Dan Weaver

1. Winter Hawks 3, Chiefs 2. Portland's Todd Robinson corrals the puck as Spokane'sDarreb Sinclair, center, and Portland's Doug Strobi go overboard. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Goalie Brent Belecki plays a key role in Portland's upset by stymieing Darren Sinclair and the Chiefs. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe signed a letter of intent Thursday to pursue the lease of Playfair Race Course. Wasting no time at a meeting of the Washington Horse Racing Commission in Auburn, tribal representatives said it's their intention to rename the Spokane racetrack Playfair Park, and provide "entertainment, playground equipment and a family atmosphere to encourage live race-track attendance."

Coach Mike Babcock maps out the Chiefs' game plan for first-round matchup with Portland. The best-of-seven series begins tonight in the Arena. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane horse racing - all but given up for dead, at least in 1996 - may get a new lease on life. At least three groups have expressed interest in taking over the lease of Playfair Race Course. Two have met with Jack Pring, the Spokane Valley car dealer whose family owns the track. A source from one group said he expects an announcement regarding Playfair's future at today's meeting of the Washington Horse Racing Commission in Auburn.

As Derek Schutz (25) of Tri-City discovers, Jan Hrdina possesses a keen nose for the puck. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

The Spokane Chiefs, who finished the regular season unbeaten in their last 14 games, are the top-ranked junior hockey club in North America. The Chiefs jumped from No. 3 to the top spot Monday in the final Tip Top Tailors poll of the season conducted by the Canadian Hockey League.

Spokane goalie David Lemanowicz rejects Daymond Langkow (11) during the Americans' first-period power play. Spokane won 5-3. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Commissioner Dev Dley said the lack of a suitable playing facility in Kelowna, British Columbia, remains a "source of concern" in the Western Hockey League. "I'm not aware of any franchises right now that are looking to move," said Dley, who was here this week to announce that Spokane is the site of the 1997 all-star game. "The only situation that was - and perhaps to a certain extent still is - causing some concern is Kelowna."

The Spokane Chiefs took another step toward their first Western Hockey League West Division championship Wednesday night, but because of the WHL's curious tie-break procedure, they still have work to do. Joe Cardarelli scored two goals and Greg Leeb made an impressive return from a knee injury in a 3-2 win over the Kelowna Rockets before 6,695 fans in the Arena. Winning for the 48th time against only 18 losses and four ties, the Chiefs extended their win streak to 10 and their unbeaten string to 12 games, both club records.

John Cirjak saves the best for postseason. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Two lines were formed at the Arena when the office staff of the Spokane Chiefs showed up for work Monday morning, one for hockey playoff tickets, another for the George Strait concert. "You could tell the difference in the two," Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said. "It's the hats and the tents. People in the George Strait line were parked out there for three days." So far, fans haven't had to pitch a tent to get tickets, but the Chiefs are junior hockey's hottest act. Interest is boiling in the club that hasn't lost since Feb. 14, a string of 11 games.

The Spokane Chiefs haven't scaled the mountain yet, but for the first time they can see the summit. Jan Hrdina's natural hat trick - three uninterrupted goals in the third period - lifted the Chiefs to a huge 4-2 win over the Tri-City Americans Saturday night before 5,916 in sold-out Tri-City Coliseum. With the win - the Chiefs' club-record ninth straight on the road - Spokane climbed to within three wins of its first division championship. The Kamloops Blazers are still breathing down their necks in second place. But by winning their final regular-season road game, the Chiefs need only get by their last three regularseason opponents, all at home, to shut out the Blazers and claim the Western Hockey League West Division championship - and the home-ice advantage through the division playoffs. They find themselves closer to a championship today after putting up another first in their season of firsts - the Americans hadn't lost when leading after two periods. Through the season Tri-City had 35 leads after 40 minutes and 35 wins.

Jason Podollan scored three first-period goals Wednesday night to take the Prince Goerge Cougars out early and assure the Spokane Chiefs no worse than a second-place finish in the Western Hockey League West Division. With a hat trick Podollan keyed Spokane's 5-2 win, the Chiefs' 46th of the year. With four games left heading into a Saturday night date with the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, the Chiefs lead the second-place Kamloops Blazers by four points - two games - and the Americans by eight points.

