Chiefs want nothing in return but a win
In their never-ending effort to end a season-high seven-game losing skid, the Spokane Chiefs are trying everything – including nothing.
That’s exactly what was required of the players on Thursday, as they were given Veteran’s Day off both from school and from their “jobs” as junior hockey players.
So, after riding back by bus from Kelowna during the wee hours of Thursday morning after a shutout loss, the team’s afternoon practice was cancelled. The 16-to-20-year-old players were allowed to be teenagers for a day. The concept: let them sleep, eat, hang out at the mall – not think about hockey.
Tonight, it’s back to reality when Spokane (5-10-1, 11 points) takes the ice against the U.S. Division-leading Seattle Thunderbirds (13-4, 26) in a 7 p.m. Western Hockey League game in the Spokane Arena. On Saturday night, third-place Portland (9-8-0-1, 19) visits.
The Chiefs are in last place in the five-team division and are now six points behind Tri-City for the last playoff spot. Though it is approaching just the one-quarter mark of the season, Spokane can ill afford to fall even further out of the division race.
The players and coaches are all too aware of where things stand, as witnessed by the 15-minute closed-door meeting after last Saturday’s home loss and the consternation on their faces in recent postgame interviews. The result?
“Our guys are each trying to do too much,” said Chiefs coach Al Conroy. “They need to realize that sometimes you can do more (as a team) by doing less (individually).”
The players’ frustration has been most evident on the offensive end of the ice, where the Chiefs have figuratively been holding onto their sticks just a little too tight – at times passing up on shots or just plain missing open nets.
Spokane has been shut out in three of its last four games and may face a goaltender tonight in Seattle’s Bryan Bridges (1.15 goals against average (GAA), 2nd in WHL) who has already registered five shutouts this season. Seattle is ranked sixth in all of junior hockey (the Canadian Hockey League) and has won its last three games overall and its last five on the road.
Yet it’s a team that the Chiefs stayed with for two periods, exactly two weeks ago, before falling 4-2.
“We played them well for two periods, and even in the third, we limited them to the opportunities we wanted them to have,” said Conroy. “At the same time, there are some adjustments we can make to counteract some things they do, and we should be prepared for them that way.”
Saturday’s opponent, Portland, which is only 5-5 in its last 10 games, features rugged play and solid goaltending. Both Winter Hawk goalies sport GAAs of 2.30 or better.
Portland was the last team against whom Spokane got a win, 2-1 in overtime at home on Oct. 22. Portland won the first meeting between the teams, 5-3 on Oct. 6.
“We know their game, and we know ours,” said Conroy. “Usually it’s an emotion game. Who’s the most disciplined is going to come out on top. That’s a part of our game that we definitely have to improve on right now.”
Illustrative of Conroy’s point is the fact that the Chiefs had 14 penalty minutes in the win over Portland; 36 in the loss. Spokane had an astounding 138 penalty minutes in the loss to Kelowna, punctuated by a line brawl in the final 2 minutes.