Chiefs fall 3-1 in Seattle
SEATTLE – The Spokane Chiefs got on the board first midway through the first period, but that was all the offense they could muster in a 3-1 loss to the last-place Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday.
The Chiefs (34-16-4-2) remain in second place in the U.S. Division with 74 points, five points behind Portland. Third-place Tri-City beat Chilliwack 6-1 Sunday, giving the Americans 73 points.
Anthony Bardaro opened the scoring at 10:27 of the first period with an unassisted goal.
Seattle’s Travis Toomey scored the equalizer at 15:09 of the second period. Ryan Button and Burke Gallimore assisted.
The Thunderbirds got the winning goal just 1:57 into the third period, with Colin Jacobs scoring. Brendan Rouse and Button assisted. Gallimore scored into an empty net with 56 seconds remaining, with Rouse and Button picking up assists.
Calvin Pickard made 57 saves to pick up the win for Seattle, while Spokane’s Mac Engel made 35 saves. The Chiefs outshot the Thunderbirds 58-37, including a 28-10 margin in the third period.
Spokane plays the second game of its five-game road trip Wednesday against Everett at 7p.m.