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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Chiefs need three consecutive wins

It's a daunting task. The Spokane Chiefs' season will be over unless the team can muster three consecutive victories against the Everett Silvertips. Read story

The Chiefs' difficult assignment begins Saturday night in Everett, where they won one of two games last weekend. If Spokane, which has only scored two goals in the last two games, can break through Saturday, it will force a Game 6 on Tuesday at the Arena. Game 7, if necessary, would be back in Everett on Wednesday.

 

"It's not an easy hill to climb, but it's been done before," Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur said. "It really comes down to your mindset. If your team's committed to playing the right way, and competing and working, then you have a chance. If you have individuals within the group who say it's too hard, it's going to be tough."

 

It's been a strange series for the Chiefs. Spokane scored four goals in less than 6 minutes during the first period of last Saturday's Game 2. During all the rest of the series -- 60 minutes in Game 1, 54 minutes in Game 2, 82 minutes during the double-overtime Game 3 and 60 minutes of Game 4 -- the Chiefs have accounted for five total goals.

 

Spokane finished 1 for 7 on power-play chances on Friday. The Chiefs are 4 for 24 for the series while Everett is 3 for 24.

 

"You have to do things quicker this time of year and that includes your power play," Nachbaur said. "You have to move the puck quicker and you can't be doing things stagnant, standing still. I think we did a lot of things standing still.

 

"If we expect to win games, we need more guys that compete harder. The end result is we don't get enough goals. If we're going to score, we have to get that puck to the net. Again, we let up in areas to score."

 

 

 



Chris Derrick
Chris Derrick joined The Spokesman-Review in 1990. He currently is a copy editor for the Sports Desk.

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