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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chiefs open WHL season with 4-2 win at Tri-City

KENNEWICK – As to the nagging question of who will score for the Spokane Chiefs this season, the early answer appears to be: “anybody.”

Mitch Lipon and Tyson Helgesen scored their first goals as Chiefs to highlight a 4-2 win over the Tri-City Americans as the 2014-15 Western Hockey League season began at the Toyota Center.

Dominic Zwerger added an early goal that proved to be the winner and Spokane native Keanu Yamamoto had an unassisted goal for the Chiefs, who scored just eight goals during their final six preseason games.

“I think every time we go out there it’s going to be a team effort,” said Lipon, who came to Chiefs camp after the Saskatoon Blades removed him from their 50-man protected list. “There’s not going to be one line scoring all the time. You just have to keep things simple and it definitely showed today that every line can score out there.”

The Chiefs also received assists from six players, including the first WHL points for Matt Sozanski and Jordan Henderson.

“There’s no secret to scoring,” said Chiefs coach Don Nachbaur, whose 599th WHL win left him one shy of joining three others with 600 or more. “You have to get to the net and put pucks in the net. I really liked our game … I thought we were really dedicated to the structure of our team and we worked hard.”

“We spent way too much time in the penalty box in the first half,” said Americans first-year coach Mike Williamson. “After that, I don’t think we played as a group enough. There was a lot of 1-on-1 play.”

The Chiefs marked their 14th consecutive season of opening on the road. The previous five have been in Kennewick, including last season’s 6-2 victory and a 5-2 win the year before.

The Chiefs’ home opener will be Saturday against Tri-City. Spokane will have nine of its first 14 games at home.

Zwerger’s goal at 7 minutes, 20 seconds of the first period, an innocent-looking shot, slipped between the pads of Americans goalie Evan Sarthou. Riley Whittingham and Hudson Elynuik, who left soon after with an injury, assisted on the goal.

Lipon made it 2-0 at 17:47, aided by Sozanski and Jeff Rayman.

“I come here as an 18-year-old, but I guess I’m kind of like a rookie,” Lipon said. “But then again, I’m a vet and I’m expected to produce.”

The Americans beat Chiefs goalie Garret Hughson, last year’s backup, with 1 second left in the first period on a power-play goal by Vladislav Lukin.

Tri-City was the aggressor in the second period, outshooting the Chiefs 15-8, but Helgesen’s power-play goal at 15:02, assisted by Henderson and Adam Helewka, gave Spokane a 3-1 edge.

The Americans quickly struck back, but Yamamoto’s unassisted goal on a 4-on-4 play with 51 seconds left in the second period gave the Chiefs back their two-goal edge.

“There was a 12-minute period during the second period where I thought we changed our game, but we got right back to it in the third and it was very effective for us,” Nachbaur said. “It’s a good start for the season.”

The Chiefs played without their top returning scorer, defenseman Jason Fram, who is spending the weekend at the Calgary Flames’ camp.