Justin Hickman nearly recorded his first Western Hockey League hat trick on Tuesday night. Twenty-four hours later – and one bus trip across the state – Hickman got the three-goal game that eluded him the night before.
The McIntosh family has always moved comfortably between Canada and the United States. Norm McIntosh, a Canadian, met his future wife, Cindy, at the University of Wisconsin, where Norm played hockey for the 1977 NCAA champions.
The Western Hockey League’s regular season is down to its final six weeks, so it’s not too early to project possible playoff matchups. The Spokane Chiefs, for example, would be in line to play the Seattle Thunderbirds, who travel to the Arena tonight and host the Chiefs on Friday.
The time will come when the Spokane Chiefs defeat the Portland Winterhawks.
Friday was not the time, however, as Brendan Burke stopped 32 shots and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 35th and 36th goals of the season a little more than 31/2 minutes apart in the second period during a 6-0 Winterhawks win at Moda Center.
Negotiating Spokane’s youth baseball maze became much easier Wednesday with the click of a mouse. The Spokane Indians unveiled a nonprofit collaboration with three youth baseball leagues that will set aside years of turf battles that often left parents and players frustrated.
The Calgary Hitmen have held down the top spot in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference since late October. But the Hitmen were supplanted over the weekend by the hard-charging Edmonton Oil Kings, who defeated Calgary 7-3 in Edmonton on Saturday and followed it up Sunday with a 3-2 overtime win in Calgary.
Mitch Holmberg broke out of his scoring slump Tuesday with two goals as the Spokane Chiefs began a challenging road trip with a 6-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers at Interior Savings Centre.
