Moose Jaw Serves Loss To Chiefs Warriors’ Goaltender Comes Up Big To Turn Back 46 Of Spokane’s 49 Shots

Three seasons, three distinctly different teams.

There was the young Spokane Chiefs that Mike Babcock inherited in 1994, the team that overachieved.

There was the seasoned veterans he took to the Western Hockey League West Division championship a year ago.

And there is this team, the one in transition, searching for momentum.

The common thread running through all three is that each lost to the Moose Jaw Warriors in Spokane.

After the Warriors came from a goal down in the second period Saturday night to win 4-3 before another 10,455 sellout in the Arena, Moose Jaw captain Darryl Laplante was asked about a jinx.

“I don’t know if you can call it a Moose Jaw jinx but it’s definitely become a habit,” said Laplante, who had a pair of goals and an assist.

“I’ve played here three times in three years and I’m 3-0. It’s kind of nice beating Mike in his own rink, that’s for sure.”

Babcock, who spent two seasons as coach and general manager in Moose Jaw, is 2-0 against the Warriors in Moose Jaw but 0-3 against them here.

This one he could write off to Moose Jaw’s two late second-period goals 44 seconds apart and standout goaltending. Goaltender Donovan Nunweiller rejected 46 of 49 Spokane shots to send the Chiefs skidding to their third loss in this just-concluded five-game homestand.

It’s not the kind of momentum the Chiefs were looking for heading into a three-game road swing.

Babcock refused to take his team to task for this one.

“They have to be thinking their goalie won the game, don’t they?” Babcock said. “I told the guys, when you play that way - that hard and that well - it’s not often that a goalie wins a game like that. So just keep playing. The challenge now is to keep matching this kind of effort.”

Derek Schutz had given the Chiefs their first lead at 12:35 of the second with a quick wrist shot from the top of the left circle, assisted by Greg Leeb, whose rinkwide pass set up Schutz for his second goal of the game and 17th of the year.

But Laplante shed John Cirjak in the slot on the way to his 33rd goal of the year at 17:47 to tie it at 3, and 44 seconds later, Kaleb Toth got a gift.

His first shot was rejected nicely by Chiefs goaltender Aren Miller but Toth got the puck back with Miller on his knees and poked it through the goalie’s pads with 1:31 left in the second period.

Nunweiller made that one-goal lead stand. The 19-year-old rookie has six shutouts this season, tied for seventh all-time in the WHL.

The Chiefs - who fell to 9-14 in games decided by one goal - yanked Miller with 1:15 left and nearly punched in a late one with the extra attacker. Trent Whitfield, alone briefly with the puck at the doorstep, shot high over the glass with 5 seconds left.

The Chiefs (29-28-4) came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to salvage a 2-2 tie after the first 20 minutes. Rob Hegberg and Laplante scored for Moose Jaw (30-25-7). Marian Cisar and Schutz countered for Spokane.

Laplante did not played for Babcock in Moose Jaw, but he was placed on the club’s 50-man protected list during Babcock’s tenure. Laplante validated the clarity of Babcock’s vision with two key plays.

“My first goal, (Matt) Higgins threw the puck out in the slot and I just picked it up and backhanded it through Miller’s 5-hole,” he said.

“The second one, Dusty Paul made a nice pass out to me in the slot. I just one-timed it. It hit the post and went in.”

Warriors 4, Chiefs 3

Moose Jaw 2 2 0 - 4

Spokane 2 1 0 - 3

First period-1, Moose Jaw, Hegberg 6 (Paul, Laplante), 3:19. 2, Spokane, Cisar 21 (Graf, Schutz), 13:31. 3, Moose Jaw, Laplante 32 (Hinz, Higgins), 15:47. 4, Spokane, Schutz 16 (Hamilton, Cirjak), 18:41. Key penalties-Hegberg, MJ, 6:17.

Second period-5, Spokane, Schutz 17 (Leeb), 12:35. 6, Moose Jaw, Laplante 33 (Paul, Lynch), 17:47. 7, Moose Jaw, Toth 20 (Robertson, Tobler), 18:29. Key penalties-Miller, Spo (served by Boschman), 1:49; Brown, Spo, 4:25; Schutz, Spo, 7:30; Hegberg, MJ, 7:56; Low, MJ, 15:08.

Third period-None. Key penalties- None.

Power-play opp.-Moose Jaw 0 of 3; Spokane 0 of 3. Saves-Moose Jaw, Nunweiller 16-18-12-46. Spokane, Miller 6-9-6-21. A-10,455.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: COMING UP Tuesday: Spokane at Prince George, 7:30 p.m.