Chiefs win in shootout

PORTLAND – The Spokane Chiefs had their first overtime game of the season and their first franchise shootout.

With a flair for drama, Spokane and Portland went seven skaters deep into the shootout before Spokane prevailed in sudden-death by a final score of 5-4 in Western Hockey League play on Friday night at the Rose Garden.

The win put the Chiefs (6-6-0-0, 12 points) alone in second place in the U.S. Division as they edged ahead of Portland (5-6-0-1, 11).

Spokane won the shootout 3-2 on goals by Derek Ryan, Chad Klassen and Johannes Salmonsson (who had the final one). The shootout came after a scoreless 5-minute overtime.

In regulation, Ryan and Joe Logan each had two assists as Spokane pulled goaltender Jim Watt with 1 minute, 42 seconds left.

The extra skater allowed Adam Hobson to score his fourth goal of the season with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Chiefs scored the first goal of the game, just 1:32 into the first period, when defenseman Matt McCue got his first goal of the season on the power play. Portland tied the game on Michael Funk’s power-play goal at 14:19 of the first period.

Portland then scored on two of its six shots in the second period (Jonathan Bubnick, 3:02, Jannik Hansen, 10:25), both on the power play, sandwiched around Spokane’s second goal of the game (by Michael Grabner at 3:19, also on the power play).

Spokane tied the game just 2:37 into the third period on Jeff Lynch’s power-play goal, but Portland’s Brandon Dubinsky gave Portland its last lead (at 3:44) before Hobson’s late score.

Chiefs 5, Winter Hawks 4 (shootout)

Spokane won shootout 3-2

First Period – 1, Spo, McCue 1 (Schulz, Ryan) 1:32 (pp); 2, Por, Funk 3 (Bailey, Dubinsky) 14:19 (pp). Key penalties – Fike, Por (interference) 1:16; Klassen, Spo (slashing) 13:47.

Second Period – 3, Por, Bubnick 7 (Woolger, Balan) 3:02 (pp); 4, Spo, Grabner 2 (Ja Lynch) 3:19 (pp); 5, Por, Hansen 6 (Dubinsky) 10:25 (pp). Key penalties – Mazurek, Por (holding) 2:30; Stoesz, Spo (goaltender int.) 9:42.

Third Period – 6, Spo, Je Lynch 3 (Klassen, Logan) 2:37 (pp); 7, Por, Dubinsky (Hansen, Gordichuk) 3:44; 8, Spo, Hobson 4 (Ryan, Logan) 19:45. Key penalty – Fike, Por (tripping) :50.

Overtime – None.

Shootout – Spokane 3 (Bowman, miss; Grabner, miss; Ryan, goal; Klassen, goal; Zimmerman, miss; Logan, miss; Salmonsson, goal); Portland 2 (Hotson, miss; Bubnick, goal; Dubinsky, miss; Woolger, goal; Bailey, miss; Golin, miss; Balan, miss).

Power-play Opp. – Spokane 3 of 5; Portland 3 of 6. Saves – Spokane, Watt (W, 5-6-0-0) 26 saves. Portland, Butler (L, 4-4-0-0) 38 saves. A – 5,526.