Dan Weaver

The Spokane Chiefs will wind up the first half of their Western Hockey League season Saturday night with a problem that annually runs through the league just before Christmas. Absenteeism. The Chiefs' game with Tri-City at 7:05 in the Arena is as prominent for who won't be there as for who will. That doesn't necessarily make for a bad show. The Chiefs were short-handed Saturday night when they beat Prince Albert in what was an entertaining game. But neither the Chiefs nor the Tri-City Americans are close to full strength. Even the Americans' broadcaster and media relations director Ian Furness has other plans that night. Chiefs coach Mike Babcock is running the Canadian team that leaves Toronto today for the World Junior Tournament in Geneva, Switzerland. The Chiefs find out early this morning if center Trent Whitfield and defenseman Hugh Hamilton are on the 2 p.m. (Pacific time) flight to Switzerland with him.

The Spokane Chiefs turned back both the Prince Albert Raiders and the flu bug that has swept through the club, making Brett Cox a winner Saturday night in his first game as a Western Hockey League interim head coach. Cox wasted no time deflecting credit for Spokane's 4-1 win before 7,119 in the Arena. The first star, he said, was goaltender Marc Magliarditi, who rejected 27 of Prince Albert's 28 shots to register his first win in more than a month.

Opening day at Playfair Race Course has been delayed a week to Dec. 27 to ensure that a safety rail is in place and to allow the state racing commission time to inspect it. "Opening on the 20th was still a possibility, but the 27th is more reasonable," track publicist Tom Harris said Friday. "Work is going on late into the night. They've installed about a fourth of the necessary posts." While work goes on, horsemen and track officials await an announcement on 1997 racing dates. The commission's executive secretary, Bruce Batson, said the commission's rulings should go out by midweek.

The Spokane Chiefs ran out of gas Wednesday night before they ran out of heart. Their numbers depleted by illness and injury, the Chiefs were down to 14 skaters and two goaltenders, four under the Western Hockey League allowable of 20 players. Still, they came back from a two-goal deficit to fight the Seattle Thunderbirds to a standstill in the Arena. It took a goal with 1:39 to go to beat them 4-3 in front of 5,057. It came when Tyler Willis nudged the puck by goaltender Marc Magliarditi on a play set up by Seattle's Torrey DiRoberto, who, with his great speed, got a half-step on the retreating defense and laid it back for Willis. Willis fought through a stick check to score his first game-winner in a season that is turning as bright as a string of Christmas lights for the Thunderbirds, who beat the Chiefs for the fourth straight time. "If you look at the heart and soul of our team, at what makes us pump, it's Willis," Seattle coach Don Nachbaur said. "He hasn't put up a lot of numbers, but he's consistently our hardest-working guy. He gets a ton of chances. A lot of those he doesn't convert. He picked a good time to convert." The loss - Spokane's 13th in the last 18 games - was one of the harder ones to accept. The Chiefs did just about everything they could with Ty Jones down with the flu, Greg Leeb leaving with a pulled muscle in the first period and Derek Schutz gamely going through the motions even though he has the bug that's going through the Chiefs' locker room. Not suited were Trent Whitfield, Kris Graf, Chris Lane, Marc Brown and Jay Bertsch. All are sick or hurt, Graf the most seriously. His broken hand is expected to keep him out 6-8 weeks. Still, Spokane (15-18-3) pushed Seattle all the way.

The best in the West got a little better Tuesday. The Portland Winter Hawks picked up former Spokane Chiefs right wing Randy Favaro from the Edmonton Ice in exchange for Brett Person, a 16-year-old right wing who had been on Portland's protected list. Before he went to Edmonton in the May 23 WHL expansion draft, Favaro scored one of the important goals in Chiefs history - the game-winner in the second overtime of Game 6 of the Chiefs-Winter Hawks playoff in Portland. Spokane went on to win Game 7 in the Arena, completing an unlikely comeback. The Chiefs had lost the first three games of the best-of-seven series but rallied to knock out Portland and then Kamloops to win the West Division championship. Favaro, 20, is expected to make his Winter Hawks debut Saturday against Seattle. It's a fortunate change of scenery for the hard-checking forward from North Delta, British Columbia, who owns one of the hardest slap shots in junior hockey. He goes from a 6-25-1 expansion team to a club that has gone 14 games without a loss.

A college football coach once said playing to a tie was like kissing your sister. Mike Babcock finally met a deadlock with considerably more charm - Sunday night's 4-4 tie in Portland. "That's as happy as I've ever been getting a point in December," said Babcock, coach of the Spokane Chiefs. "We responded well to the awful game we played the night before (a 5-2 home loss to Seattle). I've said it before, but I hope this means we're back."

The results were ugly - the Spokane Chiefs' fifth straight loss Saturday night wasn't all that close - but the show wasn't bad. Seattle's Patrick Marleau is a treat no matter what side you're on.

