Chiefs Cool Down Red-Hot Rockets Spokane’s 5-3 Victory Provides 1-0 Lead Over Kelowna In Whl Playoffs

Something about the postseason.

Over the years it’s brought out the best in the Spokane Chiefs at home and on the road - and the worst in the Rockets in Tacoma and Kelowna.

Disciplined, dominant on the forecheck, quick in pursuit of the puck, the Chiefs took the air and the fans out of cozy old Memorial Arena on Friday night, blitzing the Kelowna Rockets with three first-period goals on the way to a 5-3 win in Game One of their Western Hockey League playoff series.

The Chiefs have what they came for - at least a split of the first two on the road - when the series resumes here tonight at 7:35.

They doused the hot team with the hot goaltender.

“We’ve lacked consistency all year,” said Trent Whitfield, who had a pair of goals. “Guys are re-energized now. This is a whole new season.”

The Rockets, who’ve never won a first-round series since coming into existence as an expansion franchise in Tacoma in 1991, are again reminded of what has become a playoff curse. This best-of-seven is far from over, but when Whitfield, Derek Schutz and Marian Cisar scored in the opening 20-minute set, the Chiefs served notice they would waste no time solving the riddle of Kelowna goaltender Aaron MacDonald.

MacDonald was the centerpiece of a late-January trade that made the Rockets the most feared club in the West over the last two months. They had won 11 of their last 12 in this building that is crammed to capacity with just more than 2,500 people.

But the Chiefs jumped on MacDonald from the start, Whitfield re-directing Chad Reich’s shot from the left circle past the goaltender 2:11 into the game.

Kelowna captain Tyler Prosofsky answered 32 seconds later with a short-handed goal to tie it, but the Chiefs didn’t wilt.

Hugh Hamilton dumped the puck in along the rim, it bounced crazily out in the slot and Schutz was there to bury it at 6:51. Up 2-1, the Chiefs would never let the Rockets closer.

“We knew we had to come in and shoot the puck from everywhere,” said Whitfield. “In a little rink like this, everything happens so quick.”

The Rockets cut the Chiefs’ lead to 4-2 and 5-3 but never was panic part of the plan for the Chiefs, who came from three games down to beat the Portland Winter Hawks in last year’s opening round.

This is a much easier way to kick it off.

“We had good goaltending, played well defensively and were disciplined,” said Chiefs coach Mike Babcock, who handed out the game puck to the whole team for its discipline - no dumb penalties, lots of taking hard shots in the late going without retaliating.

“We screened really well early,” said Babcock, who 14 years ago captained Kelowna’s WHL team in this building. “Whitfield was excellent, but we had lots of good players tonight.”

Miller swept aside 25 of the Rockets’ 28 shots. MacDonald - looking tentative early - fell behind 4-1 before gaining some composure late while rejecting 32 of 37 Chiefs shots.

“Milsy got himself an assist by passing it up the middle so they could shoot it in the back of our net,” Babcock said of an errant pass by Miller that Kelowna’s Jason Deleurme gobbled up and deposited into the net midway through the third period for his second goal of the night. “But other than that he was good.”

Chiefs 5, Rockets 3

Spokane 3 1 1 - 5 Kelowna 1 0 2 - 3

First period - 1, Spokane, Whitfield 1 (Reich), 2:11. 2, Kelowna, Prosofsky 1, 2:43 (sh). 3, Spokane, Schutz 1 (Hamilton), 6:51. 4, Spokane, Cisar 1 (Jones, Schutz), 18:52. Key penalties - Schultz, Kel, 2:11; Parker, Kel, 7:04; Schultz, Kel, 10:37; Magarrell, Spo, 11:18; Ference, Spo, and Prosofsky, Kel, misconduct, 11:18; Cirjak, Spo, 15:01; Hamilton, Spo, 19:06.

Second period - 5, Spokane, Whitfield 2 (Cirjak), 4:43 (pp). Key penalties - Curtin, Kel, 4:18; Spokane bench (delay) 4:43 (served by Cardarelli); Boschman, Spo, 7:07; Fedoruk, Kel, 10:13; Prosofsky, Kel, 13:54; Hannan, Kel, 18:02; Hannan and Reich, Spo, misconduct, 18:02.

Third period - 6, Kelowna, Deleurme 1 (Diener, McLean), 3:51 (pp). 7, Spokane, Cirjak 1 (Ference), 7:35. 8, Kelowna, Deleurme 2 (Wilhelm), 9:18. Key penalties - Cirjak, Spo, 2:45; Wade, Kel, 5:31.

Power-play opp. - Spokane 1 of 8; Kelowna 1 of 6. Saves - Spokane, Miller 2-12-11-25. Kelowna, MacDonald 11-14-7-32. A - 2,500.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHL PLAYOFFS Best-of-seven series Game 1: Spokane 5, Kelowna 3 Tonight: Spokane at Kelowna, 7:30 Wednesday: Kelowna at Spokane March 28: Kelowna at Spokane March 29: Kelowna at Spokane* March 31: Spokane at Kelowna* April 2: Kelowna at Spokane* *-if necessary