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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chiefs seize 2-0 series lead


Spokane's Justin McCrae, left, and Everett's Vitaly Karamnov battle for the puck during the first period of Saturday's Western Conference playoff game at the Arena. 
 (Liz Kishimoto / The Spokesman-Review)

In the week leading into Spokane’s Western Hockey League playoff-opening series with the Everett Silvertips, Chiefs coach Bill Peters kept mentioning the phrase “battle level” – all but assuring that whoever had the most would come out on top.

So far, so good.

Ondrej Roman scored two goals and Dustin Tokarski stopped 18 shots as the Chiefs topped the Tips 4-1 on Saturday night at the Arena, taking full advantage of home-ice advantage to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Silvertips.

The series continues with the next three games in Everett on Wednesday, Friday and, if a fifth game is necessary, Saturday.

“We did a good job,” Peters said. “I thought our (competitiveness) was good – I didn’t think there was one guy that was a passenger. Usually there are one or two guys that aren’t coming along, but I thought tonight that all 20 guys found a way to contribute.”

That included a strong start and an improved effort from Friday on the Chiefs’ part.

Everett, which coach John Becanic admitted didn’t play well on Friday, also gave a better performance.

“I thought we were ready,” said Becanic. “We just weren’t playing at the same level they were playing tonight. They were very good. I don’t think they were pleased with their effort 5-on-5 (on Friday) and I knew they’d be a better team (tonight).

“We just couldn’t generate any offense.”

Little by little, the Chiefs did.

The first period was a back-and-forth battle, until Roman wristed in a shot from the left circle that went top shelf past Everett goalie Leland Irving for a power-play goal at 15 minutes and 57 seconds.

The Chiefs built on their lead 10:37 into the second when Seth Compton, who was camping around the left post, banged in a rebound of Dustin Donaghy shot to put Spokane up 2-0. Compton scored the goal after blocking a hard shot on the penalty kill earlier in the period, which left him favoring his left leg.

“He was able to go a little while longer running on adrenaline,” Peters said. “He’ll probably be pretty sore tonight and tomorrow morning, but there’s three days in between games, so we should be able to get him ready to go by Wednesday.”

Roman found the net again early in the third, scoring from the low slot on a behind-the-net feed from David Rutherford, who finished with two assists.

“What’s going on? He usually doesn’t shoot – I always try and tell him to,” joked Chiefs captain Chris Bruton, who lives with Roman. “It’s playoffs now, whole new season – maybe now he’s a shooter and not a passer.”

Probably not, as Roman’s 46 regular-season assists were a valuable asset to the Chiefs – but Roman certainly showed the damage he’s capable of doing.

“He’s a playmaker, and he knows that, and that’s his role – but tonight he contributed with goals and he was probably our best player,” Bruton said.

After Everett’s Clayton Bauer scored the Tips’ lone goal at 14:36, Spokane’s Mitch Wahl added an empty-net goal at 18:06 to round out the scoring.

Ice chips

Rookie defenseman Jace Coyle and Brett Bartman were healthy scratches for Spokane, along with forwards Ryan Letts and Blake Gal – who joined the team for the postseason. Gal was picked up by Spokane in the second round the 2007 Bantam Draft. … The Chiefs were 1 for 5 on the power play, while Everett was 0 for 3. Spokane outshot the Tips 45-19.