Whitfield Takes Turn For Better Spokane Rolls Past Kelowna Before Arena Crowd Of 10,177

Trent Whitfield’s goal was just one in a long string Saturday night, but it spoke volumes about how far the wagon might roll on one healthy wheel.

The wheel - Whitfield’s ankle - is strong again and so are the Chiefs. In a 7-1 romp over the Kelowna Rockets, they flashed the suffocating forecheck that marked some of their big early season wins when they comfortably led the Western Hockey League West.

Whitfield and a squad of Spokane forwards kept the Rockets bottled up in their own zone through most of the first period, when the Chiefs took no penalties and no prisoners. Playing its sixth game in eight nights, Spokane in the first period put together its most effective 20 minutes in more than two months, outshooting the Rockets 21-7 and outscoring them 3-0.

Derek Schutz, Mike Haley and John Cirjak had the goals. Cirjak’s was his 26th of the year. The veteran Chiefs forward also had an assist to move back into the WHL’s Top 10 in scoring.

But it was the turnaround effect of the Whitfield goal early in the second period that revved up 10,177 in the Arena and suggested that this team, which has struggled with injuries and mistakes since early November, is too good to shrug off over the final 27 games of the regular season.

With Hugh Hamilton and Brad Ference in the penalty box at 2:03 and 2:38 into the period, the Rockets had a 5-3 manpower advantage. Down three goals, they had 1:25 with the two extra attackers to climb back into this one.

But the Chiefs killed off the Hamilton penalty, and Whitfield effectively ended the suspense by taking care of the Ference infraction with his 18th goal of the season at 4:26 of the second.

Whitfield - honored with Hamilton before the game for their gold-medal performances at the World Junior tournament - stripped the puck just outside the Rockets blue line and walked in on Kim Dillabaugh. With a flick of the forehand, Whitfield deposited the puck upstairs over the Kelowna goaltender to boost Spokane’s lead to 4-0.

The goal - short-handed, unassisted - was the decisive stroke as the Chiefs (21-21-3) resumed sole possession of third place in the West. The injury-depleted Rockets (18-25-2) are trying to stay out of last place.

“Whitfield is the best I’ve ever seen him and he’ll be better than he was tonight,” said Chiefs coach Mike Babcock, who was coaching his first game since directing Team Canada’s win in the World Juniors. “He’ll dominate.”

The Chiefs won their fourth straight in the Arena with the strongest lineup they’ve put on the ice in two months. The depth should get even better when defenseman Joel Boschman, idled by a groin injury, returns Thursday night for Spokane’s next game in Edmonton.

Kelowna’s loss, its 10th in 11 games, was preceded by a drawn-out third period, when four fights broke out long after the verdict had been sealed. By then, many were sticking it out to see if they would redeem their ticket stubs this week for free lunch pizza.

They will, as they do any time the Chiefs score seven goals.

Kelowna captain Derek Diener countered late in the second period to ruin Marc Magliarditi’s bid for his first shutout. Magliarditi swept aside 22 of Kelowna’s 23 shots. Dillabaugh - bombed with 47 shots - came up with 40 saves.

The rout was on after Joe Cardarelli notched his 22nd of the year on the power play. Yegor Mikhailov and rookie Marc Brown also scored. It was Brown’s second goal in as many nights and came before a contingent of his family down from Surrey, British Columbia.

“We’re a long way from where we want to be,” Babcock said, “but it was huge, for the guys to feel good about themselves.”

, DataTimes