Jess Brown

Suited in his typical game-day getup, Bill Peters paced back and forth behind the bench he's led for the past three seasons. For the Spokane Chiefs coach, nothing was different about this victory.

David Rutherford is an open book. He doesn't shy away when asked about anything. But the misunderstood Spokane Chiefs forward is especially open when it comes to talking about the hardest thing he's been through.

In at least one way, the Spokane Chiefs are perfect. Four different players scored and goalie Dustin Tokarski turned away 30 shots as the Chiefs (34-10-1-3) improved their season record to 6-0 against the Seattle Thunderbirds with a 5-2 Western Hockey League victory in front of 6,705 fans Friday night at the Arena.

Spokane Chiefs captain Chris Bruton was responsible for the shot heard 'round the Western Hockey League in the Chiefs' 2-1 loss to the Everett Silvertips on Wednesday night. But there are layers to this particular incident because of who was involved.

It's not as bad as you think it might be. It's certainly not as bad as it could be. But the Spokane Chiefs' power play is costing them games lately. They paid the price of failing to convert on seven advantages in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to Tri-City and again on Wednesday night as the Everett Silvertips stopped eight Spokane power plays, including two 5-on-3s, en route to a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs in front of 4,062 dumbfounded fans.

The Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans always seem to find ways to keep their long-standing rivalry interesting. It was no different on Saturday night.

The past week has been a bittersweet one for Justin McCrae. He left his home for the past four years, and all of his close friends that he played with for the Saskatoon Blades – a team all but out of playoff contention – to come to Spokane and finish his Western Hockey League career with the Chiefs, a team that looks poised for a deep playoff run. The 19-year-old forward didn't have a choice. That's the nature of the beast in the WHL. As the trade deadline approaches, teams that are in Saskatoon's position are often looking to sell veteran talent, write off the current season and prepare for the future.

Just as suspected, the Spokane Chiefs have added some age to the blue line. The Chiefs have acquired 19-year-old defenseman Trevor Glass from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a pair of draft selections, a third-round pick this year and a second-round choice in 2010.

Welcome to Spokane, Justin McCrae. Your timing couldn't have been better. After being traded to the Spokane Chiefs from the Saskatoon Blades on Monday, McCrae scored twice in his first game in a Chiefs' sweater and Ondrej Roman added two goals and an assist as Spokane won its third straight Western Hockey League contest with a 6-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night at the Arena.

East of the Rocky Mountains, where the winter air is so cold it burns your lungs, members of the Blood Tribe gathered to celebrate one of their own. Dozens of children watched as the Spokane Chiefs took the rink for a short practice at the Kainai Community Center in Standoff, a town on the outskirts of Lethbridge, Alberta.

It was quite the scare. It was Jan. 20, 1997, when the Chiefs were heading back to Spokane from Calgary, Alberta, after a game against the Hitmen.

There probably won't be many times when you'll find yourself in this scenario. You are Christmas shopping and want to get your purchases gift-wrapped. At River Park Square you notice a gift-wrapping station just outside the Gap. When you approach, a 6-foot-2, 252-pound football-player type is doing the wrapping.

First things first. Give credit to the Spokane Chiefs' sturdy combination of stingy defenseman and defensive-minded forwards, on Friday night and for most of the season.

If the Spokane Chiefs were looking to make a statement, they delivered the message loud and clear on Wednesday night. It was almost as if they were saying: This is how it should look when the league's best team meets the league's worst.