The Spokane Chiefs crushed Everett Wednesday night with a dominating performance, highlighted by Levko Koper's second hat trick of the  season. Suprisingly, linemate Tyler Johnson only picked up one assist to drop to second to fall to second in the Western Hockey League scoring race. Jared Cowen was an amazing plus-6 in the 7-2 romp. The Chiefs have three more road games, keep an ear to the radio for the return of goalie James Reid, who was dressed as the backup, but it's obvious that Mac Engel is coming around as a solid backup with his 11 straight starts.

For a great review of former Chief Jared Spurgeon, a rookie with the Minnesota Wild, read on.

From the Wild site, by Glenn Andresen:

And like last night, you can point to a dozen Wild players that had fantastic efforts tonight, including all six defensemen. But one guy that continues to amaze is Jared Spurgeon, who even after proving himself as more than ready for the NHL, weathers barbs about his size and Justin Bieberesque looks.

The kid’s skill and puck poise has never been on display as much as it was tonight, especially on his set up of Matt Cullen’s goal. Gliding into the Chicago zone, Spurgeon could have shot the puck or used any number of surrounding Wild players that joined him on the rush. Instead, he waited for Cullen to dive to the net, hitting him in stride and rendering Corey Crawford helpless to stop Cullen’s punch in from the top of the crease.

Spurgeon now has three assists in four games and is a virtual lock to hold onto his roster spot when Marek Zidlicky is able to return from a shoulder injury.
 

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