Rebels clamp down on Chiefs

For the 10th time in 14 games, the Spokane Chiefs found themselves in a one-goal game. But despite putting 39 shots on net, the Chiefs could only manage to get one past goalie Taz Burman of the Red Deer Rebels on their way to a 2-1 Western Hockey League loss on Saturday.

The Chiefs had ample opportunities to score and had a 32-10 shots-on-goal advantage heading into the final period down 1-0, but only got seven shots on goal the rest of the way.

Despite the frustrating outcome, Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur was pleased with how his team played.

“I liked our guys’ effort,” he said. “We’re not the most gifted team as far as finishing a play and scoring a goal, but we’ve been getting it done. I thought tonight we worked hard, we competed hard, we just ended up on the wrong side of the ledger.”

The Rebels’ Tyler Sandhu got the visitors on the board first after taking a pass from behind the net, faking Chiefs’ goalie Garret Hughson and then sending a backhand shot into the net.

Red Deer added a second goal at the 12:55 mark of the third period when Evan Polei tipped a Scott Feser shot past Hughson on the power play.

The Chiefs got within one goal when Markson Bechtold scored at the 17:20 mark of the third period. The Chiefs then pulled Hughson to get an extra attacker in the last minute but could not convert.

Red Deer’s Burman was solid all night long, stopping 38 of Spokane’s 39 shots on goal.

After playing so well for two periods and pressuring the Rebels’ defense, the Chiefs took some missteps in the final period.

“We got off our game plan,” Nachbaur said. “We turned the game into a rush and spent too much time in our end. They were moving their feet, we weren’t.”

Spokane defenseman and captain Jason Fram echoed his coach’s thoughts.

“They took it to us,” Fram said. “They’re a good team and they brought a lot of pressure in that third period.”

The Rebels are in the midst of a six-game road trip through the league’s Western Conference. The two teams don’t play each other much, but Nachbaur said that didn’t hurt the team’s preparation.

“We have enough Internet feeds that we’ve seen them play,” he said. “Our guys had a pretty good idea, and they’re a good team.”

Red Deer boasts two 2014 first-round NHL Draft picks in defenseman Haydn Fleury and center Connor Bleackley.

The Chiefs fall to 7-4-3-0 (17 points). They remain in second place in the U.S. Division behind Everett and one point ahead of Tri-City.