Late collapse by Watt gives White 5-4 victory

Well, not much got settled in the race for backup goaltender for the Spokane Chiefs during Sunday’s Red-White game.

Just ask Spokane coach Al Conroy, who saw all four goaltenders during the White’s 5-4 victory before 1,142 at the Arena.

“I see it’s wide-open still,” said Conroy. “We’ve got three guys that are probably going to spend some time here this week and we’re going to be evaluating daily.”

In fact, it was a fair question after the game whether the No. 1 spot was still settled. Returning goalie Jim Watt, the undisputed starter in camp, was brilliant for the Red with roughly 27 shutout minutes. But Watt looked average for the last 2:50 as he gave up a couple of soft goals that turned out to be the tying and game-winning goals.

After the game, Conroy replied unequivocally that Watt is the No. 1 guy and will remain such for the whole season. Regardless, it wasn’t the kind of start that either Watt or the team wanted.

But this game, as well as next weekend’s exhibition tournament in Everett, is more about evaluating the players who are trying to make the team this year. The Chiefs are attempting to fill some spots, especially on the front line.

It was a veteran who shone the brightest up front on Sunday, as Ned Lukacevic showed why he was worthy of his status as a fourth-round National Hockey League draft pick. Lukacevic had a goal and three assists. His score came on a pretty breakaway at the 4:51 mark of the third period that tied the game at 3.

Rookie Mike Reich then added a goal for Red that gave his team a 4-3 lead with just over seven minutes left in the game. The goal came after a Red turnover and a defensive breakdown put White goalie Kirk Irving alone against two forwards. He stopped the first shot, by Lukacevic, but Reich was there for the rebound.

At that point, it looked like Red was in good shape, with a one-goal lead and Watt making some amazing stops in net.

However, another rookie evened the score at 4-4. White’s Cody Esposito coaxed in a slapshot from the right circle that grazed, then dribbled past Watt at 17:10 mark of the third period.

The game-winning goal was scored by another veteran who played as expected. Chad Klassen, the team’s second-leading scorer last season, tapped in a loose puck past Watt at 18:15 of the third.

The two-goal burst wasn’t the first comeback for White, which also trailed 1-0 in the first period after veteran defenseman Gary Gladue blasted a shot past goalie Brett Hamm from the right point at 3:17 of the first period.

White came back to make it 1-1 at 10:50 of the opening period. European import Michael Grabner of Austria continued his stellar weekend by burying a shot past Red goalie Brandon Tyer from the right slot on a perfect feed from behind the net by rookie forward Chris Bruton.

The period ended with White leading 2-1, as forward Derek Ryan of Spokane put back his own rebound just 47 seconds before the horn.

Red tied the game at 2 just 15 seconds after play resumed in the second period, when Scott Lynch scored off a Lukacevic feed from behind the net. Scott’s brother, Jeff Lynch, gave White the lead again just three minutes later when he put back a rebound to end second-period scoring.

The Chiefs will practice all week at home before facing host Everett in the tournament on Friday night.