Winterhawks blank free-falling Chiefs

Brendan Leipsic scored twice and the Portland Winterhawks handed the Spokane Chiefs their fourth-straight loss with a 4-0 win in Western Hockey League action Saturday night in Portland.

The Winterhawks grabbed the momentum early, outshooting the Chiefs 21-1 in the first period.

It was the lowest shot total in a period for Spokane all season.

Taylor Leier opened the scoring at 14:22 of the first period. Leipsic made it 2-0 with a goal five minutes later. Leipsic added his second at 1:05 of the second period.

Oliver Bjorkstrand capped the scoring with a goal at 15:47 of the third period.

Portland finished with a 47-26 shot-advantage. Chiefs’ goaltender Eric Williams stopped 43 shots.

The four-game losing streak matches the longest of the season for Spokane. The Winterhawks’ shutout was their second straight over the Chiefs. The teams have meet four times over the past two weeks, with each team winning twice.

Spokane is now three points behind Tri-City for fourth place in the WHL’s Western Conference.

The Chiefs will be looking for the 1,000th win in franchise history on Wednesday when they take on Kelowna at the Spokane Arena. The game starts at 7:05 p.m.