Chiefs will hit halfway point on Wednesday night

The Spokane Chiefs will reach the halfway point of their Western Hockey League schedule tonight with their traditional New Year’s Eve game in Kennewick.

Their 72-game schedule may be hitting its middle point, but the Chiefs are at their high point. Spokane (20-12-3-0, 63 points) has won a season-high six consecutive games heading in to its contest against the Tri-City Americans (18-16-0-1, 37) at Toyota Center.

The Chiefs have outscored opponents 26-13 during the streak, which began Dec. 12 with a 4-3 win at Portland that snapped the team’s 16-game losing streak against the Winterhawks.

Win No. 6 in the streak came Sunday, another 4-3 decision at Portland that allowed Spokane to move into second place in the U.S. Division.

Spokane is 4-1-0-0 against Tri-City this season. The Americans have lost eight of 12 games since their lone win over the Chiefs, Nov. 15 at the Arena.

Tri-City holds a 15-7-0-1 advantage (with one tie) in the New Year’s Eve contest, which celebrates its 25th year.

The Chiefs continue a four-game road swing with back-to-back contests at Victoria on Friday and Saturday.