Chiefs Take Hats Off To Varga In Defeat Spokane Loses By One Goal For The 18th Time In Year

John Varga’s three goals - his second hat trick in eight nights - sent the Spokane Chiefs to their fourth straight loss Monday night at the Coliseum.

Varga also had an assist and the game-winning goal in a barrage of shots that carried the Tacoma Rockets to a 7-6 Western Hockey League win before 3,981.

It was Spokane’s 18th one-goal loss this season.

Playing without captain and scoring leader Bryan McCabe, who’s in Kitchener, Ontario, for the Canadian Hockey League All-Star Game, the Chiefs (19-32-1) stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to take leads of 4-3 and 5-4.

Jason Podollan had two goals in the comeback, one against Tacoma’s power play that put the Chiefs up for the first time.

But with Varga on fire in the late going, Tacoma (32-20-1) strengthened its hold on second place in the WHL West with its fourth win in five games.

“Varga dominated in the offensive side tonight,” Tacoma coach Marcel Comeau said. “Tyler Prosofsky and Tavis Hansen dug the puck out for him and certainly he can finish if you get him the puck.”

“They (Hansen and Prosofsky) were feeding me all night,” said Varga, who started the season with Portland, Maine, in the American Hockey League and has spent time with the NHL Washington Capitals. “I had a lot of opportunities.”

Varga’s third goal on a shot from the left circle came at 4:19 of the third period.

“Prosofky won the draw, the puck bounced into the corner, Hansen jumped in and passed it over to Tyler (Prosofky),” Varga explained. “I circled in the high slot and bounced around either (Greg) Leeb or Podollan and got some decent wood on it.”

The most impressive of the three goals was Varga’s second that put the Rockets ahead 6-5.

“I ended up coming in on a breakaway, faked with my forehand and went backhand (with the shot),” Varga said. “I was surprised my hands could do that.”

The backhander beat Spokane backup goaltender David Lemanowicz high.

Spokane coach Mike Babcock was satisfied with the effort in a game marred by Chiefs defensive breakdowns.

“We played real hard but breakdowns accounted for three or four goals,” Babcock said. “They took advantage of us being a little bit shorthanded (in the defensive end with McCabe gone and Jon Shockey injured).

“We did some good things - we didn’t give up a powerplay goal, we scored two powerplay goals of our own and our forecheck was very good at times,” Babcock said. “They didn’t want the puck too badly. There were some big hits out there.”

The Rockets went off 27 seconds into the game.

During a flurry in front of the Chiefs’ net, Spokane’s starting goaltender, Jarrod Daniel, rejected three shots but Tacoma’s Marty Flichel banged in a rebound.

That was the beginning of a rare off-night for Daniel, who was yanked at 13:57 of the first period after the Rockets went up 3-0.

Lemanowicz finished the period and the game.

WHL Player of the Week Vaclav Varada, Prosofsky and Kyle McLaren also scored for the Rockets, who were playing their fourth game in six nights.

The Chiefs tied it at 3 on Sean Gillam’s slap shot from the high slot at 1:13 of the second period.

Jeremy Stasiuk, Darren Sinclair and Randy Favaro added goals for the Chiefs, who are off until Portland comes in a week from Wednesday night.

After Varga notched his third goal at 4:19 of the third, Tacoma goaltender Kim Dillabaugh rejected Spokane’s Trent Whitfield and Leeb to protect the Rockets’ two-goal lead.

Then came Sinclair’s goal, his ninth of the year midway in the third period, that pulled the Chiefs to within one.

Spokane had three faceoffs inside the final minute with an extra attacker on for the goaltender, but each time Tacoma sent the puck back to the Chiefs’ end to cut off potential threats.