Conner Roulette scores go-ahead goal early in third, Spokane Chiefs top Wenatchee 5-2

Part of the charm of the Western Hockey League is they shut down play for 10 days over Christmas to allow the mostly teenage players to go home and spend the holiday with their families.

Coaches of teams on a hot streak sometime rue the break, while team that were struggling can use the time off to try to reset. And with only one practice before games resume, sometimes it takes a game or two for players to get their legs under them again.

The Spokane Chiefs lost seven of eight entering the break, but the win came in their final game before the holiday, a well-played 3-1 win over Portland on Dec. 16. They seemed to carry that momentum into Wednesday’s restart.

Conner Roulette scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, defenseman Will McIsaac had three assists and the Chiefs earned their second win in a row, topping the Wenatchee Wild 5-2 at the Arena.

The Wild were missing several players representing their country at the World Juniors, including Arizona Coyotes 2022 first-round pick Conor Geekie and Buffalo Sabres ’22 first-round pick Matthew Savoie.

Spokane forged a 2-0 lead, withstood Wenatchee’s comeback in the second period, then pulled away with three goals in the third. 

“I thought we stumbled a little bit in the second period once we went up 2-0,” Chiefs coach Ryan Smith said. “We made some plays that just weren’t conducive to winning. Then in the third period we bared down, made the right plays. (We) got a little bit of breathing room with that fourth goal, which was nice. And then we just continued to put pucks in deep and pin them in their own end.”

Chiefs goalie Dawson Cowan was stellar much of the night and ended with 41 saves. Spokane held Wenatchee to 0 for 4 on the power play. The Chiefs were outshot 41-35 overall and 20-6 in the second period. 

“He was outstanding,” Smith said of his netminder. “Dawson was good tonight. I mean, he’s a good goalie. He’s solid – and Cooper (Michaluk) is as well. That’s when we need them the most in games that were not on top. 

“We had, I think, three or four penalties in (the second) period. So, lots of things didn’t go our way, but for sure Dawson did that period.”

Tied at 2 entering the third, Chiefs forward Ty Cheveldayoff was assessed a minor interference penalty 5 seconds in, negating nearly a minute of Spokane carry-over power-play time.

The Chiefs weathered the penalty kill and got some bounce out of it. Not quite 4 minutes into the period they recaptured the lead as McIsaac’s shot from the point was tipped by Roulette in the slot past Wenatchee goalie Daniel Hauser high glove side to make it 3-2.

“When we can kill penalties, it gives momentum and takes it away from the other team,” Smith said. “That was a huge moment in the game.”

The Chiefs made it a two-goal game midway through the period. After sustained pressure, McIsaac found Rasmus Ekström at the left post and the Swedish import buried it past an out-of-position Hauser for his sixth goal of the season – and McIsaac’s career high third assist in the game.

McIsaac was named the second star of the game, the first such honor for the stay-at-home defenseman. 

“It was my first one since I’ve been here, for sure,” McIsaac said. “It’s pretty nice because my family is here too. So, they got a video that hopefully.”

McIsaac tied his career season-high in points, with 11, set last year in 66 games. 

“It’s a bit satisfying,” he said of his big night. “I’ve been trying my best at practices and in games and it kind of just paid off for me tonight. But yeah, it’s not that usual for me.” 

Moments after the go-ahead goal, Chase Bertholet carried through the slot, waited for Hauser to commit, and flipped it over the sprawled netminder for a 5-2 lead and his eighth goal of the season.

“We’ve been in so many games like this,” Smith said. “Whether it’s nerves or experience or bad luck – you name it, it’s happened to us. Tonight, it didn’t. So, we can now go back on this game when we’re in this situation again and go ‘Remember the Wenatchee game? We were tied we didn’t have a great second period then we locked it down, played well in the third and got two points.’ “

The Chiefs had good energy from the start, earning several quality chances in the game’s first couple of minutes.

They made good on that early charge just 4:37 into the first period, as Owen Martin raced down the left wing, put the puck on his forehand and ripped a shot past Hauser for his eighth goal of the season.

Spokane scored on its first shot of the second period – just 29 seconds in – as Ben Bonni got around the Wenatchee defense and deked Hauser to make it 2-0 with his fourth goal of the season.

The Wild got that one back moments later.

Steven Arp won a puck along the left boards and fed Ashton Brown in the high slot. His wrist shot got through traffic and beat Cowan, who barely flinched.

Just 1:45 later, Wenatchee won an offensive zone draw and tied it up when Luka Shcherbyna’s rising slap shot from the right point sailed over Cowan’s right shoulder and into the goal.