Chiefs’ power plays top Portland

There are many leaders on the Spokane Chiefs, and they’ve all had their moments. But this was Ned Lukacevic’s night.

Lukacevic, the only player on the Chiefs’ roster drafted by a National Hockey League team, has breakaway speed, determination and the talent to finish a scoring chance.

He proved all of the above on Wednesday night with his first Western Hockey League hat trick as Spokane blew out the Portland Winter Hawks 7-4 before 3,952 in a Western Hockey League game at the Arena.

The win broke a four-game streak of tie games at home for Spokane (11-15-6-1, 29 points), which remained one point behind fourth-place Tri-City (a winner at Everett) in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference. It also allowed the Chiefs to gain two points on third-place Portland (14-14-2-4, 34), which has lost three straight.

Lukacevic, an 18-year-old left winger, started the Chiefs scoring with a short-handed goal. He ended it, fittingly, with an empty-net goal in the final minute to cap the win and his career-high six-point night.

“Our line played great tonight and I knew I’d have my chances, but I just got lucky and the bounces went my way tonight,” said Lukacevic.

The game was a complete effort for Spokane, which finished 7 of 8 on the penalty kill and 3 of 6 on the power play. The Chiefs had converted on just one of their last 24 chances with a man advantage. The team effort pleased coach Al Conroy.

“It was real good, but especially Ned,” said Conroy. “He started a little bit slow there, but once he turns on the jets – and shows the heart and the skill – he’s a scary, scary player.”

Spokane’s three power-play goals in the second period (which tied a season high) staked the Chiefs to a 4-2 lead after two periods. This time, they wouldn’t blow the advantage.

The first came at the 5:54 mark of the period when Gustav Engman got his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Lukacevic to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead. The game then started to get a little more physical and emotionally intense, as the teams spent the next several shifts getting called for aggressive penalties but neither team could convert.

Portland tied the game at 2 on Brandon Dubinsky’s goal at 13:08, as he put in a rebound of a Darrell May shot.

However, just 27 seconds later Chiefs leading scorer Chad Klassen got his 17th goal of the season on another Chiefs power play, when he put in a rebound of a Gary Gladue shot from the point at the 13:05 mark to make it 3-2.

As the teams continued to trade time in the penalty box, Spokane got one last power-play chance at the end of the period. The Chiefs would convert, and give themselves a two-goal lead, when Lukacevic buried a laser from the top of the right circle that Portland goalie Dustin Butler saw too late.

The Chiefs carried the momentum into the third period, which was played in a wide-open manner. The Chiefs added onto their lead at the 12:08 mark when defenseman Sean Zimmerman got his first goal of the season to make it 5-2.

But Portland closed to 5-3 on Brandon Dubinsky’s goal at the 16:46 mark of the third as the Winter Hawks pulled their goalie at the 16:27 mark. They would do it again after the ensuing face-off, but couldn’t replicate the results of Everett last weekend.

Instead, this time the Chiefs made their opponent pay with Stephen Gillen’s empty-net goal. Gillen took a puck from a streaking Lukacevic as he was taken down while heading toward the empty net for what would have been his third goal. Instead, he got an assist at the 17:21 mark as Spokane went up 6-3.

Then, at the 18:54 mark of the third, Lukacevic got a second shot at an empty net and buried it for the capper.

Portland would get a meaningless goal at 19:37 when Jordie Funk beat Spokane goalie Jim Watt to close out the scoring.

Watt finished with 34 saves and overcame a start in which Portland got on the board first (on its first shot), just 1:26 into the game when May put it in glove side from just outside the left post.

That was an ominous start for Spokane, which has a losing record when the opposing team scores first. In addition, Portland has a winning record when it scores first in the game. However, Spokane would get the score even before the end of the period.

At the 6:53 mark, Spokane’s Lukacevic got his first goal of the game with the Chiefs skating a man down.

Lukacevic made a great play on the goal, putting a backhanded shot on Butler then burying the rebound forehanded as he spun around and glided backwards.

Chiefs 7, Winter Hawks 4

First period– 1, Por, May 11 (Dubinsky) 1:26; 2, Spo, Lukacevic 10 (Hobson) 6:53 (sh).

Second period– 3, Spo, Engman 5 (Lukacevic) 5:54 (pp); 4, Por, Dubinsky 9 (Mikkelson, Da Silva) 13:30 (pp); 5, Spo, Klassen 17 (Gladue) 13:35 (pp)Spo, Lukacevic 11 (Zimmerman, Engman) 19:15 (pp)

Key penalties – Tipper, Por (holding) 4:25; Ja Lynch, Spo (holding) 12:34; McLaren, Por (roughing) 13:30; Dubinsky, Po (hooking) 17:19.

Third period– 7, Spo, Zimmerman 1 (Hobson, Lukacevic) 12:08; 8, Por, Dubinsky 10 (McLeod, May) 16:46; 9, Spo, Gillen 6 (Lukacevic) 17:21 (en); 10, Spo, Lukacevic 12 18:54 (en); 11, Por, Fike 1 (Aldred, Hotson) 19:37.

Power-play Opportunities–Portland 1 of 8; Spokane 3 of 6. Saves–Portland, Butler 8-14-9–31. Spokane, Watt 13-10-11–34. A–3,952.