Kelowna At Spokane Chiefs

Time: Tonight at 7 in the Arena.

Records: Spokane (10-2-0), Kelowna Rockets (9-4-1).

Tickets: $6, $8, $10, $12.

Radio: KGA-AM (1510) 6 p.m. Hockey Tonight with Craig West. Chiefs coach Mike Babcock 6:20, Kelowna coach Marcel Comeau 6:40.

Key players: Spokane: D Sean Gillam (3 goals, 11 assists) C Trent Whitfield (6, 11), RW Randy Favaro (6, 11), C/RW Jason Podollan (3, 5), C Darren Sinclair (5, 6), D Hugh Hamilton (2, 9), LW Greg Leeb (8, 5), RW John Cirjak (8, 7), GK David Lemanowicz (3.75 goals-against), RW Jay Bertsch (1, 2), LW Dmitri Leonov (4, 6).

Kelowna:C Robb Gordon (9 goals, 21 assists), RW Marty Flichel (5-12), Vaclav Varada (10, 5), Brett McLean (9, 6), Burt Henderson (3, 12), Tyler Prosofsky (9, 5), GK Kim Dillabaugh (3.85 goals-against) or Rob Friesen (3.89).

At a glance: The Chiefs put their WHL West Division lead, their national ranking and unbeaten home-ice record on the line against the preseason pick to win the WHL West. Spokane is ranked sixth this week by the Canadian Hockey League, two notches higher than the Rockets. Spokane went to 7-0 in the Arena Sunday night, sitting on Saskatoon 5-2 with another balanced effort. This is a game of powerful special teams. Nobody in the league is tougher at home against power plays than the Chiefs. Rockets have the second-best power play in the league. Something - either the Chiefs’ hard-working penalty killers or the Rockets’ talented power players - will give tonight. Kelowna penalty-killers are also effective - the Rockets have a league-high seven goals while skating short-handed. Both teams know how to forge a comeback. The Rockets trailed Portland 4-1 Saturday night before Prosofsky scored a pair of goals and Gordon - No. 2 in the WHL in scoring knocked in the game-winner in the third period of a 5-4 Kelowna win.

, DataTimes