Chiefs round 1st bend in search of consistency

Tonight, the Spokane Chiefs will reach the one-quarter mark of their Western Hockey League season.

They entertain the Seattle Thunderbirds – now with coach Rob Sumner behind the bench – in a game at the Arena which will be another key test. Spokane has failed most of its exams during the five-game homestand which ends tonight.

The Chiefs lost the first three games of the stretch – albeit to quality opponents (Kelowna, Everett, and Portland). Then, on Saturday, Tri-City came to town and Spokane improved to 3-0 on the season against its flagging rival with a 3-1 win.

The Chiefs stand in third place in the five-team U.S. Division, one point behind Portland and four ahead of Seattle. By almost every measure, they are a middle-of-the-pack team:

“Their record is 8-9-0-0 entering tonight’s contest.

“They are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

“They have scored 48 goals, allowed 52.

Bill Peters, the team’s rookie head coach, says the team isn’t where it should be at this point in the season – though he doesn’t blame his players. He’s pointing fingers; at himself.

“I think (the players) have delivered for the most part,” said Peters. “Where we’re at is that we’re a .500 team at the quarter-pole … and the coach has to do a better job of getting his team ready and able to win those close games where we haven’t gotten the job done in the third period.”

One positive sign is that the team’s offensive production has started to come to life.

The Chiefs scored just 23 goals in their first nine games (2.5 per game), but have scored 25 in eight games (3.1) since that time.

When asked what his team needs to do in the next segment of the season, Peters says it’s simple.

“It’s just to make strides to reach our potential,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve played up to our potential consistently and, again, that’s my fault. We have more talent than a .500 team. We’re a better team than that and we will be a better team for the rest of the year. I strongly believe that.”

Peters has a tough job changing the mindset of a team which has lost more than it has won over recent years.

“Obviously there’s a culture that we want in place and, obviously, that culture isn’t there yet,” he said. “I’ve got to do a better of job of making sure everyone knows what’s expected of them and making sure they deliver.”

The Chiefs have been competitive; nearly half of their games have been decided by one goal. Spokane is 5-3 in those games.

The coaching staff has shuffled the lines to find the right combinations. Now it’s a matter of those players developing chemistry on the ice. But Peters says there’s one thing separating his teams from the top ones in the league:

“Consistency,” he said. “… I think we’re real close to turning the corner and becoming consistent.”

Howarth returns

Kyle Howarth is back.

The hard-hitting Chiefs 19-year-old left winger had all but disappeared this season, playing in a manner which saw him stuck on the fourth line. Then, in the biggest of wake up calls, he was a healthy scratch on Oct. 30th against Kelowna – the team for which his twin brother Brent plays.

On Saturday night, though, he got things going for Spokane by setting up Michael Grabner on the team’s first two goals and earned the second star of the game.

“It feels good to get a couple points under the belt there,” said Howarth, who had only one assist in 14 games before Saturday.