Ranford, Blazers steamroll weary Chiefs
Spokane’s marathon road trip comes to end tonight
KAMLOOPS, British Columbia – Brendan Ranford notched a hat trick – before the second period was over – and the Kamloops Blazers breezed to an 8-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in Western Hockey League action Tuesday.
The Blazers (24-23-2-3) led 3-0 by the end of the first period and increased it to 7-1 after two periods.
Even a revolving door at the goalie position couldn’t help the Chiefs (27-18-3-1) slow down the Blazers.
Michael Tadjdeh started in goal for Spokane, but he made a quick exit after surrendering two goals in the first three minutes of play.
James Reid entered and allowed goals number three, four and five. Tadjdeh returned long enough to give up two more goals, before Reid finished up the final six-plus minutes of the contest without allowing a score.
Things got so bad for Tadjdeh that he went 17 minutes between saves. He allowed five goals on nine shots on the night. Reid gave up three goals on 15 shots.
“Obviously, there’s not much to be happy about tonight,” Chiefs coach Hardy Sauter said. “We needed considerably more work ethic than we had tonight. I did think our young guys played good when they had the chance.”
The Chiefs were trailing 6-0 when Dominik Uher found the net for Spokane’s only goal of the night. Brenden Kichton and Jared Spurgeon assisted on Uher’s fourth tally of the season.
The Chiefs outshot the Blazers 27-24, although Kamloops buried a third of its shots in the net.
Spokane’s marathon eight-game road trip ends tonight when it travels to Chilliwack. The Chiefs play host to Seattle on Friday night.