Chiefs Overwhelm Blazers Before 7,686

Strength in numbers defeated individual brilliance Saturday night in the Arena.

Because they attack in so many ways, the Spokane Chiefs are unbeaten in their new building following a 6-5 Western Hockey League decision over the vaunted Kamloops Blazers before 7,686.

The Blazers, two-time defending Memorial Cup champions, introduced a novel concept in hockey - the Hnat trick.

With swift left wing Hnat Domenichelli scoring three goals, the Blazers rallied from three goals down to tie it 4-4 early in the third period, and had the momentum until Spokane center Trent Whitfield notched his sixth goal of the season to stop the bleeding and put the Chiefs back on top 5-4.

Assisting on the play was veteran right wing Randy Favaro, who had a goal and two assists. His three-point night follows a four-point outburst Wednesday night in Portland.

Favaro was one of the many who have the Chiefs (6-2) in second place in the WHL West, a game up on Kamloops and only one down to the division-leading Kelowna Rockets.

“I’m fortunate to play on a line with Whitfield and Greg Leeb, two fast, skilled guys who help me out a lot,” Favaro said. “The game was puck in, puck out, get it deep and run a few guys in and bury the chances you got.”

It was a tough night to be a goaltender. The WHL’s leading scorer, Domenichelli, was all over the ice as Kamloops launched 39 shots to 38 by the Chiefs.

None of Spokane’s 38 shots was bigger than Sean Gillam’s game-winner at 16:54 of the third. That gave the Chiefs a 6-4 lead that was cut to 6-5 when Kamloops’ Aaron Keller countered 45 seconds later.

Gillam, the capatin, playing his first game after missing two with a pulled groin muscle, was instrumental at both ends of the ice.

“Gil is probably the best defenseman in the league,” Favaro said. “He keeps everyone going. He doesn’t wear the ‘C’ for nothing.”

The Chiefs needed goals from Hugh Hamilton, Favaro, Dmitiri Leonov, Leeb, Whitfield and Gillam to take their second straight from Kamloops in this young season.

Chiefs coach Mike Babcock downplayed the notion that he has the Blazers’ number. Kamloops whipped Portland at home 24 hours before this one, then made the bus ride down to give the rested Chiefs everything they could handle.

“Tonight was a game we could have controlled if we hadn’t lost focus,” Babcock said, referring to Spokane’s 4-1 second-period lead. “It’s not only loss of focus because they can turn it up. The bottom line is, they work hard, and if you’re going to beat them, you have to work as hard or harder. The key is to match their work ethic.”

Although the explosive Domenichelli was the key ingredient in a game that was exceptional for this early in the year, it was right wing Jarome Iginla who hurt the Chiefs the most.

“Iginla is a man,” Babcock said. “He handles us in the one-on-one confrontations. He and Domenichelli make you panic because they beat you one-on-one enough. We weren’t very composed when they got it going.”

Among the unsung in Spokane’s fourth straight win at home was rookie defenseman Chris Lane.

“He didn’t play as much, but when he did, he was outstanding,” Babcock said. “And our fourth line of Mike Haley, Derek Schutz and Martin Cervan was effective for us.”

Spokane 6, Kamloops 5

Kamloops 1 2 2 - 5

Spokane 1 3 2 - 6

First period - 1, Kam, Domenichelli 10 (Baines), 5:37. 2, Spo, Hamilton 2 (Leonov), 17:53 (sh). Key penalties - Cirjak, Spo, 6:01; Smart, Kam, 8:47; Favaro, Spo, double minor, 10:23; Albrecht, Kam, 12:46; Bertsch, Spo, 16:40.

Second period - 3, Spo, Favaro 5 (Hamilton, Whitfield), 4:07. 4, Spo, Leonov 3 (Sinclair, Gillam), 7:49. 5, Spo, Leeb 6 (Favaro), 13:10. 6, Kam, Domenichelli 11, 15:25 (sh). 7, Kam, Domenichelli 12 (Maudie), 19:59. Key penalties - Hamilton, Spo, 8:07; Oldenborger, Kam, 10:50; Podollan, Spo, 11:46; Lukowich, Kam, 112:29.

Third period - 8, Kam, Baines 4 (Iginla, Lukowich), 1:29 (pp). 9, Spo, Whitfield 6 (Leeb, Favaro), 8:33. 10, Spo, Gillam 2 (Cirjak), 16:54. 11, Kam, Keller 3 (Iginla, Maudie), 17:39. Key penalties - Bertsch, Spo, 1:08.

Power-play Opportunities - Kam 1 of 6; Spo 0 of 4. Saves - Kam, Reid 12-13-8-33. Spo, Lemanowicz 6-14-14-34. A - 7,686.

, DataTimes