Chiefs’ New Goaltender Will Get Chance To Show What He Can Do

David Haun, acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings at last week’s Western Hockey League trade deadline, gets his first Spokane start in goal tonight when the Spokane Chiefs take on the strug gling Tri-City Americans in the Arena.

Haun’s numbers are comparable to those of Aren Miller, the starter in Spokane the past two seasons. Haun had a 3.26 goals-against average and .891 saves percentage with the Wheat Kings. Miller has a 3.13 goals-against average and an .887 saves percentage.

Coach Mike Babcock said Haun was brought in to “help and support Miller,” but that each would get one start and “in the end the best guy will play.”

The Chiefs have announced that defenseman Kyle Rossiter will play in the Feb. 10 Canadian Hockey League top prospects game at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Rossiter is one of only four WHL defenseman selected for the game that includes 25 of 27 players projected as potential first-round picks. Rossiter is seen by one scouting service as a late first-round selection.

Ex-Chiefs players Regan Darby and Blake Evans return to the Arena tonight with the Americans, the youngest team in the WHL with an average age of 17.6.

The Americans, who haven’t won at home since Nov. 16, would probably have to win 15 of their last 20 games to seriously contend for the last playoff spot in the West.

“That’s not realistic with the hole we’ve dug for ourselves,” the club’s publicist and broadcaster John Emmett said Thursday.

The Ams acquired 18-year-old forward Bobby Duncan from Portland at the trade deadline for 20-year-old sniper Mike Hurley. Duncan, a two-way player with two more seasons of junior eligibility, has averaged a point a game since the swap.

, DataTimes