It’s a crucial week for Chiefs in U.S. Division

The Spokane Chiefs, coming off a big weekend win, have no time to rest.

Saturday night, Spokane gained ground on second-place Tri-City with a home win over the Americans before a sellout crowd, which wasn’t decided until goaltender Kevin Armstrong saved the last shot at the final horn.

The intense contest was a good example for the Chiefs of how they need to play on a nightly basis to remain in the hunt for opening-round, home-ice advantage in the Western Hockey League playoffs.

The top four teams from the five-team U.S. Division qualify for the playoffs and all but last-place Portland are virtually assured a spot. But the positioning continues for the playoff spots with Everett (86 points) in command for the top seed.

That leaves three teams – Tri-City (65), Spokane (62) and Seattle (59) – competing for second through fourth, and only the best of those will get home-ice advantage.

The Americans have games in hand over the other two teams, having played two less than Seattle and three less than Spokane. That makes this week even more critical for the Chiefs. Spokane plays four games within the division the next five days and three are on the road, beginning tonight at Seattle. It is the first of a home-and-home match-up with the Thunderbirds on consecutive nights.

The Thunderbirds visit the Arena on Wednesday.

Spokane then gets just one day of rest before another pair of crucial road games Friday at Everett and Saturday at Tri-City as the WHL schedule winds its way through the final weeks.