Americans 4, Chiefs 2. Chiefs goalie Marc Magliarditi dives for the puck as Tri-City's Craig Stahl cuts off Spokane's Hugh Hamilton. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Spirited practices and a strong scholastic report highlighted the Spokane Chiefs' week away from Western Hockey League action. But as encouraging as workouts have been, and as good as coach Mike Babcock feels about his team's classroom performance, the fundamental priority remains. "Nobody pays to watch us go to school," Babcock said as the Chiefs prepared for tonight's game in the Arena with the improving Tri-City Americans. "We've got to get it turned around on the ice."

Citing a unanimous concern for the safety of riders and horses, the Washington Horse Racing Commission rescinded race dates in Spokane on Wednesday, effectively canceling Friday's scheduled season opener at Playfair Race Course. The best-case scenario is that a temporary inside safety rail installed Wednesday - and promptly criticized as flimsy - can be upgraded to meet what industry inspectors called minimum safety standards. If so, horses could be up and running within two weeks. The worst-case scenario is that the scope of the job is too much for now and the season will be canceled, taking with it the jobs and the hopes of what remains of the Eastern Washington horse racing industry.

Public Facilities District chairman Jim Ray celebrates the Awarding of the 1998 Memorial Cup to Spokane. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

For five games over two months with the Spokane Chiefs, the Tri-City Americans couldn't hit the back of the net with a howitzer. Saturday night in a critical 4-minute salvo of the second period they had the target saturated and were firing for effect. With four goals in a span of 4 minutes, 10 seconds, the Ams turned a 1-0 Spokane lead into another Spokane November disaster - a 5-1 Chiefs loss in front of 4,767 in Tri-City Coliseum. With it the Chiefs fell to 5-8-1 in November, their first losing month since coach Mike Babcock's inaugural '94-95 season. The Chiefs (15-14-2), who've fallen from from first to third in the Western Hockey League West, are only two points up on the fourth-place Prince George Cougars. Spokane got the late first-period goal and a 20-minute shutout by goaltender Aren Miller that marked their early-season successes. Hugh Hamilton's shot from the blue line just off the wall was redirected in from the high slot by Derek Schutz with 1:08 left in the first. This time the Ams, who'd been outscored 21-5 in games with Spokane, didn't let the lapse carry into the second period. Tri-City defenseman Scott McCallum said, "Before, we'd get into a one-goal game and I'd panic a little bit. We're learning to relax. We knew their first goal was just a flukey tip. We didn't lose confidence. "The message is sinking in," McCallum added. "Our forecheck was strong. They couldn't get out of their own end." The Ams (7-17-4) agreed that it was their best effort. "Let's hope it won't be our best game of the year," Tri-City coach Bob Loucks said, "but to date it certainly was." When they get into the December phase of the schedule tonight at 6 in the Arena with the Swift Current Broncos, the Chiefs will probably send Miller back to work. Marc Magliarditi, Saturday night's scheduled starter in goal, sat out with a pulled hamstring suffered in Friday night's loss in Kelowna. That's how fate has treated the Chiefs lately. Just as they get Trent Whitfield, Joel Boschman and Brad Ference back, they lose Magliarditi. "Mags couldn't go but Milsy's fine - other than the fact that he probably wants to sue for lack of support," Babcock said. Still, Miller didn't seem the same after Tri-City's Craig Stahl was sent crashing through the pipes by Spokane's Joel Boschman at 5:36 of the second period. It gave the Americans a 5-3 power play that was the springboard to the Chiefs' seventh straight loss on the road. Brent Ascroft scored 19 seconds into the two-man advantage. Just 1:07 later Craig Stahl was credited with the game-winner on the 5-4 power play. That was enough for Tri-City veteran netminder Brian Boucher, who rejected 32 of Spokane's 33 shots. After Ascroft, Stahl, Mike Hurley and Shawn Gervais scored at 5:55, 7:02, 9:17 and 10:05 of the second period, Babcock was at a loss to explain how his once-feared special teams could be so vulnerable. The Americans, who came in with the worst power play in the WHL, burned the Chiefs three times in seven tries on the power play. The Chiefs can't seem to kill a key penalty or cash in on the power play. They've scored once in their last 15 power-play chances over their last three games. "We didn't play and they did," said Babcock, who kept the Chiefs in their dressing quarters for 15 minutes after the game. "They wanted the puck, we didn't want it. Work ethic and determination have a lot to do with it. "They won all the battles." Americans 5, Chiefs 1 Spokane 1 0 0 - 1 Tri-City 0 4 1 - 5 First period - 1, Spo, Schutz 12 (Hamilton, Lane), 18:52. Key penalties - Sachl, TC, 7:53; Smith, TC, 12:32. Second period - 2, TC, Ascroft 11 (Komarniski), 5:55 (pp). 2, TC, Stahl 9 (Komarniski, Ascroft), 7:02 (pp). 4, TC, Hurley 13 (Gyori), 9:17. 5, TC, Gervais 4 (Smith), 10:05. Key penalties - Hamilton, Spo, 4:20; Boschman, Spo, 5:36; Ference, Spo, 13:19; Focht, TC, 18:31. Third period - 6, TC, Sachl 5 (Gyori, Ascroft), 12:05 (pp). Key penalties - Magarrell, Spo, 2:26; Ascroft, TC, 7:03; Leeb, Spo, 11:01; McCallum, TC, 13:55; Schutz, Spo, 19:49. Power-play opp. - Spokane 0 of 5; Tri-City 3 of 7. Saves - Spokane, Miller 9-10-11-30. Tri-City, Boucher 12-11-9-32. A - 4,767.

