Will Real Chiefs Stand Up? Spokane Seeks Consistency, Playoff Series Lead In Portland

So which version of the Spokane Chiefs will show up tonight for Game 5 of the Western Hockey League West Division championship finals?

Will it be the one that was shut out in Game 2 here, and trounced 4-1 back in Spokane? Or the one that opened with a six-goal barrage in Game 1 and exploded for three third-period scores in Thursday night’s 5-3 comeback win?

The Chiefs are at their best when they use a lot of players. Eleven had points Thursday night while only five players scored for the Winter Hawks.

Biggest surprise was Chiefs’ rookie winger Lynn Loyns, who had a goal and an assist. He hit the post and picked up his own rebound about a foot off the ice and directed it in.

“That was a good feeling,” Loyns said. “I was a little bit surprised (to be drawing so much ice time). When you’re 16 you don’t always expect to play. You just have to be ready.”

Veteran defenseman Rick Berry, kept out of Game 3 by a bothersome back, made a big difference in Game 4 even though his acceleration wasn’t what it has been.

“I thought Berry made a great decision to play,” Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said. “Any time you have a muscle problem, if you can get it warmed you can get going. He couldn’t get it warmed up (Wednesday night). He’s going to play with pain from here on, the rest of the way, but (Thursday night) he got it warmed up.”

At the second intermission Thursday night, his team down 3-2 after two periods, Babcock said he merely told the Chiefs “to just accept the challenge and go after them.”

Crowds down, for a reason

Chiefs attendance through the playoffs thus far is down about 800 a game from last year, and the reason is plain.

“We’ve asked our fans for a lot of money,” director of ticket sales Mark Miles said Friday.

“We’ve had tremendous response to the Memorial Cup and that’s reflected in reduced playoff attendance.

“About 70 percent of our season-ticket holders usually pick up their options for playoff packages. That’s down 10 percent this year.”

The Chiefs drew an average of 6,600 last year for playoff games. This year the number is 5,834.

Putting that in perspective, most WHL teams would drool over a playoff average of nearly 6,000. And the Chiefs have already sold 72,000 tickets for the May 9-17 Memorial Cup tournament, junior hockey’s Final Four.

Spokane has an excellent shot at breaking the Memorial Cup record for total and per-game attendance set in 1989 in Saskatoon, Miles said. That event attracted 77,296.

This year’s Memorial Cup is already No. 2 on the all-time attendance record. The Chiefs’ May 9 opener with the Quebec champion was 700 tickets shy Friday of being sold out. And 700 also remain for the championship game.

Notes

Trent Whitfield can become the Chiefs’ all-time leader in playoff points tonight. The Chiefs’ captain is tied with Jason Podollan with 60 postseason points. Moving up is Greg Leeb, third on the team’s all-time playoff points list with 47… . How close are the two clubs? Besides being tied in the series, each has 12 goals in four games. Spokane goaltender David Haun has a playoff saves percentage of .931; Portland’s Brent Belecki’s at .933. Haun’s goals-against average is 1.98, slightly better than Belecki’s 2.01… . Portland coach Brent Peterson said he wouldn’t be surprised if the series goes seven games with each ending in sudden-death overtime… . Leeb and Perry Johnson lead the Chiefs in scoring against the Winter Hawks, each with five points. … So much for home ice: The Chiefs are 5-3 in postseason games in the Arena and 4-3 on the road.