Chiefs Douse Kamloops’ Brief Blaze Of Glory, 4-1
The Spokane Chiefs solved the nagging riddle of the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night.
The Blazers, fighting to stay out of the Western Hockey League West Division cellar - but impressive against Spokane with a win and a tie in two previous meetings - came in hoping to extend their promising start against the Chiefs.
They left with that modest success reversed.
Trent Whitfield scored two goals and assisted Greg Leeb on the game-winner in Spokane’s 4-1 win over Kamloops before 8,360 in the Arena.
The Chiefs, who built their West Division lead to three points over the struggling Prince George Cougars, close out a busy weekend with their fourth game in five nights tonight at 6 in Seattle.
This one was decisive but a long time in the development stage. The Blazers dominated the first 11 minutes, firing 13 shots at Chiefs goaltender Marc Magliarditi while Spokane could put only four on Kamloops goaltender Clayton Pool, an 18-year-old making his first WHL start.
Two of those four found the mark.
Marian Cisar caught the Blazers on a late line change to score on a breakaway. Hugh Hamilton picked up the puck and fed Cisar on the fly. Unstoppable thus far when he’s had a goaltender at his mercy, Cisar scored just 52 seconds into the game.
“That was a grueling mental mistake,” Kamloops coach Ed Dempsey said.
The Blazers tied it at 1 on Ajay Baines’ power-play goal but the Chiefs regained the lead 55 seconds later when their own power play clicked. A sliding Greg Leeb rebounded Trent Whitfield’s shot from the right circle to finish a 2-on-1 break. Pool got to Whitfield’s shot but couldn’t handle the rebound.
But even at that moment, at 11:36 of the opening period, the Chiefs were lucky to be up one.
“We were fortunate to have Magliarditi playing early because the rest of us forgot that the game was on,” Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said. “He got us through the first 10 minutes alive.”
Magliarditi stopped 17 of 18 first-period shots to give the Chiefs time to rally and win going away.
“I didn’t know who was shootin’,” Magliarditi said of the Blazers’ quick start. “I was too busy watchin’.”
Whitfield found the back of an open net to make it 3-1, finishing a play made by Ty Jones, who was stationed to the left of the net with Spokane on the power play. Jones drew the goaltender out and slid the puck to a wide-open Whitfield, who was camped out on the other side of the net.
Pool knocked away 41 of Spokane’s 45 shots, not a bad debut, while Magliarditi wound up saving 27 of the Blazers’ 28 shots.
“This was one of my better games,” said the 20-year-old Magliarditi, who takes a seat tonight when Aren Miller starts in Babcock’s game-by-game rotation.
“It (rotating starts) is working for the team,” Magliarditi said. “It’s challenging because I’m not used to sitting on the bench but right now I just have to play the best I can and let coach Babcock decide the rest.”
, DataTimes