Not even grumpy Mother Nature has derailed Ted Martin's drive to get Playfair Race Course up and running on schedule. Martin, director of racing at the Spokane track, said work is close enough to being on schedule to expect the track to open on Friday, Dec. 6, as planned.

This time his two goals will stand. Credited with two goals last week in a Spokane Chiefs win, Derek Schutz had them wiped out after a post-game review revealed that the scores belonged to Joe Cardarelli. Schutz struck again Wednesday night in front of 6,102 in the Arena, and this time his two goals stood up to review.

It doesn't get any easier for the short-handed Spokane Chiefs. Swept over the weekend by the Portland Winter Hawks, the Chiefs will be back at it tonight with little encouraging news on the injury front.

As excitement goes, this was the basketball equivalent of the Dole campaign, but coach Steve Aggers and his Eastern Washington Eagles savored their 89-55 victory over the game Western Montana Bulldogs Tuesday night at Reese Court. After all, the Eagles aren't that far removed from 34-point losses themselves. Coming off a 3-23 season any kind of win is worth celebrating. When you've averaged five wins a year for the last five years and are no stranger to losing to NAIA schools, like Western Montana, a 2-1 start at Eastern is news. "We're trying to build a home-court advantage," said Aggers, who watched 10 of the 12 players he used score extensively. "The way to build home-court advantage is to defend and rebound. I thought we played pretty good defense early and handled their zone early."

Their best lies ahead - the stars were two sophomores and a freshman - but Eastern Washington's 83-69 women's basketball win over Gonzaga Tuesday night was an impressive reminder that in spite of the youth, the future is now. With sophomores Shana Ray and Tanya Kirk combining for 50 points, with a well-rounded assist from St. John-Endicott freshman Andee Schmick down the stretch, the Eagles broke open a tight game in the final 5:47 and rolled to their second consecutive victory. A 5-foot-9 do-everything guard from Lynnwood, Wash., Ray shook off the effects of a bothersome Achilles' tendon and tough defense by Gonzaga's Staci Andrews to score 26 points. It wasn't as if Ray had the run of EWU's Reese Court. Three inches shorter, Andrews made Ray earn her points, which have come in bundles. She had 29 in Sunday's 70-67 comeback win over Colorado State. "I was gettin' punched a little bit and held," Ray said. "It was frustrating, but that's what they're supposed to do. They did a good job."

The Spokane Chiefs came up short before and after the game. Depleted by injury and an illness and down to 18 skaters, the Chiefs took the Portland Winter Hawks deep into the third period Saturday night only to lose the important Western Hockey League game 4-3 in front of 10,079 in the Arena. The Chiefs (14-12-2) fell to third place in the West behind Portland (17-8-1) and the Seattle Thunderbirds (14-12-3), who salvaged a 5-5 tie at Red Deer.

1. University of Washington cheerleaders whip up the crowd Friday night at the Crescent Court Ballroom. The rally was a prelude to today's Apple Cup game in Pullman. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. Cougar alumni watched a WSU-UW volleyball game Friday night during an Apple Cup rally at the Ridpath Hotel.

Mike Babcock calls these the biggest two games of the season but not because first place is at stake in the Western Hockey League West. The second-place Spokane Chiefs play the division-leading Winter Hawks tonight at 7:30 in Memorial Coliseum in Portland, where the Hawks are 7-0.

The Inland Northwest is still recovering from Tuesday's rare ice storm that brought down power lines and toppled trees. Ice Storm II - the Spokane Chiefs' 4-1 win over Prince George on Wednesday night - had its own variation of a fallen tree.

Mike Babcock and Jamie Reeve meet again tonight. A year after helping Babcock in the Spokane Chiefs' drive to the Western Hockey League finals, Reeve has stepped up in the fraternity of coaches.

1. Spokane Chiefs defenseman Joel Boschman flashes a Chesire cat smile that belies his ... Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review 2. ...feisty tom-cat style on the ice.

Bob Loucks must be sick of it by now - sick of the streak, sick of the sameness, sick of the name. Trent Whitfield. Twenty-four hours after his off-night against Seattle, Whitfield validated his selection as Western Hockey League player of the month with three goals in the Spokane Chiefs' 6-1 spanking of the Loucks-coached TriCity Americans.