Chiefs’ First Victory In Three Weeks Vaults Spokane Into Third-Place Tie
Three weeks elapsed be- tween wins for the Spokane Chiefs.
But Wednesday’s 4-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars gave Spokane a good boost in the Western Hockey League’s West Division.
Lynn Loyns and Jeff Lucky scored third-period goals and the Chiefs held the Cougars scoreless for the final 47 minutes for their first win since Dec. 6.
Spokane (16-12-5-1, 38 points) jumped from fifth place into a tie for third place with Seattle. Fourth-place Portland lost at last-place Tri-City, also by a 4-2 count.
Prince George (14-16-4-3) had won six of its last seven games, including a 5-2 decision over Spokane on Dec. 15. Spokane was 0-4-1 since defeating Prince Albert three weeks ago.
Spokane, which hadn’t played in 11 days, needed nearly 40 minutes to spring to life.
The exception was Lucky scoring his 13th goal on a power play early in the first period. The Cougars bounced back in the period with goals by Tomas Tesarek and Justin Cox, less than 2 minutes apart.
The second period was down to its final second when Loyns assisted on Tim Krymusa’s sixth goal for a 2-all game.
Loyns’ 13th goal at 3:59 of the third period gave Spokane the lead. Lucky added insurance with a power-play goal with 3:35 left.
The teams meet again tonight on the Cougars’ ice. Spokane will play its first home game in two weeks on Saturday, when it meets Tri-City.
Chiefs 4, Cougars 2
Spokane 1 1 2 - 4
Prince George 2 0 0 - 2
First period-1, Spokane, Lucky 13 (Loyns, Mann) 4:34 (pp). 2, Prince George, Tesarek 3 (Chartier) 11:13 (pp). 3, Prince George, Cox 13 (Buchko, Baum) 12:57. Key penalties-T.Smith, Spo, 1:00; Robson, PG, 4:04; Robson, PG, 7:01; T.Smith, Spo, 8:29; Sauer, Spo, 10:32; Stefishen, PG, 14:24; Koci, PG, 18:14.
Second period-4, Spokane, Krymusa 6 (Loyns) 19:59. Key penalties-Thorpe, Spo, 6:44; Thorpe, Spo, 9:22; Prince George bench, served by Tesarek, 12:13; Boogaard, PG, 15:23.
Third period-5, Spokane, Loyns 13 3:59. 6, Spokane, Lucky 14 (Mann, T.Smith) 16:25 (pp). Penalties-Cote, Spo, :29; Boogaard, PG, 16:08; Boychuk, Spo, 19:08.
Power-play opportunities-Spokane 2 of 7; Prince George 1 of 7. Saves-Spokane, MacKay 3-6-9-18. Prince George, Thompson 9-11-3-23. A-5,893 (5,582).