Chiefs Regain Inside Edge Blades’ Win Gives Spokane A Big Boost

They’re a long way from having any logical local fan base, situated where they are, two provinces and one state away. But the Saskatoon Blades are becoming favorites at the Arena.

Last October, they traded goaltender Tyler MacKay to Spokane.

Big favor.

Wednesday night, they beat the Prince George Cougars.

Big Favor II.

It was just what the Spokane Chiefs needed to regain sole possession of first place in the Western Hockey League West. With a 4-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers before 4,567 in the Arena - coupled with Prince George’s 1-0 loss at Saskatoon - the Chiefs restored their lead in the West to two points. That’s one full game ahead of Prince George.

Derek Schutz scored three points, including his career-high 24th goal of the season for Spokane, which won its 37th game against 18 losses, three ties and two regulation ties.

MacKay stopped 20 of 24 shots to log his 20th victory since the early-season trade.

The Chiefs were on the power play when Schutz scored the game’s initial goal. “I got it down to (Daniel) Bohac,” he said. “He moved to the net, gave me a pass that I kind of tapped on net. I went right at him (goaltender Grant McCune) and the puck kind of fluttered over his glove.”

Late in the game, just when it seemed that MacKay and the Chiefs would be able to coast, Tim Smith’s third-period giveaway in the Chiefs’ zone led to a 2-on-0 Kamloops break, and Steve Shrum’s goal with 4:42 to go.

It cut the Chiefs’ lead to 3-2.

Kamloops coach Dean Evason gambled early down the stretch, pulling McCune for the extra attacker. The move would pay off inside the final minute, when Jared Aulin tied the score on a 6-on-4 power play with 38 seconds to go.

Before that, with 1:05 left, the Chiefs turned the gamble into gold, when Brandin Cote scored into an empty net. That put Spokane back up by two but that’s nothing when Kamloops turns it up late. The Blazers caught a break with 48 seconds left when the Chiefs’ Kyle Rossiter was sent off for checking from behind. Out of a scramble in front of the net, MacKay made two saves, but the puck was poked out to the Blazers’ Jared Aulin, who was in the right place at the right time.

Aulin’s shot went off the stick and over a diving MacKay for the powerplay goal that made for a tense final half-minute.

“You just don’t do that, put them up 6-on-4,” Chiefs coach Mike Babcock said. “But in saying that, Rossiter was my player of the game. I knew he and Smitty (Tim Smith) did everything they could to give it back at the end, but Rossy had a good start and a good game for us.” The Kamloops-Spokane season series is tied at 2 heading into Friday night’s rematch in Kamloops, where Jason LaBarbera will get the start in net for the Chiefs.

The two clubs chased each other through 24 scoreless minutes before combining for three goals in just over 3 minutes of the second period. The Chiefs came out of that flurry ahead 2-1 after goals by Schutz and Rossiter. The Chiefs stretched that to a two-goal lead, when on the power play, Rossiter logged his second of the game and eighth of the year. “We made some mistakes to get them back in the game,” Babcock said. “The (Smith) turnover was terrible. And earlier, we had the puck and turned it over when they scored their first goal (by Jon Hobson, just 69 seconds after the Chiefs had taken a 1-0 lead).”

The Blazers’ second strike followed Smith’s cross-ice pass that was picked off by Kamloops’ Paul Deniset, who found Shrum open for the one-timer. Asked if in hindsight he pulled his netminder too early, Evason said, “Sometimes when you pull them early it surprises people. We had a good situation with the puck in their zone, and had an opportunity to create some chances. Sometimes you can sneak a goal in there. “Obviously, when we scored after that it looks as if had we’d kept him in there maybe we do (send the game into overtime).”

With a pair of assists, Spokane’s Smith continued to challenge for the WHL lead in helpers. Smith started the night trailing league-leading Brad Moran of Calgary by only 9 assists.