Podollan Power Paces Chiefs
Jason Podollan sent a message to 3,384 Spokane Chiefs fans in the Coliseum Wednesday night.
Bryan McCabe isn’t the only star in the galaxy.
Podollan scored two first-period goals - the 98th and 99th of his Western Hockey League career - and assisted on the game-winner in a 3-2 win over the Portland Winter Hawks.
The Chiefs’ 20th win came in their first game since McCabe - their captain and all-star defenseman - was traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
It made them 1-0 in the post-McCabe era, with Kevin Sawyer as their new captain.
“It was important to get all the guys believing that we’re actually good enough to win without Bryan,” Sawyer said.
Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said earlier in the week that if Adam Magarrell - who came down from Brandon with future considerations in the McCabe deal - played well nobody would notice.
Nobody noticed, and nobody complained.
“You try not to think about it but it’s in the back of your mind - your best player was traded,” Podollan said. “We weren’t too successful all year long when we played without him. To get the first one with him gone is a confidence-booster.”
The constant is that with or without McCabe, no lead is safe.
After Podollan’s first-period barrage and a scoreless second period, Chiefs goaltender Jarrod Daniel seemed on his way to a rare shutout when Winter Hawks veteran Nolan Pratt’s slap shot from the right circle found the net at 7:02 of the third.
That shook the sluggishness out of the young Winter Hawks, who were thrashed 6-1 Tuesday night in TriCity.
Three minutes later, Todd Robinson’s power-play goal tied the game at 2.
Spokane answered at 13:32 when Greg Leeb deflected Sean Gillam’s shot into the net with the Chiefs on a power play, allowing Spokane (20-32-1) to tighten its hold on fifth place in the WHL West.
As important as it was to put some distance between the Chiefs and Portland in the jostling for fifth, Podollan shrugged off the notion that he came out with something to prove.
“It’s a team,” Podollan said. “Whether Bryan’s here or not here doesn’t change the confidence I have that I’m a good player on my own.”
Podollan nudged his first goal past Portland netminder Scott Langkow as he was being hauled down in the slot by defenseman Graeme Harder at 8:24 of the first.
“That was kind of a lucky one, but everybody’s going to the net hard and those kind of goals are going to happen,” he said.
Podollan drove No. 2 - his teamleading 34th goal of the season - into an open net with a slap shot from the left corner, converting the rebound from a Gillam shot.
“Podollan’s points were important,” Babcock said. “He was aggressive and more confident with the puck, and more of a factor in the game than he’s been in a long time.”
Gillam had two assists to go with his typically conscientious defense.