Cirjak’s Ot Goal Sinks Americans

For two months in the winter, the Spokane Chiefs forgot how to win.

Lately they’ve forgotten how to lose.

John Cirjak’s wrist shot from 8 feet away 10:41 into overtime was the difference in Spokane’s 4-3 win Thursday over the Tri-City Americans.

The Chiefs earned at least one more night of hockey - possibly a Saturday night tiebreaker - in addition to tonight’s game.

Spokane and Tacoma go at it at 7 in the Coliseum. The winner goes on to the Western Hockey League West Division semifinals. The loser plays Tri-City on Saturday night for the second berth in the semis.

Any notion that the Chiefs might leave their game at home, where tonight they play their big one, was dismissed early.

This had everything, including another overtime - the Chiefs’ 17th in the season, a WHL high and a collapse of form by some of the 4,106 at Tri-City Coliseum, who after the game showered Cirjak and the celebrating Chiefs with paper cups only partially empty.

The real focal point of their anger was referee Kevin Acheson, who waived off a Tri-City goal 6 minutes into overtime.

It put the Chiefs on what would be a decisive power play with a high-sticking call on Tri-City star Daymond Langkow.

Acheson ruled that Tri-City’s Terry Ryan had interfered with Jarrod Daniel on Alexandre Boikov’s shot that hit the back of the net. Ryan was in the goal crease but Americans coach Bob Loucks said the goal should have counted.

“I watched it on the tape,” Loucks said. “There’s no question it was a legal goal. Ryan was pushed in the crease and he was fighting to get out when the puck went it.

“They (the fans) have every right to express their feelings and I think they were justified in how they expressed them.”

MEMO: This is a sidebar which appeared with story: ON DECK WHL playoffs, Tacoma at Spokane, tonight at 7