Chiefs Heat Up In Third

This deep into the Western Hockey League season, it’s difficult for the West Division-leading Spokane Chiefs to come up with a meaningful first.

Friday night they accomplished something that had eluded them through their first 61 games. They came from behind for a win after trailing going into the third period.

Tim Smith got the puck past Kamloops’ hardworking goalie Davis Parley with just 35 seconds to play to produce a 5-4 comeback victory in Riverside Coliseum.

Parley, a 17-year-old rookie, who had shut out Spokane 3-0 on Nov. 22 in Spokane, had come up big all night. He was especially tough on the Chiefs the first two periods, stopping 24 of 26 shots as the Blazers mounted a 3-2 lead after two periods.

They made it 4-2 8:53 into the third, but just 19 seconds later, Jeff Lucky kick-started the Spokane comeback. And 75 seconds after that, Roman Tvrdon, who had given the Chiefs a 2-1 lead midway into the second period, tied it at 4.

The teams focused on defense the next 9 minutes until Smith, who had collected 10 assists in a four-game span, including one Friday, drilled a shot that Parley got a piece of before it slipped into the net.

Notes

Chiefs captain Derek Schutz is the West Division player of the month for February and its player of the week after scoring 10 points in Spokane’s four games last week. During the month, he had 11 goals, four of them on power plays, two game-winners, and nine assists… Tyler MacKay is West goaltender of the month. He went 4-0-1 with a shutout in Red Deer while posting a .916 saves percentage and a 2.07 goalsagainst average… . Smith has pulled within one of the WHL lead in assists. He collected his 59th Friday night. Smith is third but closing in on league-leader Brad Moran of Calgary… . The Chiefs, with help from Credit Union for Kids and KXLY, raised more than $3,113 for the Childrens Miracle Network last Saturday night.