The dismantling of the front office at Playfair Race Course continues Friday, when Director of Racing Ted Martin puts in his last day at the Spokane track that has an uncertain future. Playfair promotions director Hugh Mellon last week accepted a similar position with Colonial Downs, a track about to go up in Virginia. Mellon said he will start that job April 1. Playfair general manager Dan Hillyard will work through the end of the month, Martin said. Martin, 61, has run the race office since 1991 after two years as general manager.

Leonov

So what happens if the Western Hockey League West Division remains jammed at the top? With no time for a playoff to determine a regular-season championship, the first WHL tiebreaker if two teams are involved is wins. If two teams have the same number of wins after the 72-game regular season, the second tiebreaker is head-to-head results. Spokane dominated the Kamloops Blazers and would be division champion if a Chiefs-Kamloops tie went to the second tiebreaker.

The Spokane Chiefs broke a pair of impressive club records Saturday night in pursuit of a championship that to them is only a prelude. The Chiefs shattered a team record for fewest shots allowed, holding the Seattle Thunderbirds to 12 in a 4-0 Western Hockey League win before 7,339 fans at KeyArena. The previous club mark came on Jan. 11, 1992, when the Victoria Cougars put only 17 shots on goal against Spokane. That was a smorgasbord of opportunity compared to this. On the way to outshooting Seattle 32-12, the Chiefs mounted a 12-1 shot advantage in the first period when they set this blowout in motion. The rebuilding T-Birds lost for the seventh time in eight meetings with the Chiefs, who came home early this morning in sole possession of first place in the Western Hockey League West, two points up on the second-place Kamloops Blazers with 10 games left. The T-Birds have only a 2-2 tie on Dec. 10 to show for their season series with the streaking Chiefs, who won their fourth straight on the road on the strength of two Darren Sinclair first-period goals and David Lemanowicz's third shutout of the year and sixth of his career. Lemanowicz's shutout total - his first came three years ago as a 16-year-old in his first game in the league - also is a club record. He had been tied with Scott Bailey. "That's a credit to our team defensively," Lemanowicz said. "If you look at my shutouts this year, I haven't had more than 20 shots. These games seem easy from the stands, but you have to keep your concentration. It was basically a night off." The Chiefs (40-18-4) are in the Arena tonight for a 7 o'clock date with the Kelowna Rockets, their last home game for a week and a half. Although they've never won a division championship, finishing second to Kamloops in 1991, the year they won the Memorial Cup, finishing best in the West is only a means to an end.

With his ankle almost back to normal, Joe Cardarelli has been consistent attacker for the Chiefs. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Russell

Scott Reid and David Lemanowicz refused to lose Saturday night. The rival goaltenders - Reid of the Kamloops Blazers, Lemanowicz of the Spokane Chiefs - matched each other save for save in a wild and scoreless overtime that ended in a 3-3 tie and let everybody go home with a little piece of what they wanted. The Chiefs (38-18-4) were able to celebrate an undefeated regular season against the Blazers, who haven't beaten Spokane in 11 games dating to Jan. 28, 1994. Spokane wound up the season an astonishing 7-0-1 in eight meetings with Kamloops, the two-time defending Memorial Cup champion. If they meet again, it'll be in the playoffs.

Podollan

In a series renowned for its unpredictability, this one raised the Tri-City-Spokane weirdness to the next level. Playing without two top goal-scorers, Jan Hrdina and Greg Leeb, playing on the road in front of a sellout crowd against a contender that almost had to win, the Spokane Chiefs could have expected the 6-3 Friday night thrashing they got from the Tri-City Americans.

Two and a half tons of sports equipment bound for Rwanda were loaded Wednesday on a C-130 transport plane at Fairchild Air Base. Shipment of 5,000 pounds of basketballs, soccer balls and athletic shirts to the African nation is the culmination of a community drive initiated by Spokane businessman Rocky Rothrock, whose son Brad works with Catholic Relief Services in Rwanda. Donations were solicited in June during Hoopfest, Spokane's 3-on-3 street basketball celebration.

The Prince George Cougars had upset on their minds Wednesday night. Too bad for them they had Joe Cardarelli on their hands. Three times Prince George - last in the West, winless in 11 games, somehow always tough against the Chiefs - pulled in front. Three times Cardarelli erased all the good they did with game-tying goals in a 6-5 Spokane win before 5,080 in the Arena.