daniel shut them out last year, when he was a Portland Winter Hawk, and zeroed in on them in his rookie season as netminder for the Swift Current Broncos.

The Cougars vacated Victoria at the conclusion of last season for hockey-starved Prince George, but the move changed nothing.

Daniel again was the lead page of a textbook win, the Chiefs’ fifth straight heading into tonight’s 6 o’clock home test with the Prince Albert Raiders, the WHL East Division leader.

His first shutout as a Chief was sweet, but Daniel will remember the initial one in Swift Current as even sweeter.

“It was my first year and my first game ever in Swift and I shut this team out,” Daniel said. “But it was great tonight, too. I’ve been striving for this for quite a while now. The guys played a great defensive game.”

Daniel rejected 25 shots. “They had a couple of opportunities, but nothing too serious,” he said.

The Raiders, watching from the upper-level press and broadcast area, saw Spokane’s Joe Cardarelli score two goals and Jason Podollan - the hottest stick in the WHL celebrate his 19th birthday with a goal and an assist as the Chiefs improved to 24-32-1.

Podollan has eight goals and five assists in his last six games.

“Three breakaways in the first (one with the Chiefs off-side),” Podollan recounted, shaking his head. “I usually don’t miss those. I had a little trouble off the post and he (Prince George goaltender Chris Mason) made a good save on one. But it was nice to get one on my birthday.”

Prince George, last in the WHL West Division and short-handed without the injured Sheldon Souray and Chris Peterson, fell to 14-40-3.

It was a week ago that Cardarelli found himself in street clothes for a Saturday night game with Lethbridge.

Cardarelli called it a wakeup call. Coach Mike Babcock called it a numbers game. Not everybody on the roster suits up.

Anyway you put it, Cardarelli was benched.

“We talked about him not shooting the puck,” Babcock said. “He’s worked harder this week. He got us going tonight.”

“It hurt,” Cardarelli said, “but I thought I took it pretty well. It was a lesson on what I have to do at practice.”

In the two games since Cardarelli’s name was scratched, his play has taken on what Babcock calls jump.

Cardarelli jumped to the net to poke in the third rebound off Mason for the game-opening score at 9:20 of the first period.

Sean Gillam’s slap shot from the right point found a defenseman’s stick and spun between Mason’s pads to make it 2-0 after one period.

First Podollan, with his 38th goal, and then Cardarelli on the power play struck in the second period to trigger the rout.

Randy Favaro’s scorching slap shot found the net in the third period. Darren Sinclair and Jay Bertsch also scored to the delight of 5,291, who can redeem their ticket stubs this week for free lunch pizza, a promotion that kicks in when the Chiefs score seven or more goals.

Spokane 7, Prince George 0

Prince George 0 0 0 - 0 Spokane 2 2 3 - 7

First period-1, Spokane, Cardarelli 19 (Favaro, Fletcher), 9:20. 2, Spokane, Gillam 14 (Sinclair, Stasiuk) 11:48. Key penalties - Sawyer, Spo, :22; Stasiuk, Spo, 5:52; Gillam, Spo, 19:25.

Second period-3, Spokane, Podollan 38 (Leonov), 8:30 (sh). 4, Spokane, Cardarelli (Shockey, Cirjak), 13:53 (pp). Key penalties - Podollan, Spo, 2:19; Lynch, PG, 3:44; Fletcher, Spo, minor, misconduct, 6:37; Voltera, PG, 8:45; Stasiuk, Spo, 9:08; Catellier, PG, 12:31; Sawyer, Spo, high sticking major, game misconduct, 15:31; Smith, PG, 15:42.

Third period-5, Spokane, Favaro 6 (Bertsch) 4:47. 6, Spokane, Sinclair 12, 6:21. 7, Spokane, Bertsch 4 (Podollan), 17:11. Key penalties - Mason, PG, served by Voltera, 2:19; Voltera, PG, 9:09.

Power-play opp.-Prince George 0 of 7; Spokane 1 of 4.Saves-Prince George, Mason 12-14-7-33, Walker x-x-7-7. Spokane, Daniel 5-10-10-25.A-5,291.