Dan Weaver

Three nights ago, they were chumps. Saturday night, they were champs, or at least good enough to beat the champs. With Joe Cardarelli going off for five points, the Spokane Chiefs answered Wednesday night's loss to lowly Saskatoon with a 6-1 rout of the defending Western Hockey League champion Brandon Wheat Kings. The Chiefs ended their first losing streak of the season - and stayed on top of the WHL West heading into tonight's 6:05 game in Seattle - after surrendering the game's first goal. They stormed back in the second period with lethal special-teams play before 9,051 in the Arena. A critical call by referee Mike Hasenfratz was the turning point that brought out the best in the Spokane penalty kill and power play. Hasenfratz sent Spokane scoring leader Trent Whitfield off for the night for a first-period, checking-from-behind major and an accompanying game misconduct. The call at 14:53 of the first period - booed for the remaining 5:07 - put the Wheat Kings on a score-at-will power play for 5 minutes with the game tied at 1. Spokane's penalty killers, defenseman Joel Boschman prominent among them, promptly turned a negative into a game-changing positive by snuffing Brandon's extended power-play and escaping with a tie at the first intermission. Six months ago, the two clubs ended the WHL season in Spokane with a skillful league championship series won by the Wheat Kings. This was less fencing and more clubbing. When WHL scoring leader Peter Schaefer broke through with his 16th goal of the season at 8:49, the Wheaties had a 1-0 lead and the Chiefs right where they wanted them. Spokane was 0-4 in games in which they'd given up the first goal. But five minutes after Schaefer scored on the power play, Spokane's John Cirjak tied it with his power-play goal, his first of two.

Hope may have run out on Playfair Race Course on Friday. Although the state horse racing commission at its Friday hearing in Auburn didn't say no to winter racing in Spokane, Inland Northwest thoroughbred interests appeared to be running a distant second to another option. That would be the extension of the season at Emerald Downs while the Central Washington Fair Association completes the licensing process on behalf of Yakima Meadows.

A game that had all the makings of a pizza party turned into the upset of the young Western Hockey League season. The Saskatoon Blades - young, tired and prior to Wednesday night, winless on the road - rallied with three third-period goals to beat the best of the West, the Spokane Chiefs, in front of 4,741 in the Arena. Instead of treating the Arena faithful to lunch, the Chiefs found themselves chewing on a bitter 5-4 loss.

The Portland Winter Hawks got a whole lot better Monday. The Western Hockey League club finally regained the considerable services of 19-year-old right wing Brad Isbister, who was sent back to junior hockey this week by the NHL Phoenix Coyotes.

The Spokane Chiefs solved the nagging riddle of the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night. The Blazers, fighting to stay out of the Western Hockey League West Division cellar - but impressive against Spokane with a win and a tie in two previous meetings - came in hoping to extend their promising start against the Chiefs.

Kelowna's Ryan Wade (20) separates Spokane's Mike Haley from the puck during the second period. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

Seattle's Shawn Kemp turns to an old friend - the reverse jam - to punctuate his debut. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

John Cirjak's four assists and a pair of brilliant breakaway goals by Marian Cisar whisked the Spokane Chiefs past the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday night, but not until it was almost Curtins for goaltender Marc Magliarditi. With Luke Curtin scoring three goals and setting up a fourth - a third-period, short-handed strike - the Rockets chased the Chiefs all over the Arena before caving in 7-4 before a crowd of 4,607.

Shawn Kemp made his point. In the mixed-up megabucks economics of the National Basketball Association, he's a 26-year-old multi-millionaire who's grossly underpaid.

Trent Whitfield headed to Kamloops Saturday night working on a career weekend. Twenty-four hours after his five-point night separated the Spokane Chiefs from the Portland Winter Hawks, Whitfield tossed the hat trick at the reeling Tri-City Americans in front of 9,316 at the Arena.

Portland's Bobby Russell, left, leaves the Chiefs grounded afer scoring his second goal as the Winter Hawks skated to a 4-1 victory at the Arena. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

The last time the Portland Winter Hawks were in the Arena they had yet to establish themselves as contenders in the Western Hockey League West. A lot's happened in 10 days. The Hawks are back tonight as one of the hottest clubs in the Western Hockey League, a winner of five straight.

(From Replay, October 17, 1996:) Atlanta Glory professional women's basketball player Teresa Edwards was misidentified in Wednesday's photo caption on page C1. Seattle's Cindy Brown (left) gets a hand in Missy Masley's face, but can't stop the Glory's path to victory. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

After playing abroad, basketball has brought Tari Phillips back to the U.S. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Although a denial in court last week represents a serious setback, it's not too late to salvage a 1996 horse racing season in Spokane, the director of racing at Playfair Race Course said Monday. Ted Martin said the refusal by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Paula Casey to grant a temporary restraining order that would have prevented the state from assigning fall and winter race dates is disappointing.

1. Shockey 2. John Shockey's decision to quit hockey was a surprise to his father Parry, the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. File/The Spokesman-Review 3. John Shockey's decision to quit hockey turned a few heads. File/The Spokesman-Review

The Seattle Thunderbirds, a year older and a lot saltier than last year when they didn't win a game in eight visits to the Arena, threw some early resistance at the Spokane Chiefs Saturday night in front of 8,503, many of whom came away praising Cisar. That's Marian Cisar, the Chiefs' Slovakian winger and their first pick in the import player draft. Cisar had a hand in all four goals in a 4-1 win, Spokane's fourth in five tries and an important one for this early in the Western Hockey League season. With it, the Chiefs kept pace in the loss column with the division-leading Prince George Cougars. Spokane is back at it tonight in the Arena against Portland. The Chiefs will be without veteran defenseman Hugh Hamilton, who's out two games with a concussion suffered in Wednesday night's overtime loss to Kamloops. Minus Hamilton and defenseman Ryan Berry, traded this week to Calgary, the Chiefs found themselves light on the blue line Saturday. Coach Mike Babcock said before the game that it was time for the offense to take the heat off, and the offense obliged.

The Washington State variety isn't the only kind of Cougar on the prowl these days. Like the football Cougars who've won three of four games, the hockey Cougars from Prince George, British Columbia are a surprising 3-1 in the Western Hockey League West. Stuck in last place for seven straight years, the Cougars under first-year coach Stan Butler are finally shaping up as the one club deep enough to challenge the Spokane Chiefs for the West Division championship.

Trent Whittfield goes into his celebration slide after score. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

The hope that center Darren Sinclair might be headed back to Spokane was laid to rest this week. The Chiefs' Most Valuable Player last year has been advised by the Vancouver Canucks to plan to remain with the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse.

Shockey

A hockey game on the last night of summer makes it too early to saddle the Spokane Chiefs with glitzy labels - like Dynasty In The Making. But opening weekend in the Western Hockey League was enough to make an assertion, however premature. After whipping the Tri-City Americans 4-1 Saturday, 24 hours after coming from behind to win 4-3 in Kelowna, the Chiefs served notice on the rest of the WHL West Division.

The Tri-City Americans will have the fatigue factor on their side when they open their season Saturday night against the Spokane Chiefs. The Chiefs have the important edge in personnel.

Only Joe Cardarelli will be missing Friday night when the Spokane Chiefs open defense of their Western Hockey League West Divison championship. Cardarelli, 19-year-old left wing, remains in training camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said Wednesday.