The Spokane Chiefs are undefeated when leading after two periods this season and nearly the opposite when trailing. Maybe they figured they should start making it easy on themselves. Michael Grabner had two goals as the Spokane Chiefs got the lead then kept down the Tri-City Americans, 3-1, on Saturday night in a Western Hockey League game before an energized Arena crowd of 9,523.
The Spokane Chiefs' losing streak reached three games on Friday night and frustration filled the air at the Spokane Arena. A bounce here, a no-call there, and a 5-3 Western Hockey League defeat at the hands of the Portland Winter Hawks might have been a different outcome.
It's a good thing this one wasn't on TV. The Spokane Chiefs, who will make their cable debut on Saturday night, weren't ready for prime time on Wednesday as they fell to the Everett Silvertips 5-2 in a key Western Hockey League game before an Arena crowd of 3,418.
It sounds like a cliché, but Bill Peters may be right on the mark with this one: "They're all big in this division." It has been the catch phrase of the Spokane Chiefs rookie head coach this season, as he's positioned his team (7-7-0-0, 14 points) in second place in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference.
The Spokane Chiefs hung with Canada's fifth-ranked junior hockey team for nearly 35 minutes. In fact, Spokane and Kelowna were tied late in the second period on Derek Ryan's wraparound goal. The crowd was energized. Its team had hope.
Confidence is a relative thing. The Spokane Chiefs have a lot of it after a 6-3 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings in a Western Hockey League game on Wednesday night at the Arena before an appreciative crowd of 3,308.
The Spokane Chiefs remain frustratingly inept offensively. Spokane is averaging just 2.3 goals per game through 10 games. It's an aspect of the Western Hockey League team that is a continuing sore spot for coach Bill Peters.
Coach Bill Peters has stayed on message with his team all season: play hard, but play smart. Well, 10 games into the season, Spokane continues to heed only the first part of their coach's advice. The result is frustration for the players, fans, and coaches.
Coach Bill Peters has stayed on message with his team all season: Play hard, but play smart. Ten games into the season, Spokane continues to heed only the first part of its coach's advice. The result is frustration for the players, fans and coaches.
The wheels had come off the wagon. The game had imploded. Things couldn't get much worse for the Spokane Chiefs. Trailing by three goals early in the second period, coach Bill Peters pulled the goalie, called a timeout and challenged his team. Much to his chagrin, only some of the players responded.
One play cannot truly capture what center Chad Klassen means to the Spokane Chiefs, but it sure can illustrate the point. The 20-year-old assistant captain is easily the most consistent offensive player on the team. He is again the team's leading scorer on its top line, keys the power play and the penalty kill, and does all "the little things" that win games.
A soft-spoken young man, Derek Ryan is quietly becoming a star to be reckoned with in the Western Hockey League. Ryan scored the go-ahead goal and earned the first star as the Spokane Chiefs held on for a 3-2 WHL win over the Saskatoon Blades in front of 3,633 on Wednesday night at the Spokane Arena.
The Spokane Chiefs will finally get a chance to see what kind of home team they are this season. Spokane will host four Western Hockey League opponents over the next eight days, beginning tonight with the biennial visit from the Saskatoon Blades. The Chiefs also have home games this week on Friday and Saturday, followed by a game Oct. 26.
Spokane Chiefs goalie Jim Watt is off to a solid start this season; the numbers don't lie. He is the Western Hockey League's eighth-best goalie, statistically, through six games. All of his numbers are superior to his final ones for last season.
The Spokane Chiefs did a lot – but not all – of the little things right, and it added up to a lot of frustration. Spokane outshot its opponent on Saturday night by a wide margin (47-28) but still fell to the Prince Albert Raiders 3-2 in a Western Hockey League game before 6,320 on Saturday night at the Arena.
The Spokane Chiefs' home opener on Saturday night had a little feel of the old and a little of the new. The new was the pregame event that honored "Local Heroes" (fire, military, police) and "Future Chiefs" (Spokane youth hockey players). The show lasted more than a half-hour in the Veterans Memorial Arena, a facility celebrating its 10th year.
It's hard to put a finger on it, but something is different – very different. Many of the players are the same from last year's edition of the Spokane Chiefs, but their play is much more focused and energetic. They are also playing with a level of confidence which showed itself only at rare moments last season.
The Spokane Chiefs open at home tonight in a familiar way. The Chiefs and the Tri-City Americans renew their Western Hockey League rivalry at the Spokane Arena – the teams' 219th meeting in 17 years.
When the Spokane Chiefs named their leadership team this week, they covered a range of personalities. Jeff Lynch, the vocal but steady forward, was selected as captain. The team also named three assistant captains.
The Spokane Chiefs have had just six games and a few weeks of practice to get used to each other. A new coach, several new players, and new systems are a lot to absorb in the abbreviated Western Hockey League preseason. It doesn't matter though, as tonight the Chiefs open the regular season against the Kootenay Ice at the Rec-Plex in Cranbrook, British Columbia.
The Spokane Chiefs are hoping that a change in head coach and a changing style of play in the Western Hockey League will help them to turn things around this season. Whether either will ultimately make a difference remains to be seen, but this is September in major-junior hockey and every team is still unbeaten and optimistic.
Just off the high of an extended National Hockey League training camp trip, Ned Lukacevic experienced the opposite end of the emotional spectrum on Tuesday. Lukacevic, the exciting left winger of the Spokane Chiefs, learned he had been traded to the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for 19-year-old defenseman David Schulz.
KENNEWICK – After two preseason tournaments, Spokane coach Bill Peters has seen what he needs to see of prospects who want to make the Western Hockey League team. After Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Giants at Three Rivers Coliseum, he said cut-down day will be Tuesday after the coaches and players enjoy a day off.
KENNEWICK – Preseason games in the Western Hockey League are not always played at the highest level, but you get out of it what you put into it. Some teams want to win; others want to evaluate – some want to do both. Put the Spokane Chiefs in the last category. After a lackluster afternoon game between Vancouver and an uninspired Portland team, the Spokane Chiefs met the host Tri-City Americans on Saturday night in the teams' second preseason tournament. The U.S. Division opponents were both in Everett over Labor Day but didn't face each other.
A couple of veteran players looking to stay with the Spokane Chiefs finished off their training camps in style on Sunday. One of them, Mike Senseman had two goals and an assist as Team Red defeated Team White, 7-3, before a Red-White game record crowd of 1,611 at the Arena. The other, defenseman Gustav Engman, started the scoring in the free-flowing game to finish off a stellar camp.
