Spokane Chiefs At Tri-City

Time: Tonight at 7 in Tri-City Coliseum.

Records: Spokane (15-8-1), Tri-City Americans (16-8-1).

Radio: KGA-AM (1510). Hockey Tonight with Craig West, 6 p.m.

Key players: Spokane: D Sean Gillam (5 goals, 19 assists), C Trent Whitfield (14, 22), C/RW Jason Podollan (14, 6), LW Dmitri Leonov (11, 17), LW Greg Leeb (18, 10), RW John Cirjak (11, 11), RW Randy Favaro (7, 16), D Hugh Hamilton (3, 20), C Darren Sinclair (10, 13), GK Aren Miller 3.24 goals-against), RW Jay Bertsch (4, 6).

Tri-City: C Daymond Langkow (7 goals, 16 assists), RW Jaroslav Svejkovsky (26, 20), LW Terry Ryan (14, 18), C Brent Ascroft (17, 22), GK Brian Boucher (3.86 goals-against), LW Mark Hurley (13, 16), RW Mike Hurley (15, 9), D Alexandre Boikov (0, 11), D Byron Briske (3, 14), D Zenith Komarniski (4, 9).

At a glance: Chiefs do the WHL two-step this weekend, playing at Tri-City tonight and taking on Portland Sunday night at 6 in the Arena. Miller gets the start in goal ahead of the struggling David Lemanowicz, whose saves percentage has dipped to .883. Miller has impressive numbers (2.6 goals-against with a .923 saves percentage) in two games against Tri-City. With Cirjak returning after a three-game absence, the power play should improve. “It’s good to have him back,” said coach Mike Babcock. “It’s obvious we didn’t play that well without him.” Winless in their last three games, Chiefs generated lots of scoring opportunities but blew a two-goal lead in Wednesday night’s 4-3 home loss to Moose Jaw. “That game should have been over (early),” Babcock said. “We broke down in our (defensive) zone critically three times and you just can’t do that. We spent a little time since then practicing. We’ve had two of the best practices you can have.” Babcock tries to stay even-handed through streaks, good and bad. A win tonight would give the club its best record after 25 games in the 13 years Spokane has had major junior hockey. Chad Gans, picked up from Moose Jaw this week, had an assist Wednesday. “He’s a smart player,” Babcock said. Chiefs will need the play-smart, play-hard approach to win in Kennewick. Americans, who have taken two straight from the Chiefs after losing the first three in this heated series, are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games. Chiefs fans making the trip should call ahead for tickets (509-735-0500). A sellout is likely.

, DataTimes