Spokane Chiefs’ ‘gutsy’ comeback effort against Everett falls short in 5-4 loss

Down by four goals heading into the third period Friday night, the Spokane Chiefs could have easily folded. They had every excuse on the table: They again had a depleted lineup, a goose egg on four power-play opportunities, and they surrendered four second-period goals.

But the Chiefs weren’t in the mood for excuses, and while they got three goals in the third period and a flurry of activity in front of the Everett Silvertips’ net in the final seconds, they couldn’t quite get over the hump in a 5-4 loss at the Arena.

“It was a gutsy effort,” Chiefs coach Adam Maglio said. “We’re short-handed, so guys stepped up and we were resilient, which we want to see. That’s our identity and our culture. But it comes down to that lapse in the second period and ultimately that cost us the game.”

Jack Finley had a hat trick for Spokane, and Luke Toporowski had three assists. Hunter Campbell had a goal and two assists for Everett. Matthew Ng also had a multi-point night, scoring a goal and an assist.

Two of Finley’s goals came in the pivotal third period, including a short-handed goal 1:46 into the final frame. That was Spokane’s fourth short-handed goal of the season, tops in the league.

Blake Swetlikoff scored Spokane’s only power-play goal on seven chances at 10:14 of the third. Finley completed his hat trick at 15:45 of the third to get Spokane within one.

But it was the second period that doomed the Chiefs. Spokane could only muster four shots on Everett goaltender Koen MacInnes and allowed Everett to pelt starting goalie Mason Beaupit with 11 shots – four of which went in.

Everett’s four goals in the second came fast and furious. Campbell was left alone in the slot and sniped one past Beaupit at 14:41 to give Everett a 2-1 lead.

Jonny Lambos gave Everett a 3-1 lead at 16:11 after getting a shot from the point through traffic. Just 25 seconds later, Ng scored to give Everett a commanding 4-1 lead. Alex Swetlikoff scored with 26 seconds left in the second to make it 5-1.

After playing Everett pretty even the first 30 minutes of the game, the Chiefs were suddenly in a deep hole. Manny Panghli manned the net for Spokane in the third.

“Other than (the second period), we were in the game the whole time,” Finley said. “We have confidence in our group and we’ve been down before and come back. The message was to just keep going.”

The seven power-play opportunities in the game and just one goal to show for it is not something the Chiefs will want to repeat against any team, let alone one of the hardest teams to play against.

“I thought we got a couple looks but not a lot of sustained pressure,” Maglio said.

The Chiefs also gave Everett six power-play opportunities and killed all of them, including a 5-on-3 in the third period. Defenseman Saige Weinstein took three penalties himself, including two for playing the puck over the glass.

Playing so many minutes on special teams lends itself to shifts in momentum and can impact how you deploy your lineup, Maglio said.

This was the second game in a row between the two teams, and they’ll be back at it tonight at the Arena. They’ll play for the fourth time in a row Nov. 10 in Everett. By now, there are no secrets between the two teams.

“When you play a team that often you’re going to hate them,” Finley said. “They compete real hard and we do too.”