Reed Jacobson scores twice as Spokane thumps Tri-Ctiy for first win of season

It took eight games, but the Spokane Chiefs finally have one in the win column.

Thanks to a career night for Reed Jacobson and another strong power play, the Chiefs used big second and third periods to dispatch the visiting Tri-City Americans 5-2 Wednesday night.

Jacobson scored two goals and added two assists in the win. Adam Beckman and Eli Zummack each had a goal and an assist, while Blake Swetlikoff added two assists.

The Chiefs faltered in the first period, allowing Tri-City to get 17 shots on net, including one that got past goaltender Campbell Arnold when Luke Zazula scored from the point at 15:05. Spokane could only muster seven shots on net in the first and was fortunate to only be down a goal.

Things changed swiftly in the second. Bobby Russell got Spokane on the board at 3:40 when he one-timed a puck that bounced to the point. Jacobson gave Spokane the lead at 6:19 when he swatted a rebound past Tri-City goaltender Talyn Boyko moments after a power play expired.

A little more than two minutes later, Adam Beckman scored on the power play and suddenly the Chiefs were up 3-1.

“We responded well. I don’t think the staff or the players were very happy with that first,” head coach Adam Maglio said. “I really liked the second and third. There are times with a young group maybe you start getting away from it and cheating, but they came out and played the right way and the result was there.”

Zazula got Tri-City within one at 16:15 on the power play with his second goal of the game, but that was as close as the Americans came.

Jacobson scored his second goal on the power play at 15:18 of the third and Zummack finished things off with an empty-netter as the game wound down.

Jacobson’s first goal was a result of being in a good position, while his second one took advantage of some space Boyko left open in the net.

“The first one I looked at the goalie and he was kind of scrambling, so I just put it on net,” he said. “The second one I just threw it on net because I saw the goalie was kind of cheating, so it just happened to go in.”

Arnold kept Spokane in it while facing 35 shots on the night. But it was two key saves that stood out.

Arnold let a puck sneak through him in the first period but was able to reach back and swat it away just before it crossed the goal line to keep the game at 1-0. He then made a pretty glove save in the third period to preserve a 3-2 lead. Had either shot gone in, it could have been a different game.

“He kept us in it in the first, for sure,” Maglio said. “Those were big momentum builders.”

The Chiefs will go for win No. 2 on Friday when they host the Portland Winterhawks.

Chiefs add 15-year-old defenseman Weinstein to roster

The Chiefs this week announced the addition of Saige Weinstein to the active roster. Weinstein will provide another body for Spokane on the blue line and help the team deal with depth issues caused by injuries to Mac Gross and Graham Sward.

Weinstein, Spokane’s first-round selection in last summer’s bantam draft, is listed as an Affiliated Player and won’t turn 16 until May 30.

Because his home club team’s season was canceled, he won’t have any restrictions on how many games he can play.

Weinstein is in Spokane and in mandatory quarantine. He will join team activities next week.