Chiefs reconfigured No. 1 line scorches Ice

Spokane Chiefs coach Don Nachbaur tinkered with his lineup on Friday night and put Calder Brooks, Adam Helewka and Kailer Yamamoto on the same line.

The three produced a goal during a road loss to Seattle, so Nachbaur made the three his No. 1 line for Saturday’s home game against the Kootenay Ice.

Nachbaur may have struck gold, as the three had a hand in every goal during a 4-3 Western Hockey League win over the Ice at the Arena.

Brooks had two goals and two assists, Helweka added two goals and one assist, and Yamamoto, the 16-year-old Spokane native who scored his first two career goals on Wednesday and Friday, had three assists.

“They had a great night tonight,” Nachbaur said. “We needed that, especially coming off (Friday) night. I thought we played really well in Everett and had a subpar performance last night (against Seattle). And we had a line that really carried us tonight.”

Brooks, acquired from Prince Albert early in the season, scored his goals 1 minute, 7 seconds apart in the second period to give Spokane (6-3-3-0, 15 points) a 2-1 edge.

“I’m not really known for scoring a ton of goals and putting up huge points in the past, but this year coming in that was one of my goals,” Brooks said. “Number one, just to win games and have successful games, and when that happens you’re usually able to put up points. That’s working right now.”

Helewka’s first goal, midway through the second period, boosted the lead to 3-1. His power-play goal with 12:13 left in the game – just Spokane’s seventh in 44 attempts this season – seemingly put the Chiefs in command at 4-1.

“We were mostly just getting pucks to the net and getting rebounds,” Helewka said. “Every time we made a play, there was always one guy at net and that guy was creating all the chances.”

The Ice, who have the worst record in the league at 3-11-0-0, pushed Spokane to the limit when Matt Alfaro scored his second goal of the game with 5:32 left and Zak Zborosky added a score 37 seconds later.

Kootenay also got a power-play chance with 2:01 left and briefly pulled goalie Wyatt Hoflin for a 6-on-4 edge. Spokane held up for the win as the Chiefs played their eighth game decided by one goal.

“It didn’t have to be a one-goal game,” Nachbaur said. “When you have a three-goal lead with 9 minutes left in the game, you have to learn how to play with that lead and we have a lot to learn.”

Spokane will host defending Memorial Cup champion Edmonton on Wednesday night. The Oil Kings are 4-0 on the road and defeated Spokane 4-1 last season.

Injury update

The Chiefs’ injury list includes D Jeff Rayman (day-to-day), F Devon McAndrews (TBD) and F Mitch Lipon (2-4 weeks). All have upper-body injuries.