Chiefs Show Up Red Hot Road Uniforms Seem To Do The Trick In 5-2 Win Over Seattle

They wear their road red uniforms once a year. The Spokane Chiefs ought to break them out more often.

The Chiefs held the Seattle Thunderbirds to 17 shots Wednesday night in a 5-2 Western Hockey League game before 10,265 in the Arena.

Trent Whitfield scored twice, the last time into an empty net in the final seconds, as the Chiefs (39-20-4) moved back into second place, two points up on the idle Prince George Cougars in the WHL West.

The Chiefs, meeting Seattle for the final time in the regular season, took the series with the T-Birds 5-3-1.

Greg Leeb had a goal and an assist to move one point behind Jason Podollan for the fifth spot on the Chiefs’ all-time scoring list.

Ty Jones, who assisted on two goals, remained hot. He has 21 points in his last dozen games.

Playing without star defenseman Cory Sarich, out with an ankle problem, the T-Birds could have clinched a playoff berth with a win.

The Chiefs are back at it tonight with the Regina Pats, led by former Chiefs assistant and interim head coach Parry Shockey and ex-Spokane sniper John Cirjak.

The Chiefs, who never trailed, scored first on Whitfield’s 30th of the year. Whitfield stripped the puck from Rod Leroux and punched it through the pads of goaltender Matt Cockell 1:09 into the game.

The Chiefs jumped up 2-0 with Leeb’s power-play goal, his teamhigh 42nd goal of the year. Jones carried the puck behind the net, popped out to the left side and fed it through the slot to Leeb, who was camped out alone to the right of the net.

Seattle closed to within one when Torrey DiRoberto stick-handled out of the corner, waited for Spokane goalie David Haun to go down and pushed it by him with the T-Birds on the power play.

Derek Schutz put the Chiefs up 3-1. Bret DeCecco got that one back for Seattle with his 20th of the season.

Marian Cisar scored Spokane’s fourth goal at 3:27 of the third.

, DataTimes MEMO: Changed in Spokane edition.